WASHINGTON — We're getting uplifted with the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), who recently unveiled a plaque honoring D.C.’s Lena Santos Ferguson. She was the first African-American admitted to the organization – leading to the implementation of rules against racial discrimination in national chapters.
It's a distinction that fills her daughter, Serena Ferguson, with pride.
"This is probably one of the best days of my life," Serena Ferguson said. "My mother, my best friend, my partner in crime is being honored today by a national organization that she fought hard to get into. For her, she would have never expected honors like this."
Lena Ferguson's entry would forever change the organization for the better, according to President Pamela Wright.
"It was very important to the Daughters of the American Revolution to acknowledge Lena Ferguson's unselfish, courageous and gracious act to make us a better organization. And acknowledge that she was the catalyst that has helped us become a more diverse and inclusive," Wright said.
A fierce advocate for the Revolution’s patriots of color, Lena Ferguson was an active member of the organization, responsible for the creation of two DAR scholarships for minority students from D.C. to attend UDC’s nursing program.
Now you can visit this remarkable woman’s plague in the garden outside DAR’s national headquarters on D Street, near the National Mall.
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