On Saturday, Nov. 12, the Professional Organization of Women (POW) will host its first annual Frankie Muse Freeman Scholarship Gala at the Doubletree Hotel in Westport Plaza.
Having grown up in the Jim Crow-era South, Freeman worked her way through Howard University Law School and became a leading St. Louis civil rights attorney. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed her as the first woman to serve as the commissioner of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
POW’s scholarship, named in honor of Mrs. Freeman’s legacy, marks the next step in the organization’s commitment to professional development and community service. Proceeds from the gala will fund the scholarship, which will be given to women who are considered non-traditional students. These women are pursuing an education in spite of personal and economic hardships.