She was born on January 17, 1924 in Chicago and was the granddaughter of a freed slave.
Her father was a physician and her mother was a physical education instructor so she was naturally drawn to science.
"She remembers very distinctly looking into the microscope in her freshman year of high school was the aha moment for her," Plummer Cobb's son, R. Jonathan Cobb, said.
Cobb decided to pursue her passion for science at New York University, but she said the university initially turned down her application for a teaching fellowship because of her race.
She refused to give up and instead she traveled to NYU, convinced officials of her qualifications, and began teaching there in 1945.
"I can only imagine the hurdles she had to overcome being the first woman of color to get a biology PhD in the United States," R. Jonathan Cobb said.
Over the years, Plummer Cobb stepped into the role of Dean at both Connecticut College and Rutgers University, along with a host of other positions and accolades.
"Her appointment to the Fulbright Board, her appointment to the half dozen or so major corporation boards," R. Jonathan Cobb said. "he was very often the only woman in the room, more often the only person of color in the room or the only woman of color in the room."
In 1981, she became the first Black woman to head a university west of the Mississippi River, serving as President of California State University at Fullerton.
Her son said her proudest accomplishment was helping other young women achieve their educational dreams.
"She always strongly encouraged other people of color especially women, 'you belong in the room and what you have to say is important. It's important you always remember that you belong there,'" R. Jonathan Cobb said.
MORE ABC 7 UNITE
See more stories at abc7NY.com/unite
[Ads /]
SEND STORY IDEAS TO EYEWITNESS NEWS
Watch Here & Now
Here & Now episode archive
RESOURCES
We are also publishing resources in a range of areas, which will grow and can be found below:
Ways to Help
Black Lives Matter
Black Voters Matter Fund
NAACP
National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform
Voices of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY)
Black LGBTQIA + Migrants Project
Teaching the Next Generation
Black Lives Matter at School
Creating Space To Talk About Racism At Your School
[Ads /]
Teaching for Black Lives - Rethinking Schools
Black-Owned Bookstores in New York and New Jersey
Cafe con Libros (Brooklyn)
Grandma's Place (Harlem)
Sister's Uptown (Manhattan)
Source of Knowledge (Newark)
The Lit. Bar (Bronx)
The Little Boho Bookshop (Bayonne)
Books
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children In A Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
Podcasts
[Ads /]
1619
Black Wall Street 1921
Jemele Hill is Unbothered
Still Processing:
Movies
American Son: Available on Netflix
If Beale Street Could Talk: Available on Hulu
Just Mercy: Available on Amazon Prime
Selma: Available on Amazon Prime
The Hate U Give: Available on Amazon Prime
When They See Us: Available on Netflix
Documentaries
13th: Available on Netflix
America Inside Out with Katie Couric: Available on National Geographic
Becoming: Available on Netflix
I am Not Your Negro: Available on YouTube