Anna Arnold Hedgeman (July 5, 1899 – January 17, 1990) was an African-American civil rights leader, politician, educator, and writer.

Under President Harry Truman, Hedgeman served as executive director of the National Council for a Permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission, having worked on his presidential campaign.

[3] In 1918, Hedgeman graduated from Anoka High School and continued her education at Hamline University, a Methodist College in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

[3][4] In 1936, she married Merritt Hedgeman, a musician with a particular interest in African-American folk music and opera, in New York City.

Hedgeman also served as the executive director of the National Committee for a Permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission, Assistant Dean of Women at Howard University, associate editor for the New York Age, a consultant for the public relations department of Fuller Products Company, and on Harry Truman's 1948 presidential campaign.

[7] Hedgeman served as teacher, lecturer, and consultant to numerous educational centers, boards, and colleges and universities, particularly in the area of African-American studies.

[2] In 1963, she began serving as Coordinator of Special Events for the Commission of Religion and Race of the National Council of Churches.

[8] Hedgeman was the author of The Trumpet Sounds (1964), The Gift of Chaos (1977), and articles in numerous organizational publications, newspapers, and journals.

Hedgeman became a consultant on racial problems for New York City's Department of Welfare during the Great Depression, during which time it was called the Emergency Relief Bureau.

In this role she investigated major racial issues, including the continuation of underground slavery through the Bronx Slave Markets, as well as studying the living conditions of minorities and encouraging civil service appointments for these under-represented citizens.

Following an acclaimed swearing in at city hall, it appeared that the mayor had no intention of employing Hedgeman to any position.

She responded by assembling allies throughout the African-American press, in order to put Wagner's potential reneging under the public eye.