• Rackley was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico. She began painting after receiving encouragement from members of the Taos Society of Artists.

• The artist spent much of her career helping to bring about social change. While working as a New Deal artist in New York during the mid-1930s, she became an official of the Artists Union, the de facto bargaining agent for government artists.

• During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) Rackley went to Spain to assist the first American medical unit affiliated with the Lincoln Battalion, a volunteer US force that sought to help the Spanish government defend against a nationalist coup by General Francisco Franco.

• When World War II broke out, Rackley moved to California to work as a designer for Moore Drydock shipyard in Oakland. She led efforts to unionize shipyard employees. The artist left Moore Drydock to work for Kaiser Shipyards after she became frustrated about an incident of racial discrimination in hiring.