American-Made Leaders |
#1 |
One of the first African-American women to earn a college degree, her parents were both former slaves, and she co-founded the National Association of colored Women in 1896 as a way to get African-American women involved in winning the right to vote.
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Mary Church Terrell September 23, 1863 – July 24, 1954 |
#2 |
An early activist and NAACP member who worked to free the “Scottsboro Boys” in the 1930s, this woman earned more than forty honorary doctorate degrees, hundreds of medals, and was the first living person to be honored with a holiday.
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Rosa Parks February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005 |
#3 |
She was the first Black child to desegregate and all-white elementary school in New Orleans in 1960, suffering cruel threats and mistreatment by protesters and community members who were against desegregation. She is also the recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal, an honorary degree from Tulane University.
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Ruby Bridges September 8, 1954 – Present |
#4 |
This abolitionist and civil right advocate escaped slavery in New York in 1827 and successfully sued for the return of her five-year old son, assisted in helping slaves escape to freedom, and organized Black troops and supplies for the Union Army.
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Sojourner Truth c 1791 – November 26, 1883 |
#5 |
Earning more than forty honorary doctorate degrees, and hundreds of medals and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, as an early activist and NAACP member, she refused to give up her seat to a white man on an Alabama bus in 1955. She is considered the mother of the Freedom Movement. |
Rosa Parks February 4, 1913 - October 24, 2005 |
Celebrities, Then and Now |
#1 |
This South African born singer, humanitarian, and Civic Rights activist immigrated to the US in 1960 after gaining popularity as a singer and actress for her role in the anti-apartheid film, Come Back, Africa. She continued to protest injustice through her music after moving to Guinea as a result of criticism from Whites for marrying Black Panther Stokely Carmichael.
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Miriam Makeba March 4, 1932 – November 9, 2008 |
#2 |
Starting her dance career locally and quickly becoming the highest paid chorus girl in Vaudeville, she was the first Black person to become a world-class dancer and star in a major motion picture. As a Civil Rights movement contributor, she refused to perform for segregated crowds and spoke at the March on Washington by the side of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. |
Josephine Baker June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975 |
#3 |
As a professional singer, actress, songwriter, and comedian, she became the first African-American to win an Academy Award when she won an Oscar for her portrayal of Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939). She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was the first Black Oscar winner to be placed on a US postage stamp. |
Hattie McDaniel June 10, 1895 – October 26, 1952 |
#4 |
Considered one of the best and most influential jazz vocalists of all time, her legacy still influences jazz and many other genres to this day. She has received four posthumous Grammy awards, all for Best Historical Album. She herself was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1973.
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Billie Holiday April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959 |
#5 |
Recognized as one of the most iconic singers of all time with a career that spans over four decades, this singer, songwriter, actress, and twelve-time Grammy nominee was becaue the first African-american woman to co-host the Academy Awards in 1974. Named “Female Entertainer of the Century” by Billboard magazine and declared the most successful female music artist in history by the Guiness Book of World Records in 1993. |
Diana Ross March 26, 1944 - Present |
Nevertheless, She Resisted |
#1 |
She immigrated from Ghana to the US in the early 1920s to join the Black Nationalist movement, where she became spokesperson and director of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. She attracted audiences in the tens of thousands when speaking about the opportunities available to Black people if they moved to Africa, but was assassinated during a sermon on African-american self-improvement. |
Laura Adokor Kofi 1893 - March 8, 1928 |
#2 |
This rebel resistance leader and freedom fighter was forced into slavery in Cuba after being kidnapped from West Africa as a child. Musically inclined, she used “talking drums” to communicate coded messages with other slaves as a way to plan revolts. She led the 1843 raid that freed dozens of slaves and used a machete to forcibly overthrow Spanish landowners. |
Carolota Lukumi Unknown - 1844 |
#3 |
Treated cruelly and forced to wear a slave mask (a collar and a muzzle) made from heavy iron, she was the product of a slave-master relationship and was born with piercing blue eyes that set her apart from others. She is now seen as a protector Saint of the descendants of slaves and the poor in Brazil. |
Saint Escrava Anastacia c. 1800 - Unknown |
#4 |
Travelling thousands of mils and arrested twice, she joined a women’s branch of the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO) and received political and military training so that she could be a part of the liberation struggle in Mozambique. She organized health and child care centers, and schools while serving as an advocate for children orphaned by the war. |
Josina Muthemba Machel August 10, 1945 - April 7, 1971 |
#5 |
A writer, translator, revolutionary, and Women’s Rights activist, she is known as “Mother of the Revolution” for her role in the Angolan Independence Movement. She corresponded with Martin Luther King Jr in an effort to get ideas on how to help her country’s fight for independence from the Portuguese, and was tortured and executed after being captured for her political work in Angola |
Deolinda Rodrigues de Almeida February 10, 1939 - 1968 |
International Women of Influence |
#1 |
As the first female attorney of Dominica and only female Prime Minister, she served as head of state longer than any other Prime Minister of Dominica. She helped to found the Dominica Freedom Party in the 1 970s and her inflexible views led her to be nicknamed the “Iron Lady of the Caribbean”. |
Dame Eugenia Charles May 15, 1919 - September 6, 2005 |
#2 |
Her women’s peace movement used non-traditional tactics such as a sex strike, and threats of curses and nudity in the streets to bring an end to the Second Liberian Civil war in 2003. She was co-awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her role in peace-building efforts and the non-violent struggle for women’s rights.
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Leymah Roberta Gbowee February 1, 1972 - Present |
#3 |
The first African-American woman to be elected to the US Senate in 1992, she served as US Attorney in Chicago in 1973, served as US ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa in 1999, and campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2003 bur dropped out early in the race to join the private sector. |
Carol Mosely Braun August 16, 1947 - Present |
#4 |
Before becoming the 24th president of Liberia, she was the first woman elected as the Chair of the Economic community of West African States, a union that promotes economic integration across fifteen West African countries. She brought running water and power to parts of her country that had been without power for fifteen years, enforced a free public school system, increased wages and pensions, and greatly reduced the country’s debt. |
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf October 29, 1938 - Present |
#5 |
This Haitian-born former journalist who was appointed Governor General of Canada by Queen Elizabeth II had become the first Black person on French television news in Canada during her work as a news reporter and television host. She is the third and current (2017) Secretary-General of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, which works to promote the cultures of regions where French is the first language. |
Michaelle Jean September 6, 1957 - Present |
Champions |
#1 |
The first African-American to be promoted to principal ballerina by the American Ballet Theater, she was the recipient of many awards and authored books that empower children of color, including her 2015 book, Firebird. Unlike most ballerinas, she didn’t start ballet training early – she began dancing at the age of 13.
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Misty Copeland September 10, 1982 – Present |
#2 |
This track star, field athlete, and philanthropist ranked among the all-time greatest athletes for her talent in the long jump and heptathlon. She was voted by Sports Illustrated for Women magazine as the “Greatest Female Athlete of All Time” and co-founded Athletes for Hope, which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and support their communities. |
Jackie Joyner Kersee March 3, 1962 – Present |
#3 |
A four-time Olympic gold medal winner, she is listed on Forbes’ list of the 100 highest paid athletes and serves as Chief Sporting Officer for British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin. She also currently holds the most Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, combined. |
Serena Williams September 26, 1981 - Present |
#4 |
Originally trained as a gymnast, switching to figure skating at the age of eleven, this woman is the only Olympic figure skater to successfully land a backflip on one skate blade. She was also famous for her jumps and risky moves as well as her bold and unusually colored costumes. |
Surya Bonaly December 15, 1973 - Present |
#5 |
This track star, Olympic champion, and educator contracted polio at the age of four and lost the use of her left leg. She eventually regained her strength to become the first American woman to win three gold medals in Track and Field during the 1960 summer Olympic games in Rome. |
Wilma Rudolph June 23, 1940 - November 12, 1994 |