Alice Ball

Alice Augusta Ball overcome the racial and gender barriers of her time to become the first woman and African-American to graduate with a master’s degree from the University of Hawaii. At 23 she became the first woman chemistry teacher there. As a research chemist she was able to create an injectable leprosy treatment using oil… Continue reading Alice Ball

Juliette Derricotte

Juliette Derricotte was an American educator and political activist whose death stemming from being refused treatment after a fatal car accident in Chattanooga, Tennessee sparked outrage in the African-American community. At the time of her death she was Dean of Women at Fisk University. In 1931, Juliette Derricotte was driving three students to her parents’… Continue reading Juliette Derricotte

Elizabeth Jennings Graham

Almost a century before Rosa Parks became known for desegregatiing the Mongomery bus system, Elizabeth Jennings Grahm desegregated the private NYC streetcars. Elizabeth Grahm was born free in 1827. She was a teacher who started the first African-American kindergarten in New Yourk City. It was in her home and operated until her death in 1901.… Continue reading Elizabeth Jennings Graham