Born April 15, 1896, to the daughter of a former slave Mary (May) had doors opened to her that few women, let alone “working class” black women had in the early 1900s.
May became a marvelous modern woman not letting racist institutions stop her from achieving her goals. By the time of her death in 1980 she had joined the Society of Surgical Oncology, and a society to promote African American women to attend medical school.