Did You Know? Victorine Adams Made Baltimore History
Did You Know? Victorine Quille Adams Was Baltimore’s First Black Woman Councilmember
Victorine Quille Adams made history as the first African American woman elected to the Baltimore City Council, serving four terms from 1967 to 1983. Her election marked the beginning of the continuous presence of Black women in Baltimore City politics, reshaping the city’s political landscape for generations to come.
Born April 28, 1912, at Johns Hopkins Hospital to Joseph and Estelle Tate Quille, Adams was educated in Baltimore’s historically Black public institutions, including Robert Brown Elliot School #104, Frederick Douglass High School, Coppin Normal School, and Morgan State College. From an early age, she was grounded in the belief that civic engagement was essential to progress.
In 1943, Adams co-founded the Baltimore Section of the National Council of Negro Women alongside civic leaders like Juanita Jackson Mitchell. The group advocated for equity within the military during World War II. Three years later, she launched the Colored Women’s Democratic Campaign Committee, encouraging voter registration and greater political participation among African Americans. The organization played a pivotal role in electing Harry Cole as the first African American to the Maryland State Senate and later helped secure Verda F. Welcome’s historic Senate victory in 1962.
Adams’ leadership extended beyond politics. In 1948, she opened the Charm Center, Baltimore’s only Black-owned women’s clothing store at the time, and created Project Beauty and Charm to help women build confidence and public presence. She later co-founded Woman Power, Incorporated, mobilizing Black women for political and community action.
During her 16 years on the City Council, Adams established the Baltimore Fuel Fund, a program assisting families with heating costs that became a model replicated statewide.
Though married to influential businessman William L. “Little Willie” Adams, she built her own legacy rooted in service and reform. Adams died January 8, 2006, at age 93. She left behind not just a record of accomplishments but a powerful reminder of her belief in action over attention.
“I have paid my dues to Baltimore,” she once said. “I feel I should be regarded not only as a wife but as a woman who has used her influence and affluence to better the community in which she lives.”
Did You Know? Victorine Quille Adams Was Baltimore’s First Black Woman Councilmember was originally published on 92q.com
