Barbara-Rose Collins (1939-2021)

Longtime community activist and Detroit Congresswoman Barbara-Rose Collins, seen here in a May 10, 1989 photo, died at the age of 82, her family announced in a statement on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Collins was elected to the U.S. House in 1990, becoming the first Black woman from Michigan elected to Congress.

Longtime community activist and Detroit Congresswoman Barbara-Rose Collins, seen here campaigning for congress on Aug. 9, 1990, died at the age of 82, her family announced in a statement on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Collins was elected to the U.S. House in 1990, becoming the first Black woman from Michigan elected to Congress.

Supporters of longtime community activist and Detroit Congresswoman Barbara-Rose Collins are seen here in an Aug. 24, 1990 photo. Collins's family announced in a statement on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021 that the 82-year-old died of COVID-19. Collins was elected to the U.S. House in 1990, becoming the first Black woman from Michigan elected to Congress.

Longtime community activist and Detroit Congresswoman Barbara-Rose Collins, seen here in a Dec. 4, 1990 photo, died at the age of 82, her family announced in a statement on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Collins was elected to the U.S. House in 1990, becoming the first Black woman from Michigan elected to Congress.

Longtime community activist and Detroit Congresswoman Barbara-Rose Collins, seen here voting in an April 24, 1991 photo, died at the age of 82, her family announced in a statement on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Collins was elected to the U.S. House in 1990, becoming the first Black woman from Michigan elected to Congress.

Longtime community activist and Detroit congresswoman Barbara-Rose Collins, seen here in a July 25, 1992 photo, died at the age of 82, her family announced in a statement on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Collins was elected to the U.S. House in 1990, becoming the first Black woman from Michigan elected to Congress.

From left are Windsor, Ontario Mayor Mike Hurst; Detroit Mayor Coleman Young; U.S. Rep. Barbara-Rose Collins; and Rep. John Conyers, Jr., meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 6, 1993. Young lobbied lawmakers against a train tunnel planned between Port Huron and Sarnia, Ontario. Collins died at the age of 82 on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, her family announced in a statement. She was the first Black woman from Michigan elected to Congress.

South African President Nelson Mandela gestures after a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus on Oct. 4, 1994 on Capitol Hill, Washington. From left are Rep. Barbara-Rose Collins, D-Mich., Mandela, Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., and Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., chairman of the caucus. Collins died at the age of 82, her family announced in a statement on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021.

Detroit City Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins attends a Detroit City Council meeting on Jan. 18, 2006. The longtime community activist and Detroit Congresswoman died at the age of 82, her family announced in a statement on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Collins was elected to the U.S. House in 1990, becoming the first Black woman from Michigan elected to Congress.

Council member Barbara-Rose Collins attends a council meeting at the City County Building in Detroit on Feb. 5, 2008. The longtime community activist and Detroit congresswoman died at the age of 82, her family announced in a statement on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021.

Detroit City Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins chats with members of the media outside the City Council chambers on the 13th floor of the Coleman Young Municipal Building in Detroit on Aug. 7, 2008. The longtime community activist and Detroit Congresswoman died at the age of 82, her family announced in a statement on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Collins was elected to the U.S. House in 1990, becoming the first Black woman from Michigan elected to Congress.

City Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins holds up a newspaper ad on Thursday March 5, 2009, sent to her in 2008 that she hangs in her council office in Detroit. The longtime community activist and Detroit congresswoman died at the age of 82, her family announced in a statement on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Collins was elected to the U.S. House in 1990, becoming the first Black woman from Michigan elected to Congress.