Rachel Taylor Milton
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| Founder of the Urban League of Hartford, distinguished educator and crusader for the civil rights and human dignity of African-Americans and people of all races.
Rachel Taylor was born and raised in Hartford in a family of nine girls and one boy. She was the first African-American woman to graduate from the Hartford Seminary's School of Religion. Though she had intended to become a missionary, she turned to social work to deal with the pressing problems closer to home. Rachel Taylor married Charles H. Milton, assistant pastor of Calvary Baptist Church .
She continued her education at the University of Pittsburgh , the New York School of Social Work, the University of Chicago , George Williams College, and Swarthmore College where she attended the first institute on race relations. As a member of the Pocono Study Group, she spent the summer of 1933 researching adult education in the Scandinavian countries. Mrs. Milton's deep involvement in the problems of the inner city led her to work toward the creation of the Urban League. It was a long struggle, but she and the other founders were finally able to raise $90,000 through foundation grants, outside gifts and individual donations of $5.00 each to bring their dream to fruition. Today the Urban League offers a variety of important services to the community including job location and retraining programs, family guidance and support for better housing and neighborhood improvement. In 1968 Mrs. Taylor Milton was recognized for her continued efforts on behalf of the poor and dispossessed with B'nai Brith's "Woman of the Year" award. | |||||||||||
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