Jean Colman, a longtime leader in the national movement for dignity and fair treatment for low-income women, died early May 8, after a nine-year battle with breast cancer. She was 59.
In 1984 Colman took a job as an organizer Welfare Rights Organizing Coalition, becoming executive director in 1987. Under Colman's leadership, WROC won improvements such as higher-education opportunities for welfare recipients and increases in monthly welfare grants to help families keep up with inflation. She retired in 2007. ...