Margaret Bush Wilson is a St. Louis lawyer and civil rights activist. She graduated from Lincoln University Law School in 1943 and became the second woman of color to practice law in Missouri, specializing in real estate law. She was instrumental in the 1948 Supreme Court ruling that held housing covenants unenforceable. In 1962, Wilson became president of the Missouri National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Starting in 1975, she served nine terms as chair of the national NAACP. She was the first woman to hold this post. An inspiring leader for several generations, Wilson has said, “If you’ve got character, you’ve got competence, you’ve got accomplishment, these are the only things that make you somebody in this country. It’s got nothing to do with where you came from or who your parents were.”

Unless otherwise noted, text and images © 2007, State Historical Society of Missouri