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Mary Antona Ebo

1924–2017

United States

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Biography

Mary Antona Ebo, FSM, (born Elizabeth Louise "Betty Lou" Ebo; April 10, 1924 – November 11, 2017) was an American nun, hospital administrator, and civil rights activist. She was the first African-American woman to head a Catholic hospital, and is known for marching with Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma in 1965, famously saying "I'm here because I'm a Negro, a nun, a Catholic, and because I want to bear witness." She was a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary.

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Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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