occurred. But Richardson believed that the people who had been provoked and had endured generations of segregation were going to resist until change was achieved in Cambridge. Such leaders as Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis urged Richardson to be “less confrontational and more compromising,” but Richardson refused to comply. She disagreed strongly with King, Kennedy, and many others who mistakenly thought that she was an advocate for violence. She believed in nonviolence as a first step in demonstrations, but encouraged physical force as self-defense if confronted with threats. People around her noted that if Richardson was on “your side, you didn’t need anybody else”. Many Black church leaderes distanced themselves from Richardson, and some movement and local civil rights activists also avoided associating with her. Some people believed her political approach was too intense, and her movement began to falter. Richardson was criticized by most radical Black male activists, who tended to be conservative in terms of gender roles. Her actions were perceived to be inappropriate for a woman. Richardson’s contribution helped to reshape the stereotypical role of women. She expanded the range of female involvement. She laid the groundwork for African Americans as female politicians and feminists, and people of the LGBTQ community. Richardson demonstrated that even women who lived in small towns have a voice. As a result of this movement, federal dollars began to flow to Cambridge facilities, including parks, schools, streets, public housing, and other projects. However, discrimination against the Black community continued despite the legal end of segregation. Later life A month after the meeting with Governor Tawes, Richardson left Cambridge for New York City. She married Frank Dandridge, a photographer she had become acquainted with during the demonstrations, and settled with him there. In New York, Richardson worked at an advertising agency before taking a job with the New York City Department for the Aging. She helped ensure businesses complied with laws that affected seniors. Richardson also was advising the Black Action Federation (BAF), CNAC’s successor. BAF was established by former CNAC members because they felt that Cambridge’s “white power system was still impeding progress in all areas of Black residents’ lives”. While largely retiring from public life, she worked with Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited and Associated Community Teams. She retired in 2012 at age 90. In an interview with Gil Noble in 1982, Richardson explained her passion about helping student demonstrators