Our May obituaries include an internet pioneer, a Black ballerina who taught at the Bolshoi, and the first woman commissioner on the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Roberta Karmel
Lawyer who challenged orthodoxy at the SEC
In 1977, when she became the first woman to serve as a commissioner overseeing the Securities and Exchange Commission, Karmel didn’t just break a glass ceiling.
Lorraine Graves
Dancer who broke barriers for Black ballerinas
Graves developed such a mastery of ballet—a traditionally European art form—that she eventually taught young dancers at the legendary Bolshoi Academy.