Gloria Richardson (born 1922) was a civil rights activist and leader of the Cambridge Movement in Cambridge, Maryland, in the 1960s. Richardson received a B.A. in sociology from Howard University in 1942.  The Cambridge Movement began as a civil rights effort, with activists from outside the region and black Cambridge residents sitting in at segregated movie theaters, bowling alleys and restaurants.  The movement evolved into a battle for the economic rights of Cambridge citizens, many of whom were faced with low wages and unemployment. She helped organize the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee, the only non-student-led affiliate of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. The Cambridge Movement's focus on social justice and its use of armed self-defense tactics have been cited as signaling the beginning of the Black Power phase of the civil rights movement. Richardson has worked for the National Council for Negro Women, Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited and Associated Community Teams, and the New York City Department for the Aging. 

Image: Original caption: 10/2/63-Cambrdge, MD-Mrs. Gloria Richardson, chariman of the Cambridge Action Committee, is shown during her press conference today.  Mrs. Richardson said that Negros will shift their integration drive to schools and industry, to give Cambridge officials a chance to come up with an alternative to the defeated Public Accommodations Law. Copyright: Bettmann/Corbis.