Jane Léro

Jane Marie Apolinaire Léro (also Jeanne Léro; born February 8, 1916, Le Lamentin, Martinique – July 17, 1961, Martinique) was a feminist and communist activist from Martinique.

Biography She was born the fifth child in a family that would eventually grow to eight children. Her parents had a small mercantile business. She studied at the colonial boarding school (Pensionnat Colonial) for girls in Fort-de-France, before continuing to the lycée Schoelcher; at the time, it was unusual for a female student to choose this secondary school because it specialized in mathematics and science. Léro earned the highest honors for her work in mathematics and received her baccalauréat in mathematics in 1937 or 1938.

Because of her gender, she was unable to travel to France as a youth to receive higher education, as two of her brothers had done.

Léro opened a small store that became a meeting spot for politically active Martinicans. She began to read the literary magazine Tropiques, in which authors such as Aimé Césaire advanced new theorizations of colonization, politics, and race. Her sister-in-law Yva Léro was also a founding member. The feminist organization brought together communists and democrats and fought for causes such as social security, healthcare, education, and nutrition. It was radical in its critique of socioeconomic inequality and provided many social services for women ignored or underserved by the French government. Voting was also central to its mission. She served as its president until 1947 or 1949, when she departed for France to pursue higher education in social work.

The domestic violence response center of the Union of Women of Martinique in Fort-de-France was renamed the "Jane Léro Building" in 2002.