Black and white photograph of an Easter party at Phyllis Wheatley House, Minneapolis (Ethel Ray Nance, center right), ca. 1927.

Easter party at Phyllis Wheatley House

Easter party at Phyllis Wheatley House, Minneapolis (Ethel Ray Nance, center right), ca. 1927.

Black and white photograph of individuals starting a hike from Phyllis Wheatley House with Ethel Ray (later Ethel Ray Nance), 1926.

Starting a hike from Phyllis Wheatley House

Starting a hike from Phyllis Wheatley House with Ethel Ray (later Ethel Ray Nance), 1926.

Black and white photograph of Ethel Ray Nance, ca. 1945.

Ethel Ray Nance

Ethel Ray Nance, the first African American policewoman in Minnesota, ca. 1945.

Black and white photograph of Ethel Ray (later Ethel Ray Nance; far right) with Myrtle Hultberg, Mabel Jackson, and an unknown individual, ca. 1922.

Ethel Ray with friends

Ethel Ray (later Ethel Ray Nance; far right) with Myrtle Hultberg, Mabel Jackson, and an unknown individual, ca. 1922.

Black and white photograph of the Phyllis Wheatley House diamond ball team, summer 1926. Ethel Ray (later Ethel Ray Nance) stands at the far left.

Phyllis Wheatley House diamond ball team

Phyllis Wheatley House diamond ball team, summer 1926. Ethel Ray (later Ethel Ray Nance) stands at the far left.

Black and white photograph of Ethel Ray (later Ethel Ray Nance), 1917. From the 1917 Duluth Central High School yearbook, Zenith.

Ethel Ray

Ethel Ray (later Ethel Ray Nance), 1917. From the 1917 Duluth Central High School yearbook, Zenith.

Nance, Ethel Ray (1899–1992)

Ethel Ray Nance was an African American activist and writer. During the 1920s, she broke various racial and gender barriers in Minnesota, participated in the Harlem Renaissance movement, worked as a secretary for the National Urban League, and contributed to Opportunity magazine. In later decades, she went on to work for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the San Francisco African American Historical and Cultural Society.

Nellie Francis, 1912. From the St. Paul Appeal, July 27, 1912, p.3.

Nellie Francis in the "St. Paul Appeal"

Nellie Francis, 1912. From the St. Paul Appeal, July 27, 1912, p.3.

Nellie Francis and the Folk Song Coterie, from Musical America, August 3, 1910.

Nellie Francis and the Folk Song Coterie

Nellie Francis and the Folk Song Coterie, from Musical America, August 3, 1910.

Griswold’s high school graduation photograph, 1891. From St. Paul Central High School records, Minnesota Historical Society.

Nellie Griswold

Griswold’s high school graduation photograph, 1891. From St. Paul Central High School records, Minnesota Historical Society.

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