Halena Wilson

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Halena Wilson (1897–April 16, 1975) was an American activist, educator, and leader in the cooperative movement based in Chicago. Born in Denver, Colorado, she grew up in public schools and later moved to Chicago with her husband, Benjamin Wilson, a railroad porter. They lived on Chicago’s South Side and had no children. Wilson was involved in several civic groups, including the Truth Seekers Liberal Church and the Order of the Eastern Star.

In the 1920s she joined the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) through her husband and quickly became a community organizer. In 1930 she was elected the first president of the Chicago Colored Women’s Economic Council, which in 1937 was renamed the Ladies Auxiliary to the BSCP by a directive from A. Philip Randolph. She led the Auxiliary until 1956. During her presidency she focused on education, writing for The Black Worker, raising scholarship funds, and encouraging local chapters to promote unionism. She was a strong supporter of cooperatives and urged members to use buying power to benefit workers.

When the Auxiliary was dissolved in 1956, Wilson stepped down as her health declined, and her duties were handed to Randolph. Her husband died in 1955; the BSCP continued paying her salary as long as she did not remarry. She died on April 16, 1975, after years in a wheelchair and battling heart disease.