Eleanor Ragsdale

Eleanor Dickey Ragsdale (February 23, 1926 – May 5, 1998) was an American educator, entrepreneur, and activist in the Civil Rights Movement in the Phoenix area. In 2023, Ragsdale was inducted into the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame.

Early life Eleanor Dickey was born February 23, 1926 in Collingdale, Pennsylvania. She completed high school in Darby, Pennsylvania, and enrolled at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated in 1947 with a degree in education.

Shortly after graduating, Dickey relocated to Phoenix, Arizona to accept a position as a kindergarten teacher at Dunbar Elementary School.

In 1962, Ragsdale's brother, William Dickey, noted that two Phoenix stores were particularly hostile to Black people. In response, the Ragsdales led over one hundred black Phoenicians in a protest match on January 27, 1962 to protest Woolworth's discriminatory practices.

Later that year, Eleanor helped lead the call for legislation prohibiting discrimination in places of public accommodation. She wrote to and met with law makers, raised money to support the NAACP, PUL, and GPCCU, and picketed.

Collaboration with the Mexican American community In the 1960s Ragsdale collaborated with Grace Gill-Olivarez to desegregate schools and to promote better educational opportunities for Mexican American, African American, and other minority students. "Eleanor Ragsdale helped Gill-Olivarez solicit funds to defray the costs for a number of Mexican American high school students to attend evening job-training workshops, and she also worked with administrators at ASU to establish financial aid programs for both incoming African American and Mexican American students". Yet, even as Ragsdale and her colleagues won a victory in desegregating Phoenix schools in 1953, enrollment of white students in these schools dropped, leaving minority students in underfunded, poorly administered schools which created new racial tensions between the African American and Mexican American communities. Despite Ragsdale's efforts, no unified coalition was able to form.

Personal life Between 1951 and 1957, the Ragsdales had four children, three girls and a boy.

In 1972, Eleanor survived a near-fatal accident, almost losing her left eye. Following the accident, the Ragsdales became world travelers, visiting Iran, China, and other parts of the Middle East and Asia.

After Lincoln died, Eleanor continued to work for family interests and racial inclusion. She died on May 5, 1998.