The alumnae of Bennett College are trailblazers and have made their mark on the world.
Bennett College, one of the two HBCUs dedicated to African American women in the United States, has been around since 1873. In that time, thousands of women have walked its halls and graduated, going on to make their marks on the world.
Recently, Bennett has been in the news because of the threat of losing it’s accreditation and we at Watch The Yard, in our support of the college, thought it would be a good idea to remind everyone of all of the amazing women and talent that Bennett produces.
Please share this list with as many people as possible along with the hashtag #StandWithBennett.
Click on the arrows below to see our list of notable Bennett College alumnae.
Carolyn Robertson Payton – Class of 1945
She was the first female and the first African American to be Peace Corps Director.
Click on the arrows below to see our list of notable alumnae.
I. Patricia Henry – Class of 1969
First African American woman to manage a major American brewery, making her a master brewer for Miller Brewing Company now MillerCoors.
Sara Lou Harris Carter – Class of 1943
Model who broke barriers by becoming the first black model in the New York buyers fashion show, changing the face of the black woman model from servant to glamour girl. She was also the first African American model to be featured in a national poster campaign in the 1940s for Lucky Strike cigarettes.
Yvonne Johnson – Class of 1962
First African American Mayor of Greensboro, NC and Educator.
Lyvonne Mackel Washington – Class of 1956
First African American female dentist in the state of Indiana.
Claudia Thomas, PhD
First African American female Mayor in the state of Washington
Maidie Norman – Class of 1934
American radio, stage, film and television actress and African-American literature and theater instructor.
Frances Jones Bonner – Class of 1939
First African American woman to train and to become a faculty member at Massachusetts General Hospital. During her undergraduate tenure at Bennett in 1937, Bonner led a protest and boycott of the downtown Greensboro movie theaters because of the depictions of black women in film.
Linda Beatrice Brown – Class of 1961
Author and educator who published many books including Belles of Liberty, Black Angels, Crossing Over Jordan and The Long Walk.