Gertrude Hadley Jeannette

Gertrude Hadley Jeannette recently passed away in New York City at the age of 103. Jeanette was born in Urbana, Arkansas, she attended Dunbar High School, and she eloped to New York City with Joe Jeanette II, a prizefighter and president of the Harlem Dusters motorcycle club. Gertrude Jeannette had a long and storied life: she was a bodyguard for actor, singer and activist Paul Robeson; she was the first woman to get a motorcycle license to drive in New York City; she was the first woman to work a licensed taxicab in New York City; she wrote, directed, produced, and appeared in a number of plays, including roles on Broadway; and she had a film and television career that included a credit in the iconic 1971 film Shaft.