Background
She was born May 23, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York, to Jamaican-American parents, was educated in New York City, and attended Howard University, where she received a magna cum laude degree in political science and sociology.
union organizer civil rights activist
She was born May 23, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York, to Jamaican-American parents, was educated in New York City, and attended Howard University, where she received a magna cum laude degree in political science and sociology.
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Political Science magna cum laude, Howard University, 1947. Master of Arts in Public Administration with honors, California State University, Los Angeles, 1961. Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Southern Vermont College, 1979.
She also has a master"s degree in government from California State University at Los Angeles and an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Southern Vermont College. She was initially active as an organizer for the International Ladies" Garment Workers" Union, and became the Education and Public Relations Director for the Pacific Coast Region of the Union. She was later appointed Deputy Chief of the California Division of Fair Employment Practices from 1962 to 1965.
As a result of this work, she became known nationally and was appointed by Lyndon Johnson in 1964 as the only woman to serve on the newly established Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and resigned in 1966 to form an independent urban consulting firm, Aileen C. Hernández Associates.
lieutenant was under her leadership that National Organization for Women organized the Women"s Strike for Equality in 1970. She was one of the 2006 honorees of the National Women"s History Project.
She also was the 1993 Tish Sommers Lecturer at the Institute for Health and Aging of the University of California, San Francisco, as well as the 1993 Regents Scholar in Residence at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her current position is coordinator of Black Women Stirring the Waters and chair of the California Women"s Agenda, a state action alliance of over 600 organizations.
Coordinator Senator Alan Cranston's campaign for State Controller of California, 1961. Chair Working Assets Money Fund. Co-chair National Urban Coalition, board directors Death Penalty Focus.
Vice chair national advisory councils American Civil Liberties Union. Coordinator San Francisco African American Agenda Council. Member advisory board Program for Research on Immigration Policy.
Member national advisory council National Institute for Women of Color. Board directors Center for Women Policy Studies. Member Citizens Commission on Civil Rights.
Treasurer Eleanor R. Spikes Memorial Fund. Active San Franciscans Seeking Consensus, since 1982. Founding member, chair Coalition for Economic Equity.
Chair Sec's. Advisory Committee on Rights and Responsibilities of Women. Officer, board directors Mount Zion Hospital. Board directors Westside Community Mental Health Center.
Chair California Council Humanities. Founding member National Women's Political Caucus, Black Women Organized for Action, Bay Area Black Women United, National Hook-Up of Black Women. Board directors, project director National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing.
Member housing committee Association Bay Area Governments. Chairman Center Common Good, California Women's Agenda. Board directors Wellesley Centers for Research.
Board Center Governmental Studies. Member National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (life), National Organization of Women (past national president), Mississippi Foundation for Women (board directors), Bay Area Urban League (past board directors), Urban Institute (life trustee), Gamma Phi Delta (honorary), Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Daughter of Charles Henry and Ethel Louise (Hall) Clarke.