Black women’s contributions to human’s rights history are too often overlooked in our nation’s history books. Yet these women played a vital role in the fight to secure rights and protections for all people—regardless of race, gender, class, and nationality. During the 20th century, a cadre of Black women in the United States were at the forefront of the struggle for human rights. Their demands for citizenship rights were tied to their calls for human rights, which extended well beyond the borders of the United States.[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]Consider for example the story of Aretha B. McKinley. Although not widely known in American history, she left an indelible mark on the nation’s capital as a savvy lobbyist and human rights activist. During the 1960s, she worked at the grassroots level to advocate for rights for Black Americans as well as other marginalized groups. Her life’s work helped to illuminate how Black women in the 20th century viewed the fights for civil and human rights as inseparable. As a result, women like McKinley were not only involved in efforts to expand civil rights at home but they were active in the fight to extend human rights to all people across the globe.Read More: The Unsung Power of Maya Angelou’s ActivismThough born and raised in Virginia, McKinley’s commitment to human rights was shaped by decades of social and political engagement in New York City. She had relocated to Harlem in the 1930s, where she became active in the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority and later in the Consumers’ Protective Committee, an organization established in 1947 to challenge high prices Harlem stores often charged residents for poor-quality goods. Two years later, she was elected recording secretary for the New York chapter of the NAACP and later headed its National Emergency Civil Rights Mobilization, which worked to convince others of the need for civil rights legislation.In her new roles, McKinley galvanized Black women across the country with a focus on challenging segregation, unfair labor practices, and unequal housing.In 1959, McKinley became the first woman elected to serve as national director of the American Council on Human Rights (ACHR) and it was there that she publicly advocated for the importance of protecting and defending the rights and freedom of all people. Under her leadership, the group hosted community workshops on topics such as taking on leadership, voting, health, housing, and employment—a reflection of their commitment to educate the public. One ACHR workshop on leadership, held at Howard University, provided training for college students interested in civil rights activism and global affairs.While there was no denying that Black Americans could make demands of the state based on the promises of the Constitution, the reframing of these demands as human rights underscored both the gravity of the concerns as well as their global implications. The fight for human rights was an urgent demand that called upon all people—regardless of race, socioeconomic background, gender, or nationality—to fight against the subjugation of Black people everywhere.During a time when Black people in the South were disenfranchised by white supremacist violence, poll taxes, literacy tests, and other discriminatory tactics, McKinley implored African Americans to resist at every turn. “If something is not done now,” McKinley explained during an August 1960 press conference, “millions of intelligent voters will be denied the privilege of casting their ballots in November. This is not a party issue; it is a national issue. The denied vote cuts across party lines and it is about time something was done about it.” In a subsequent speech, she called on attendees to “promote the supreme worth of every human being; to defend and promote the dignity of man; to defend and promote the use of democratic method in all human relationships.”In October 1960s, McKinley and her colleagues in the ACHR held their Fourth Annual Workshop, which drew 500 activists, college students, and politicians from across the country. Senator John F. Kennedy, then a candidate for U.S. president, attended the gathering held at Howard University. The ACHR voted unanimously to maintain a focus on international human rights through a resolution to ensure the “forthright execution of existing (U.S.) laws designed to protect human rights.” Workshop attendees also reaffirmed their support of the U.N. Charter, which upheld the principles of inherent human dignity, equality, and inalienable rights.Under her guidance, McKinley maintained the ACHR’s commitment to human rights activism. In addition to its public support of anti-apartheid movements in South Africa, the ACHR continued to emphasize the significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It called on U.S. leaders to not only accept the declaration but apply it to foreign policy. McKinley and her colleagues also advocated for the end of colonialism and called for expanded rights for marginalized groups across the globe.Read More: The Black Panther Party’s Under-Appreciated Legacy of Communal LoveAfter parting ways with the ACHR in December 1960 over interpersonal disagreements, McKinley continued to work in foreign affairs and human rights advocacy, deepening global networks for political activists in the process. In 1968, as an educational and cultural Exchange officers in the State Department, McKinley hosted a luncheon for Togolese politician Marguerite Adjoavi Thompson Trenou, then secretary-general of the Chamber of Commerce of Togo, at the UN headquarters in New York. An advocate for the rights of women and girls, Trenou served as secretary-general of the Togolese women’s union during the 1960s.Such social events opened spaces for McKinley to mingle with world leaders and reaffirmed her commitment to human rights activism, her interest in global affairs, and her desire for African Americans to engage with Black people throughout the world. Her social events not only created spaces for influential African Americans in the city to meet world leaders, but they also provided a vehicle for these visitors to deepen their knowledge about the challenges facing people of African descent in the United States.McKinley’s story, which has fallen through the cracks of U.S. history, offers a glimpse of the many ways Black women in the United States helped to shape human rights during the 20th century. For McKinley and many other Black women during the 1960s, the interconnected struggles for civil and human rights were always at the heart of their political activities. These women, many of whom worked in relative obscurity for all their lives, labored to redefine the rights and dignity of all people. Their stories will no doubt inspire a new generation of activists in the United States and throughout the globe to take up the mantle of human rights advocacy in these troubling times.Keisha N. Blain is a Professor of History and Africana Studies at Brown University. She is a Guggenheim, Carnegie, and New America Fellow, and the author of Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights (W.W. Norton, 2025).Made by History takes readers beyond the headlines with articles written and edited by professional historians. Learn more about Made by History at TIME here. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors.