Ruth Marion Batson (née Watson; 1921–2003) was an American civil rights activist and outspoken advocate of equal education.
[1] She served as Chairman of the Public Education Sub-Committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1953.
[4] Inspired by her mother's interest in civil rights, Batson became the chairman of the Public Education Sub-Committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1953.
[5] She accused school administrators with ignoring "a basic American concept that equal opportunity should be available to all people regardless of race, color, or creed.
[2] After serving as chairwoman of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination from 1963 to 1966, she helped launched the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) voluntary desegregation program.
[9] She was the founder in 1969 of the Ruth M. Batson Educational Foundation, which provided grants to African American college students for tuition and emergency needs.
[4] More recently, Batson had directed the revitalized Museum of African American History in Beacon Hill, stepping down in 1990.