Barbara Ackermann

1925 - 2020

First Woman Mayor of Cambridge Dies July 4th. Barbara Ackermann passed away during the early morning hours of July 4th, Independence Day, a resident of Kimball Farms Nursing Home in Lenox, Mass. She was 95.

A tireless advocate for the poor and the elderly, the disenfranchised and the disadvantaged, Ackermann was a true social justice warrior committed to improving the lives of others.

"She was a hero to many," says her daughter, Joan. "Her legacy lives on in Cambridge and beyond. Climb the stairs in the Cambridge City Hall and on the first landing you'll see "The Barbara Ackermann Room," dedicated to the city's first woman mayor.

Born in Stockholm, Sweden on March 1, 1925, the daughter of a foreign consul, Ackermann grew up in Ireland and in France before the family moved briefly to Litchfield, Conn. in 1941 to flee the war.

At Smith College, she majored in Classics, Latin and Greek; she spoke three languages and could read four more. An aspiring writer, Ackermann was a proofreader and copyeditor in New York where she met her husband, Paul Kurt Ackermann, at an outdoor Oscar Levant concert. They were married in 1946 and soon settled in Cambridge where he pursued his PhD at Harvard and became a Professor of German Literature at Boston University.

With two children in the public schools, Ackermann joined the PTA and was inspired to run for School Committee, serving three terms in the 1960s. She served ten years on the City Council including two years as Mayor in 1972 and 1973. She dedicated a book she wrote about her experiences, "You The Mayor?" to her mother, Joan Hulley, whom she describes as "A passionate advocate for those in need." And to her husband whose strong pacifist principles drew her to him when they first met; he'd been a Conscientious Objector during World War II and had spent four years in active service in C.O. camps. Both were Quakers and members of Friends Meeting at Cambridge.

An early vocal critic of the Vietnam war, Ackermann is remembered for speaking truth to power. She once told the Boston Globe, "It's important to remember that the president of the United States is committing murder, arson, and armed robbery in Vietnam against the clear wishes of the American people."

After a run for governor, Ackermann focused for years on improving the health care system. She co-founded MassCare which promoted Single Payer Health Care, a precursor to Medicare For All. In 1993, the adult and pediatric clinic at the North Cambridge health Center was named The Barbara Ackermann Health Clinic for her work as Chair of the Cambridge Health Policy Board, as a member of the Governing Body of Cambridge Hospital, and as Chair of the Women's Task Force.

As passionate as she was about fighting for lower income housing, health care, equal justice and opportunity for all, "She had great joie de vivre," says Joan. "She loved traveling, sailing, swimming in hurricanes, riding her bike along the Charles River, gardening, and birding on the shores of Cape Cod and the wild German North Sea. She took the family on all kinds of adventures."

Lenox locals will recall seeing Barbara, "Bar," wheeled about town in winter, summer, spring and fall. Eager to be out and about; happy to greet new faces. "People were attracted to her kind nature, her terrific smile, disarming wit and generosity of spirit," says Joan.

At the Sunset Nursing Home, Ackermann helped establish the Sedgwick Music Fund and financed weekly concerts for fellow residents with the much beloved local pianist Karen Tchougourian.

She is survived by her younger brother, Stephen Hulley of Orcas Island, Wash; a son, Rick Ackermann of Portland, Maine; a daughter, Joan Ackermann of Mill River, Mass; and a granddaughter, Jane, also of Portland.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to "Color of Change" an organization founded by Van Jones in 2005 which focuses on economic justice, media justice and criminal justice. Or, to the Sedgwick Music Fund in care of her daughter.