“The Untold Story of Women of Color in the League of Women Voters” by Dr. Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins

Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins, PhD, served two terms as the fifteenth president of the League of Women Voters of the United States and chair of the League of Women Voters Education Fund (1998-2002). She is the only woman of color to have served as national president in the organization’s first one hundred years. Since the early 1980s, she has served in a range of capacities at the local, state, and national levels of the league. Her career in public school and higher education spanned more than forty years. At the time of retirement, Dr. Jefferson-Jenkins continues to be an advocate and activist for civil rights, social justice, educational excellence, and stronger citizen participation in the electoral process for underrepresented populations.

Her most recent book, The Untold Story of Women of Color in the League of Women Voters, explores ways in which these women have been marginalized and recognizes how their contributions will positively in uence the organization as it moves into its next one hundred years. The book is structured to show the progression of the relationship between the League of Women Voters and its members of color as manifested in changes to its policies, practices, symbols, and messaging.