Helen Noble Curtis
Helen Noble Curtis | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 10, 1874 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | December 2, 1961 (aged 87) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Southern University at New Orleans |
| Occupations | Activist, educator, missionary, service worker |
| Years active | 1909–1961 |
| Known for | First Black female YMCA delegate in France during WWI, anti-lynching activism |
| Movement | Pan-Africanism Anti-lynching movement Women's suffrage |
| Awards | National Council of Negro Women Outstanding Woman of the Year (1948) |
Helen Noble Curtis (1874–1961) was an American activist, service worker, educator, and speaker. Curtis was the first Black YMCA delegate to go to France during World War I. She fought racism and issues facing women while she was in service during the war. After the war, she was a delegate to several Pan-African Congresses, one time acting as the delegate for Liberia. Curtis spent many years in Liberia as a missionary for the African Methodist Episcopal Church. During her time there, she worked to improve the conditions of residents of Monrovia. Curtis took part in the anti-lynching movement. She continued to volunteer in various capacities into her eighties.