As a longtime civil rights activist, Dr. Tucker was the first African-American woman to serve as Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State from 1971 – 1977. Among the many achievements during her tenure, she made changes to the election system introducing voter registration by mail and instituting the first Commission on the Status of Women in Pennsylvania. Dr. Tucker also was responsible for the Governor’s appointment of more women judges and more women and African Americans to boards and commissions than ever before in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She also led the effort to make Pennsylvania one of the first states to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.

She founded the National Political Congress of Black Women in 1985 to assure that black women would have a share and parity in American politics. The organization is now known as the National Congress of Black Women and is a member of the NWHM National Coalition. Among the many issues Dr. Tucker and the group undertook w the campaign against violent and misogynistic lyrics in rap and hip-hop music. Dr. Tucker was founder and president of the Bethune-DuBois Institute, which she established in 1991 to promote the cultural development of African American youth through scholarships and education programs.

Her record of awards spans virtually all of the major civil rights organizations. She was the recipient of three honorary doctorates.

 

 

Works Cited:

• Article is partially reprinted from NWHM Newsbyte Archives; see also "Dr. C. DeLores Tucker,"National Congress of Black Women, Inc., 2004, http://www.npcbw.org/newweb/cdt_bio_2004.htm (October 2005).

 

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