Month: November 2021

Wilma Rudolph, 1940-1994 Rudolph’s legacy lies in her efforts to overcome obstacles from childhood illnesses including polio to become the fastest woman runner in the world in 1960.   Rudolph is also regarded as a civil rights and women’s rights pioneer.  Further Information: National Women’s History Museum Olympics

Rosa Parks, 1913 –2005 Rosa Parks was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has called her “the first lady of civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement”. Additional Information: Wikipedia Academy of Achievement

Dr. Patricia Era Bath, 1942 –2019 Dr. Bath was an American ophthalmologist, inventor, humanitarian, and academic. She was the inventor of laser cataract surgery. Her invention was called Laserphaco Probe. She also became the first woman member of the Jules Stein Eye Institute, the first woman to lead a post-graduate training program in ophthalmology, and… Continue reading Dr. Patricia Bath

Sarah Boone, 1832-1904  Sarah Boone was an African-American inventor. She was born into slavery and barred from formal education but was educated by her grandfather at home. After she married James Boone in 1847 she was freed from involuntary servitude. Boone, a seamstress, obtained a United States patent in 1892 for her improvements to the… Continue reading Sarah Boone

Katherine Johnson, 1918 – 2020 Johnson was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. During her 33-year career at NASA and its predecessor, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks.… Continue reading Katherine Johnson

Amanda Gorman, 1998 – Gorman is an American poet and activist. Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. Gorman was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate. She published the poetry book The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough in 2015. In 2021, she delivered her poem “The Hill We… Continue reading Amanda Gorman

Dorothy “Dot” Counts, 1944- Dot Counts, Civil Rights activist, was one of the four first students to integrate the Harry Harding High School in 1956. The photo of her attending her first day inspired these painting. It also inspired James Baldwin who wrote in I Am Not Your Negro: “It made me furious and filled… Continue reading Dot Counts

Ann Cole Lowe , 1898 – 1981 Lowe was an American fashion designer and the first African American to become a noted fashion designer. Lowe’s one-of-a-kind designs were a favorite among high society matrons from the 1920s to the 1960s. She was best known for designing the ivory silk taffeta wedding dress worn by Jacqueline Bouvier when she married John F. Kennedy in 1953. Links to… Continue reading Ann Cole Lowe

Juanita Harrison, 1891 – 1967 Juanita Harrison was an African-American writer known for her autobiography, My Great, Wide, Beautiful World, which narrates her extensive travel abroad. Harrison began her travels at the age of 16, traversing the world and exploring 22 countries all by herself. This was quite rare for her time. Harrison funded her… Continue reading Juanita Harrison

Bessie Coleman, 1892 –1926 Bessie Coleman was an early American civil aviator. She was the first African-American woman and first Native American woman to hold a pilot license.  She earned her license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale on June 15, 1921, and was the first Black person to earn an international pilot’s license. Born to a… Continue reading Bessie Coleman