Vicki Garvin, an African American activists in the Communist Party, played a leading role in the black freedom struggle. Born Victoria Holmes on December 18, 1915 in Virginia to working class parents, she moved north with her family in hopes of better opportunities and education. They arrived in Harlem just as the Depression hit and her parents faced limited job opportunities and struggled to support the family. Vicki, passionate about finding the intersection between labor and race, graduated from Hunter College and became an active member of the CIO’s United Office and Professionals Workers of America Union. She remained politically active by joining the “Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work” protest to gain employment for black workers in businesses along 125th Street in Harlem. Garvin moved to Northampton, Massachusetts in 1940 and studied Marxist economics in Smith College. After World War II, Garvin joined the left-leaning Fair Employment Practices Committee and became immersed in Communist Party supported activism. Garvin was a strong advocate for black women workers and black liberation as well as a powerful voice of resistance to emerging Cold War politics. Her choice to join the Communist Party reflected her own idealism and growing political commitment to working class struggles. She died on June 11, 2007 at the age of 91 after fighting a long illness.