- Ruth Batson
Ruth M. Batson (1921 in Roxbury,
Massachusetts -October 28 2003 inBoston, Massachusetts ) was a Americancivil rights and educationactivist .Her outstanding career began with the
NAACP Boston Branch . While representing theNAACP in local, regional and national capacities, her most renowned accomplishment occurred in the early 1960s when she led the challenge to theBoston Public School system for educational equality forAfrican American students in Boston.fact|date=January 2008She had charged school administrators and the School Committee with ignoring "a basic American concept that equal opportunity should be available to all people regardless of race, color, or creed."fact|date=January 2008
Batson attended
Boston University (Master of Education degree) andNortheastern University . She retired as a tenured professor ofpsychiatry atBoston University School of Medicine Division of Psychiatry, after more than ten years.fact|date=January 2008She was a member of the board of visitors of Boston University’s School of Medicine; trustees,
Boston City Hospital ; member, Corporation of theMassachusetts General Hospital and former member of its board of trustees; and board member ofRoxbury Community College Foundation.fact|date=January 2008She was the author of " (1638-1975)", a comprehensive chronology documenting the heroic efforts and contributions of African American parents to educational history in Boston.
Northeastern University published the manuscript of nearly 900 pages in October, 2001.fact|date=January 2008She was the first black woman on the
Democratic National Committee and the first woman elected president of NAACP’sNew England Regional Conference , a role in which she served from 1957 to 1960.fact|date=January 2008After serving as chairwoman of the
Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination from 1963 to 1966, she helped launched the Metco (Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity ) voluntarydesegregation program. As associate director then director, she helped guide Metco’s growth from transporting 225 black urban youngsters to sever suburbs to 1,125 children to 28 communities. She stepped down in 1969.fact|date=January 2008She was the founder in 1969 of the
Ruth M. Batson Educational Foundation which provided grants to African American college students for tuition and emergency needs. The Batson Foundation also awards grants to educational institutions and community organizations whose program objectives reflect the philosophy of the Batson Foundation. In its 34 years of giving, the Batson Foundation has awarded over US$1,200,000 in grants.fact|date=January 2008More recently Batson had directed the revitalized
Museum of Afro American History on Beacon Hill , stepping down in 1990.She leaves three grandsons and three daughters,
Cassandra Way of Boston,Dorothy Owusu ofAlexandria, Virginia , and acting coachSusan Batson ofNew York City .Her financial support for medical students at
Boston University School of Medicine , the school, under the leadership of Dr.Aram Chobanian , established theRuth Batson Scholarship in 1997. Since that time the school has awarded more than US$500,000 in scholarships to 40Boston University Minority Medical Students, including four MD/PhD students. Each year Ms. Batson visited the medical center to have lunch with the Batson Scholars, hear their life’s stories and share her experiences, especially with the health care system in America.fact|date=January 2008ources
*Boston University obituary fact|date=January 2008
*Boston Women's Heritage Trail fact|date=January 2008
*Harvard Gazette 10-9-97 fact|date=January 2008
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