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Feb 10, 2020 · Biography.com. Bridget Mason. (August 15, 1818 – January 15, 1891) Bridget Mason (aka "Biddy") was a Black woman slave who became one of the richest women in Los Angeles. She was a real estate mogul and a midwife. She later gained her freedom thanks to the help of her white son-in-law, Charles Owens.
Patricia Roberts Harris, the first black woman to be appointed a diplomat during the Johnson administration, explained during her swearing-in ceremony that being first is double-edged. It sounds ...
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Mar 22, 2023 · 7 things you didn't know were invented by Black women. Valerie Thomas, the inventor of the illusion transmitter, and Patricia Bath, the brains behind the Laserphaco probe. NASA/Interim Archives ...
- Josephine Baker
- Oprah Winfrey
- Mae Jemison
- Shirley Chisholm
- Bessie Coleman
- Elizabeth Freeman
- Harriet Tubman
- Ida B. Wells
- Rosa Parks
- Maya Angelou
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker's success as a Vaudeville dancer took her France, where she was lauded as one of the country's most popular performers. During World War II, Baker became a spy for the French resistance, passing on critical Nazi information to aid the war effort. Upon returning to the U.S., Baker found herself the target...
Oprah Winfrey began her career competing in beauty pageants before transitioning to broadcasting, where she found success as host of the Chicago TV talk show "People Are Talking." Her popularity led Winfrey to launch "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which aired for 25 years and established Winfrey as a media mogul. After founding her own production compan...
Born the youngest of three children in Decatur, Alabama, Mae Jemison was a student of science before going on to serve as a medical officer in the Peace Corps and establish her own practice as a doctor. Inspired by the Apollo moon trips but discouraged by the lack of female astronauts, Jemison pivoted careers and in 1987, applied to NASA where, out...
Shirley Chisholm became a household name after becoming the first Black woman to be elected to the United States Congress in 1968. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Chisholm served seven terms in Congress and made inroads by helping to expand the food stamp program. She also introduced legislation to benefit racial and gender inequality, and became a...
A Texas native, Bessie Coleman dreamt of flying planes. However, as a Black woman in the 1920s, getting her pilot's license in the U.S. was nothing short of impossible. That didn't stop the would-be aviator who, in the face of adversity, learned to speak French, then left to train in France, where Black people were permitted to become aviators. Wit...
Freeman, also known as Mumbet, was a nurse and midwife who successfully sued Massachusetts for her freedom in 1781, becoming the first African American enslaved woman to win a freedom suit in the state. Her suit helped lead to the permanent abolition of slavery in the state of Massachusetts.
American abolitionist Harriet Tubman is best known for her efforts to move slaves to liberation in the Underground Railroad, a network of antislavery activists. Her legacy is indelible in the movement to abolish slavery, as she is documented to have made approximately 13 trips through the Underground Railroad, leading dozens of slaves to freedom an...
Ida B. Wells was a prominent Black investigative journalist, educator and activist in the early civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), and led a powerful anti-lynching crusade in the U.S. in the 1890s.
Rosa Parks, a trailblazer known for her courageous participation in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, ignited the movement against racial segregation on public transit. Her defiance to give up her seat led to her arrest on Dec. 1, 1955, but led to revolutionary change. The United States Congress has since honored her as “the first lady of civil rights” a...
Maya Angelouhas a distinct voice as a Black writer and activist. She left a legacy with her large body of work, including memoirs, poems, essays and plays. She rose to fame in 1969 after the publication of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” one of her autobiographies detailing her early years as a young Black woman.
- 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.
Feb 25, 2021 · In the US, the stories of a select few Black women — Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Ida B. Wells, to name a few — seem to circulate on a regular rotation in school classrooms, inspirational calendars and social media memes. While these women’s contributions to history are incredibly important, there are countless other Black ...
Mar 20, 2024 · In addition to setting trends, Black women like Madame C.J. Walker, Naomi Sims, Christina Jenkins, and more used their creativity to create ingenious beauty products, tools, and styling methods ...
