Erma Henderson. Photo by Amy Leang, Detroit Free Press.

Erma Henderson, the first black woman elected to Detroit’s city council, was a trailblazer. She received her master’s degree in social work from Wayne State University and went on to become a civil rights advocate and respected politician. Her life demonstrates social workers’ commitment to making positive changes in society. Henderson died Monday at age 92.

“She was a great woman and probably the start of a lot of women going into elected office in Detroit,” Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins told The Associated Press. “But she also was a great humanitarian as a social worker. She helped her constituents with social problems, like housing, homelessness. She helped people who were hungry. She had a great heart.”

You can read Henderson’s obituary in the Detroit Free Press by clicking here.