Calendar

Senator

"She sanging like the rent is due!"

Grimke (1837-1914) hailed from a triumvirate of intellectual and abolitionist families: born into the prestigious Forten family, she later married into the equally renowned Grimke family, and shared familial ties with the influential Purvis family. She was an activist, educator, and a diarist whose published works gave rare insight into the life and perspective of a free Black woman in the North, pre-civil war.

Bloody Sunday, Alabama.

“My cause was the cause of freedom and equality for myself and for my people and I’d rather be a corpse than a coward.”

Jackson was a civil rights activist, social worker, and journalist who played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement.

Tennis and golf pro, Gibson was the first black woman to compete in the U.S. National Championships (now known as the U.S. Open) in 1950. In 1951, she became the first Black player to compete at Wimbledon and she was the first Black woman to compete professionally on the LPGA Tour.

NASA

Civil Rights Non-Violent Activist

Federal Theatre Project

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom where Martin Luther King Jr's I Have a Dream speech took place.

Tyus was the first person to retain the 100m Olympic title.

Artist!

Clayton is a retired broadcasting executive, talk show host, philanthropist and lifelong civil rights activist and leader. She worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. She has remained committed to honoring and advancing the cause of racial equality and empowering African American communities throughout her career.

Wow!

Luna was the first black woman to appear on the cover of Vogue Magazine when, in 1966, she appeared on the cover of British Vogue.

Maynor (1910-1996) was an international concert soprano, the first African American to sing at a US President’s Inauguration (Harry Truman, 1949), and the Founder of the Harlem School of Arts.

Entomologist nicknamed “the termite lady” for her pioneering work in termite biology, behavior, and control methods. Her groundbreaking work revolutionized the pest control industry.

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Clubwoman

Mamie (1885-1977), was an Educator and Photography studio manager.

Hutson (1914-1998) was an educator, archivist, and curator at the New York Public library - the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Physician, OBGYN

Journalist

Activist and Educator

Mathematician, aeronautical engineer, "human computer", and data analyst who worked at NASA for nearly 40 years. She was one of the "Hidden Figures" who made significant contributions to NASA's space program and she became the first Black woman at NASA's Langley Research Center to be promoted to Senior Executive Service.

American Opera Soprano

Singer Actress Dancer

First Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in Mathematics.

Formidable civil rights advocate, Choir Director, Musician, and mother of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Judge Motley (1921-2005) was a woman of firsts. She was the first Black woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, to serve as a federal court judge (Southern District of New York), and to sit in the New York State Senate. She was also the first woman to hold the office of President of the Borough of Manhattan. Earlier in her career she was a law clerk to Justice Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense fund's first woman attorney. She also represented Dr. Martin Luther King and the Freedom Riders.