Black Enterprise; Published By: Stacy Jackson
A little Black girl magic added to a passion for math equaled major success for Gloria Ford Gilmer, the first Black woman to have research in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress.
The Division displays around 12,000 total collections. Josh Levy, a historian at the Library of Congress, inquired about acquiring Gilmer’s research last year. The mathematician’s daughter, Jill Gilmer, didn’t hesitate.
She said to GMA3, “When the Library of Congress reached out to me, I was blown away…it was interesting to see that all the work that she had done was being recognized. It was really an honor.”
Gilmer made her mark in her hometown of Milwaukee, where she was the first Black math instructor for the Milwaukee Public Schools system and the first Black math instructor at Milwaukee Area Technical College, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She was also the first Black person to serve on the board of governors for the Mathematical Association of America. Read more
