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Feb 1, 2022 · 21 Black Women Who Shaped History. Celebrate Black History. These 21 Black women changed history forever. Meet the famous females who defied the odds, pushed boundaries and paved the...
- Jone Johnson Lewis
- Marian Anderson (Feb. 27, 1897–April 8, 1993) Contralto Marian Anderson is considered one of the most important singers of the 20th century. Known for her impressive three-octave vocal range, she performed widely in the U.S. and Europe, beginning in the 1920s.
- Mary McLeod Bethune (July 10, 1875–May 18, 1955) Mary McLeod Bethune was an African American educator and civil rights leader best known for her work co-founding the Bethune-Cookman University in Florida.
- Shirley Chisholm (Nov. 30, 1924–Jan. 1, 2005) Shirley Chisholm is best known for her 1972 bid to win the Democratic presidential nomination; she was the first Black woman to make this attempt in a major political party.
- Althea Gibson (Aug. 25, 1927–Sept. 28, 2003) Althea Gibson started playing tennis as a child in New York City, winning her first tennis tournament at age 15.
- Daisy Bates: A Civil Rights Hero. Daisy Bates was a complex, unconventional and largely forgotten heroine of the civil rights movement who led the charge to desegregate the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., in 1957.
- Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock & Roll. Despite not being a household name today, Sister Rosetta Tharpe is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
- Harriet Tubman. "I was conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't say – I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger."
- Maya Angelou. Learn how Dr. Maya Angelou began writing and reading poetry as a child.
- Rosa Parks. Best known for her refusal to leave her seat for a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks sparked a citywide boycott of buses that led to a law desegregating buses across the nation.
- Marjorie Joyner. Marjorie was a beauty salon owner, who changed the game of hair styling when she invented the “permanent wave machine.” Her perm machine simplified the process of straightening and curling hair for all women; it allowed women to achieve a long-lasting style without the hassle of heating up numerous rods in an oven.
- Mary Kenner. Mary received five patents in her lifetime for household items including the sanitary belt (maxi pads), the bathroom tissue holder, a back washer that mounted on the wall of the shower and the carrier attachment on walkers for disabled people.
- Ruane Jeter. Ruane was most notably the inventor of the toaster, but along with the help of Sheila Lynn Jeter, they created many items of stationery. This included sheathed scissors, the stapler, a staple remover and many multi-purpose office supplies.
- The name to know: Isabel de Olvera, explorer, early 1600s. Her story in brief: Isabel de Olvera was born in Querétaro, Mexico, in the late 1500s to an African father and an Indian mother.
- The name to know: Monemia McKoy, mother of twins Millie and Christine, 1830’s – ? Her story in brief: Enslaved couple Monemia and Jacob McKoy lived in North Carolina in the mid-19th century.
- The name to know: Frances Thompson, transgender advocate, 1840 – 1876. Her story in brief: Although born into slavery in Alabama and assigned male at birth, by the age of 26 Frances Thompson was freed and living according to her own gender identity in a booming Black community in Memphis, Tennessee.
- The name to know: Augusta Savage, artist, 1892 – 1962. Image credit: Archives of American Art, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Her story in brief: Born to the family of a conservative Methodist minister in Green Cove Springs, Florida, Savage exhibited a passion and a talent for art from an early age, in particular for molding objects out of clay.
Feb 11, 2016 · Black History Month was established to recognize and honor African Americans’ contributions to American history and culture. Too often, women are not included on lists of notables and role models. Here are five African American women who changed history.
Jan 25, 2023 · 1. Althea Gibson. Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images. Unless you're a longtime tennis fan, you may not be familiar with Althea Gibson, who was the first Black woman to...
