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Dec 12, 2020 · Black women have made important contributions to the United States throughout its history. However, they are not always recognized for their efforts, with some remaining anonymous and others becoming famous for their achievements.
- 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.
Dec 30, 2021 · 36 Black women who changed American history | The stories of all these women point to a uniquely American experience of perseverance and resilience in the face of overwhelming odds.
- Althea Gibson. I always wanted to be somebody. If I made it, it's half because I was game enough to take a lot of punishment along the way and half because there were a lot of people who carried me.
- Marian Wright Edelman. If you don't like the way the world is, you have an obligation to change it. Just do it one step at a time.
- Mary Jane Patterson. [Mary Jane Patterson] was a woman with a strong, forceful personality, and showed tremendous power for good in establishing high intellectual standards in the public schools.
- Gloria Richardson. We weren't going to stop until we got it, and if violence occurred, then we would have to accept that. - Gloria Richardson, May 13, 1964.
Feb 23, 2019 · Kenyan environmental and political activist Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in the United States....
Dec 7, 2021 · Educator and activist Mary McLeod Bethune became the highest ranking African-American woman in government in 1936 when President Franklin Roosevelt named her as director of Negro Affairs of the...
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Aug 29, 2022 · These Black Women Changed America. Thirty years ago, photographer Brian Lanker made indelible images of historical lives; a new exhibition says their stories have never seemed more relevant.
