A Project of
the San Diego County Commission on the Status of Women and Girls,
the Women's Museum of California,
SDSU Women's Studies Department, and UCSD Women's Center.
Ardelia "DeDe" McClure
2003
Bridge Builder
Ardelia "DeDe" McClure, activist on behalf of women and diverse cultural, ethnic, and geographical communities, whose leadership included: Girls Club, the NAACP, National Women's Political Caucus, National Organization for Women, and many more organizations. McClure's extensive work as a community activist and leader began in the late 1960s, when she served on the Board of Directors for the Economic Opportunity Commission of San Diego County (1968-1972). Beginning in 1970 she played a major role in the Girls Club of San Diego, Inc., holding every office including president, and served on the Board of Directors. McClure also served on the Board of Directors for San Diego Model Cities Program (1970-1974) and as the first black president of the Board of Directors for the San Diego Chapter of Planned Parenthood (1971).
She was appointed by Mayor Pete Wilson to serve as the first chairperson for the San Diego Community Relations Board (1974). She was a founding member of the San Diego Chapter of the National Women's Political Caucus, serving as president in 1984, and chair of the judiciary committee on the national level in the same year. McClure was president of the Black Women's Political Forum (1978) and delegate to the Democratic National Convention (1988 and 1992). She also was a member of the Board of Directors for the San Diego Chapter of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People.
For her extraordinary commitment to social justice, DeDe McClure received honors and awards from a wide array of organizations, including the Korean Association of San Diego (1975), the Chicano Federation (1990), National Organization for Women (1989, 1997), National Women's Political Caucus (1988), Girls' Club of San Diego (1995), and San Diego Black Health Associates Children's Health and Art Festival (1998, 2000). She was also recognized in 1991 by State Senator Steve Peace. DeDe McClure's passion, skills, and leadership in building coalitions and understandings among San Diego's diverse communities made her one of the County's most influential and inspirational women.