This is a list of honorees recognized by the Boston Black Women Lead project, available as a "redlist" (inspired by the Women in Red WikiProject) for possible creation of new articles.

Here's an overview of the steps you'll want to take. More detailed instructions about each step are also provided below.

1. Start by looking for additional sources of information about these subjects. Whenever you find something, add it as a link or a citation next to the person's name in the list.
2. Once someone has several sources, start a draft article. Make sure at least one of the sources is published, independent, and in-depth. Use our provided article template and fill in details from the sources, making sure to cite your work.
3. Submit your draft for review. An experienced Wikipedian will evaluate it, and either publish it or provide feedback. This will likely take several weeks, so in the mean time, consider working on the next biography!

When your draft article is being reviewed, reviewers will be checking the sources you are drawing on more than they will be checking the specific words you write. The reviewer's primary question will be, "Has there been enough reliable, independent, secondary coverage of this person that a tertiary encyclopedia article can be written about them?"

Some appropriate sources of information for creating articles on Wikipedia are:

• The Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Harvard Radcliffe Center has useful archival collections.
• You can access the 1973-2013 run of the Boston Phoenix, an alternative weekly newspaper, at the Internet Archive.
• The Onyx Informer, a student-run Northeastern University newspaper, is available at the Internet Archive.
• Chronicling America at the Library of Congress and The Liberator (a 19th century Boston newspaper that highlights abolition) on Digital Commonwealth is a digital archive of America's historic newspaper pages from 1756-1963.
• Robert C. Hayden's book, African Americans in Boston: more than 350 years, has multiple entries on Black Boston.
• Ed Gaskin's book, Black Women Lead: Boston's Most Admired, Beloved, and Iconic Leaders, 1700 - Present, is based on the 2023 honoree cohort and has entries on each honoree.
• Digital Commonwealth, operated by Boston Public Library, offers free online access to cultural heritage materials from Massachusetts institutions.
• The National Park Service preserves historical sites and produces articles on various topics.
• Search Google Books for mentions of the honoree in free books on Google.

Some common sources of information that should be avoided on Wikipedia are:

• "Find a Grave" and similar online memorials with "user-generated content" (obituaries published in newspapers are OK)
• Social media posts, including YouTube (also "user-generated")
• The personal website, LinkedIn, blog, etc, of the honoree (these are not "independent")

Some primary sources of information that are OK for supplementary information once the article is approved, but won't show the reviewer that the subject is "ready" for an article: census records, birth/death/marriage certificates.

1. Click on a name in red and follow the prompts to start new draft article.
2. Copy-paste the contents of BosBWL Template into the draft, including the big box at the top that says "Draft article not currently submitted for review." (Leave that box alone the whole time you work.)
3. Save your work any time you want by clicking "publish changes". (This won't add it as an official Wikipedia article, so it's safe to "publish" unfinished work.)
4. At the end of every sentence, include at least one citation showing where someone can check that information. Follow these instructions for adding the citations. (Or, if you're using the "source code" editor, these instructions.)

Don't worry about trying to write something that's super long, or makes the person sound as incredible as possible. Encyclopedias are concise and a little dry; you're just trying to get the facts across and let them speak for themselves. One good paragraph is enough for the article to be submitted for review. You can find a lot more writing advice in the "Your first article" guide.

Some things to check when you're deciding if something is ready to review:

• Is there at least one source cited that is published, independent, and focused primarily on this person rather than Black Women Lead as a project?
• Is the writing concise, factual, and "encyclopedic" in tone? (Rather than sounding like a news story or blurb?)
• Have all the placeholders been filled in or removed?

When you're happy with it, you can stop ignoring the big gray box at the top of the article. Within the box at the bottom is a blue button, "Submit the draft for review!" Click it and follow the prompts, and an experienced Wikipedian will take a look and publish it if it's ready.

The reviewer may decide that the article is not ready to be published -- most of the time, the solution is to add citations to new sources (rather than trying to write a longer or more glowing article). It's possible that more sources won't exist yet, due to systemic bias that under-represents Black women. In these cases, Wikipedia has to "lag behind" the rest of society, and the Black Women Lead project will aim to fill the gaps more directly by supporting the publication of biographical information elsewhere.

According to Wikipedia guidelines, "a stub is an article that lacks the breadth of coverage expected from an encyclopedia but still provides some useful information and is capable of expansion." When you are unable to find enough information for a full article, you can create a Stub.

To identify an article as a Stub-class article to reviewers, do the following:

• Add the following text: "{{stub}}" to the bottom of the article (after the Reference list) before you publish it. When you add the "{{" text, a popup window for inserting a template will appear. You may search for a stub template and add it to your article, or you can close the window and input "{{stub}}" at the bottom of the article. Both options will have the same effect of classifying your article as a Stub.
• You can also add the stub tag by inserting the template for a stub to the bottom on your article. Using the plus sign symbol on the top toolbar, select "Templates" from the dropdown menu and search for stub in the search bar.

You can also add this clarifier: “This stub article was created as part of the Boston Black Women Lead Redlist project,” to the Source editor of the Talk page of the article after you publish it. This discussion post will notify reviewers of the project your Stub is affiliated with.

Person Name (birth year–death year) is/was a ____. [One to two sentence biography, citing at least one news article about her. Try searching her name in ProQuest for historical newspapers. Also check the project's Media page, since some have recent articles about them.] In 2023, she was recognized as one of "Boston’s most admired, beloved, and successful Black Women leaders" by the Black Women Lead project.

• Zakiya Alake.
• Jeannette Banks, DDM.
• Maria Bell.
• Adrienne R. Benton. [1]
• Doris Bland. [2]
• Shirley Carrington.
• Marilyn Anderson Chase. Marilyn Anderson Chase is a former Massachusetts Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary; Sr. VP United Way of Mass Bay. [3]
• Louise Wells Corbin. [4]
• Kem Danner. [5]
• Shaumba-Yandje Dibinga. Shaumba-Yandje Dibinga is the Founding Artistic & Executive Director, OrigiNation. OrigiNation is a performing arts organization based in Roxbury that has been serving youth since 1994. Dibinga has extensive training, teaching, and performance experience in all areas of dance and theater and has been writing poetry and producing plays for twenty years. [6]
• Tommie Joe "Ma" Dixon. Tommie Joe "Ma" Dixon (1918-1978), was born in Waycross, Georgia, and came to Boston in 1937. She established Ma Dixon's Diner in 1942, located on Hammond Street in Roxbury, then moved to a larger space on Shawmut Avenue, and finally to Grove Hall in 1969. Ma Dixon's Diner was among the first soul food restaurants in Boston's South End neighborhood. A year after her death in 1979, the City of Boston renamed the corner of Washington Street and Blue Hill Avenue, Ma Dixon Square, in her honor. [7] [8] [9]
• Estelle Ancrum Forster. Estelle Ancrum Forster was founder and director, The Ancrum School of Music, 74 W. Rutland Sq., Boston. Mass[10][11]
• Cleora Francis O'Conner. [12]
• Carol Fulp.
• Berthé M. Gaines. [13]
• Elta Garrett.
• Florence Hagins. [14]
• Ruth Esther Hamilton. [15]
• Anna Bobbitt Gardner.[16]
• Sister Nellie S. Harris.
• Frances Carolyn Harris. [17]
• Dorothy E. Harrison Det. [18]
• Dorothy Haskins. [19]
• Sandra B. Henriquez.
• Beulah Hester. [20]
• Jacqui J. Hoard.
• Maude Hurd.
• Beverley Johnson.
• Madam Mary L. Johnson.
• Audrea F. Jones Dunham PhD.
• Myechia Minter Jordan, MD.
• Crystal Kornegay.
• Ché Madyun. [21]
• Mallika Marshall, MD. [22]
• Isaura Mendes. [23]
• Elizabeth "Beth" Williams. Elizabeth (also known as "Beth") Williams was the President and CEO of Roxbury Technology Corporation LLC. [24]
• Teri Williams.
• Betty Jane (Lesueur) Wornum. [25]
• Nadine Fortune Wright. Civil rights activist. [26] [27]
• Laura Younger. [28]
• Valerie Shelley. [29]
• Angela Paige Cook, PhD.
• Madam L. C. Parrish.
• Colette Phillips.
• Benaree P. Wiley. [30]
• Cora Reid McKerrow.
• Valerie Mosley.
• Miriam Manning.
• Savina J. Martin.
• Sarah Seller Martin.
• Charlotte Matthews-Nelson.
• Vivian Male.
• Edna J. Swan. [31]
• Carole Copeland Thomas.
• Rachel M. Washington. Rachel M. Washington was likely the first African American to graduate from New England Conservatory of Music. She majored in voice. [32][33][34] [35]
• Mattie Lee Washington. [36]
• Eva Mitchell.
• Tulaine Marshal Montgomery.
• Sister Virginia Morrison.
• Mattie B. Powell.
• Glendora McIlwain Putnam, JD.
• Leah Randolph.
• Patricia Ann Raynor.
• Lisa Simmons.
• Gloria Smith.

• Elva Lee C. Abdal-Khallaq.
• Mattie Adams.
• Joyce London Alexander.
• Danielle Susan Allen
• Zipporah Potter Atkins.
• Maria Louise Baldwin.
• Ellen Banks.
• Nora L. Baston.
• Ruth Batson.
• De Ama Battle.
• Olive Lee Benson.
• JudyAnn Bigby.
• Elizabeth Blakeley.
• Joyce Ferriabough Bolling.
• Frances Jones Bonner.
• Andrea Bradford.
• Blanche E. Braxton.
• Peggy Olivia Brown, EdD.
• Edna C. Robinson Brown, DDS. Edna C. Robinson Brown was the first African American woman to practice Dentistry in Massachusetts (1916). When she opened her practice she was the only African American woman practicing in the New England states. She is a graduate of Columbia University and Howard University Dental School. She operated a private practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts. [37]
• Kimberly S. Budd.
• Doris Bunte.
• Margaret Burnham.
• Thelma D. Burns.
• Edna V. Bynoe.
• Andrea J. Cabral.
• Andrea Campbell.
• Letitia Campfield.
• Terri Lyne Carrington.
• Charlene Carroll.
• Alice A. Casneau.
• Melnea Cass.
• Clementina Tina Chéry.
• Lula "Mama Lulu" Christopher .
• Rebecca Parker Clarke.
• Anna Mae Cole.
• Ellen Smith Craft.
• Karilyn Crockett, PhD.
• Adelaide McGuinn Cromwell, PhD.
• Estella Crosby.
• Wilhelmina Marguerita Crosson.
• Rebecca Lee Crumpler, MD.
• Fern L. Cunningham-Terry.
• Mildred Davenport.
• Judge Judith Nelson Dilday.
• Judge Barbara A. Dortch-Okara.
• Barbara Clark Elam.
• Charlotte Louise Forten Grimké.
• Carmen Fields.
• Rep. Gloria L. Fox.
• L'Merchie Frazier.
• Lilla G. Frederick.
• Elizabeth Freeman.
• Eliza Ann Gardner.
• Jessie G. Garnett, DDM.
• Rep. Charlotte Golar Richie.
• Barbara Gomes-Beach.
• Mukiya Baker-Gomez.
• Rep. Mary H. Goode.
• Rep. Saundra Graham.
• Lani Guinier, JD.
• Rubina Ann Guscott.
• Mildred C. Hailey. [38]
• Evelynn M. Hammonds, PhD.
• Maud Cuney Hare.
• Alfreda Harris.
• Bishop Barbara Harris.
• Harriet Bell Hayden.
• Marian L. Heard.
• Ruth Edmonds Hill.
• Judge Geraldine S. Hines.
• Ekua Holmes.
• Gladys Holmes.
• Isabella Holmes.
• Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins
• Gwen Ifill.
• Deborah C. Jackson, EdD.
• Ellen Swepson Jackson.
• Harriet Ann Jacobs.
• Thea L. James, MD.
• Mayor Kim Janey.
• Mildred Fay Jefferson, MD.
• Jackie Jenkins-Scott.
• Paula Johnson, MD.
• Jane Johnson.
• Anna Faith Jones.
• Mimi Jones.
• Kittie Knox.
• Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, PhD.
• Florence LeSueur.
• Edmonia Lewis.
• Elma Lewis.
• Lillian A. Lewis.
• Ella Little-Collins.
• Mary Eliza Mahoney.
• Andrea Herbert Major.
• Jean McGuire.
• Karen Miller.
• Nellie Brown Mitchell.
• Lucy Miller Mitchell.
• Margaret Moseley.
• Rep. Shirley Owens-Hicks.
• Susan Paul.
• Gladys A. Moore Perdue.
• Ann Hobson Pilot.
• Rep. Ayanna Pressley.
• Florence Price.
• Nancy Gardner Prince.
• Lucy Terry Prince.
• Deborah Prothrow-Stith, MD.
• Beulah Providence.
• Jane Clark Putnam.
• Sarah Parker Remond.
• Florida Ruffin Ridley.
• Elizabeth Riley.
• Marita Rivero.
• Rachael Rollins, JD.
• Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin.
• Sarah-Ann Shaw.
• Shirley Shillingford.
• Adrienne Smith.
• Barbara Smith.
• Gail Snowden.
• Muriel Snowden.
• Chloe Spear.
• Maude Trotter Steward.
• Elaine Weddington Steward.
• Maria W. Stewart.
• Belinda Sutton.
• E. Alice Taylor.
• Susie King Taylor.
• Andrea L. Taylor.
• Mary Crutchfield Wright Thompson. Mary Crutchfield Thompson was one of the first Black women to graduate from Tufts University Dental School, and the first to practice dentistry in the Boston area. She was also only woman to pass the Massachusetts Civil Service examination for dentists in the state institutions in 1932. [39]
• Geraldine Pindell Trotter
• Juanita Brooks Wade. Juanita Wade served as a member of the Boston School Committee in 1986 and as the Chief of Human Services at the City of Boston. Following her work in public affairs, Juanita worked as the outreach manager of multiple fundraising campaigns in Washington D.C. [40]
• Rev. Liz Walker. Liz Walker is the first black woman to co-anchor a newscast in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. She became the Pastor of the Roxbury Presbyterian Church in 2014. [41]
• Dianne "Lady Di" Walker.
• Joan Wallace-Benjamin, Ph.D.
• Karen Holmes Ward.
• Frances Ellen Watkins
• Georgette Watson.
• Dorothy West.
• Phillis Wheatley Peters.
• Rev. Gloria White-Hammond, MD.
• Senator Dianne Wilkerson, JD.
• Carolyn Wilkins.
• Frederica M. Williams.
• Fannie Barrier Williams.
• Mary Evans Wilson.
• Bishop Nellie C. Yarborough.