Josephine Butler was born in Brandywine, Maryland, and lived her life in the greater Washington, D.C. area. Butler’s grandparents were enslaved and she grew up with parents who were sharecroppers, so she strived to make the world a better place to live for hardworking people and children. Butler was an amazing community activist, organizer and political heavy-weight. She was involved in almost every critical political movement that occurred in the greater Washington, D.C. area. Because Black women were relegated to more menial jobs during the segregation and Jim Crow era, there were multitudes of black female laundresses. In order to support the development of rights and respect for black women in the domestic field, Butler founded the first union that supported Black female laundry workers in the city. She co-founded the D.C. Statehood Movement with Julius Hobson. She was a staunch proponent of city parks and recreation places for families, children and communities throughout the city. Butler’s work led to the desegregation of city schools, establishment of safe spaces for children, and the development health care reform. Butler founded the D.C. Chapter of the Paul Robeson Friendship Association and the Friends of Meridian Hill Association. Butler was very close to Hobson as well as Hilda Mason.