At the first induction ceremony and dinner held October 20, 1983 in Dearborn, 18 women were recognized, among them Isabella Baumfree (Sojourner Truth), a former slave who became a nationally known crusader for human rights; Anna Howard Shaw, a minister and physician who succeeded Susan B. Anthony in leading the National American Women’s Suffrage Association; and Lucinda Hinsdale Stone, the state’s foremost spokesperson for coeducation during the last half of the 19th century and founder of the women’s club movement in Michigan. Among the contemporary inductees were Martha Griffiths, a congresswoman, primary sponsor of the ERA in that body, and first woman elected lieutenant governor in Michigan, and Rosa Parks, often called the mother of the modern civil rights movement.
Civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo. Former first lady Betty Ford. Singer Aretha Franklin. The late comedian Gilda Radner. What do they have in common? They’re all women of achievement with Michigan ties. And they’re among the dozens of honorees in the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.
Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame wikipedia entry
Michigan Women Forward Hall of Fame Timeline
Michigan Women Forward #HERStory formerly Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame