Ardie Clark Halyard

Ardie A. Clark Halyard (1896–1989) was a banker, activist and first woman president of the Milwaukee chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Early life Halyard was born in Covington, Georgia. She was the daughter of a sharecropper. Halyard graduated with a degree in education from Atlanta University. In 1923, she and her husband moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Career In 1925, she and her husband co-founded the first black-owned savings and loan in Milwaukee, Columbia Savings and Loan Association. This bank allowed black people to apply for loans without facing racial discrimination.

Halyard became the first woman president of the Milwaukee chapter of the NAACP in 1951. She was also a member of the Wisconsin Governor's Commission on the Status of Women.

Legacy

In 1983 she was awarded the Public Service Recognition Award from the United Negro College Fund.

As part of her legacy, there is a park, city street and neighborhood, Halyard Park, named after her and her husband in Milwaukee.