Alfreda M. Duster[1] (née Barnett; September 3, 1904 – April 2, 1983) was an American social worker and civic leader in Chicago.

Alfreda Barnett was born in 1904, the youngest daughter[4] of civil rights activists Ida B.

[2][3] Duster served as a juvenile delinquency prevention coordinator for the state of Illinois and the administrator of the girls' program for underprivileged city children at Camp Illini.

[2][4][6][7] For this book, Duster won the National Council of Negro Women Award for Literary Excellence and Outstanding Humanitarian Contributions.

[3] Schultz, Rima Lunin and Adele Hast, "Women Building Chicago 1790–1990: A Biographical Dictionary", Indiana University Press, 2001.