Willa Beatrice Player (August 9, 1909 – August 29, 2003) was an American educator, college administrator, college president, civil-rights activist, and federal appointee. Player was the first African-American woman to become president of a four-year, fully accredited liberal arts college when she took the position at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina. From 1955 to 1966, Player served as president of the historically black college during a period of heightened civil-rights activism in the South. She supported Bennett students who took part in the lengthy sit-ins started by the Greensboro Four to achieve integration of lunch counters in downtown stores. After leaving the Bennett presidency, Player was appointed in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson as the first female director of the Division of College Support in the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, serving in that role until 1986. This 1930 photograph of Player is from the archives of The Crisis.

Photograph credit: unknown; restored by Adam Cuerden