Ethel Ray Nance Commemoration Days: Coffee and Conversation with Karen F. Nance

Author Karen F. Nance returns to Duluth as part of a week-long commemoration celebration for her noted ancestor and former Duluthian Ethel Rae Nance. The author of Ethel Ray: Living in the White, Gray and Black is available to share coffee and conversation at this event in the Family Freedom Center at Washington Center.

Thirteen members of the Ethel Ray Nance family are expected to be in Duluth from April 9-14 during the Ethel Ray Nance Commemoration and Celebration.

About Ethel Ray Nance
Ethel Ray Nance was born on April 13, 1899 in Duluth. She graduated from Duluth Central High School in 1917. She is considered one of the most important Civil Rights and Women’s Rights icons in America. She was the first African American / African heritage stenographer to work for the Minnesota Legislature, she became the first African American / African heritage female police officer on the Minneapolis Police force, followed by an appointment at the Kansas City Urban League. Afterward she relocated to the New York Urban League to serve as secretary, researcher, writer and editor for Opportunity magazine. Nance was a member of the Harlem Renaissance. She was friends with prominent scholars and writers such as Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois and others. She became secretary to DuBois, who founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. While in Duluth, Nance and family were members of St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church. Nance convinced DuBois to come to Duluth to talk about anti-lynching legislation.

Schedule of Events
April 11, 11 a.m. – Coffee and Conversation at Family Freedom Center
April 12, 11 a.m. – Mayoral Proclamation in Duluth City Hall rotunda
April 13, 1 p.m. – Book Release at Nordic Center and Prøve Gallery
April 13, 5 p.m. – Ethel Ray Nance Commemoration and Dinner Celebration at Lyric Conference Center
April 14, 11 a.m. – St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church