Ruth L. Bennett
Ruth L. Bennett (née Bronner), born June 21, 1866, in Summerville, Georgia, was a pioneering social reformer whose work transformed Chester, Pennsylvania. After arriving in Chester in 1914 with her husband, Rev. Jacob R. Bennett, she pursued postgraduate studies in social service at the University of Pennsylvania. Witnessing the unmet needs of African American women migrating north during the Great Migration, she founded the Ruth L. Bennett Home for Women and Girls in 1917 and later opened Chester’s first Black-led day nursery. In 1936, she was honored with the city’s Kiwanis Award. Bennett also represented Pennsylvania through the Federation of Negro Women’s Clubs and was active in the Chester chapter of the NAACP. She died in Chester on February 24, 1947.
“Bennett Club in Welfare Work Twenty-five Years.” Chester Times, 22 July 1938, pp. 1, 6. NewspaperArchive.com, https://newspaperarchive.com/search/location/us/pa/chester/chester-times.
Bennett Home for Women & Girls. Swarthmore College. Chester Digital Project, https://chesterdigital.domains.swarthmore.edu/thetour/bennett-home-for-women-girls/.
“Burn Mortgage at Bennett Home: Negro Leader Will Be Honored Tonight for Community Work.” Chester Times, 8 June 1939, p. 8. NewspaperArchive.com, https://newspaperarchive.com/search/location/us/pa/chester/chester-times.
“Kiwanis Medal for Mrs. Bennett.” Chester Times, 29 Jan. 1936, pp. 1, 4. NewspaperArchive.com, https://newspaperarchive.com/search/location/us/pa/chester/chester-times.
Ruth L. Bennett. Swarthmore College. Chester Digital Project, https://chesterdigital.domains.swarthmore.edu/RLBennett/.
“Ruth L. Bennett Dies; Founded Home for Girls.” Chester Times, 24 Feb. 1947, pp. 1–2. NewspaperArchive.com, https://newspaperarchive.com/search/location/us/pa/chester/chester-times.
Smith, Eric Ledell. “The 1917 Race Riot in Chester, Pennsylvania.” Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, vol. 75, no. 2, 2008, pp. 171–96. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27778829.