In 1865,  the women of Harrisburg, united by membership in the Garnet League pushed and made the Grand Review of Colored Troops in Harrisburg happen. In honor of their diligent work, we created a White Carnation - Maude Coleman’s Stewardship Conservation Fund.  

Family of Maude Coleman               $2,500

Maude Coleman was an activist and politician who devoted her life to securing democracy for all people. She was a founding member of the Phyllis Wheatley Colored Branch of the YWCA in November of 1919, before its formal organization in 1920. Maude was appointed as Pennsylvania’s first Interracial Consultant by Governor Pinchot, and worked with many labor industries throughout Pennsylvania to ensure the employment and safe working environment for African Americans. Her successful intervention in racial clashes in Pennsylvania, led to similar work in Detroit and Lansing Michigan. In 1947,  Maude wrote The History of the Negro in Pennsylvania, published by the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare.