Austin (1955) was the first Black woman to dance with the New York City Ballet (1971). She was also the first Black woman to become a principal ballerina at a major American ballet company, the Pennsylvania Ballet (1982).

Funk singer, model, futuristic fashionista, and second wife of Miles Davis, Betty was known for her raw lyrics, powerful voice, and innovative blend of funk, soul, and rock. During their brief marriage, Betty was Davis' muse and profoundly influenced his musical direction and sense of style. “Miles was pure energy, sometimes light but also dark. He was driven inspiring and also angry. Everyday married to him, was a day I earned the name Davis.”

Queen Mother Moore

Part of the New Deal Initiative

This "parade" of 10,000 on 5th Avenue was one of the first major demonstrations by the African American community. It was organized by the NAACP to address violence and discrimination and most acutely, it was a response to the East St. Louis riots of 1917.

Attorney, educator, and author, Hill (1956) is most well known for her public testimony during the 1991 Senate confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. Hill, who had worked under Thomas at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), accused him of sexual harassment.

Artist

Women’s Political Council, co-founder

Lacks is the source of the HeLa "immortal" cell line, one of the most important human cell lines in the history of medical research. Lacks's cells, taken without her knowledge or consent, transformed the landscape of modern medicine, while Lacks herself remained long deprived of recognition and recompense.

Keys v. Carolina Coach Company - A historic court ruling that struck down racial discrimination in interstate travel.

Cartoonist whose strips and panels infused fashion and refinement with social and political elements.

Mayor of D.C.

NASA Astronaut, Electrical Engineer, and the third black woman to travel into Space.

Librarian, Collector, Historian.

Dr. Jackson is the first Black woman to graduate with a doctorate in particle physics. She holds her Bachelor's degree in Physics (1968) and her Ph.D. in theoretical elementary particle physics (1973), both from MIT.

Nurse and Memoirist

Actress, Singer, Activist

On August 7, 1920 the New York Age published a story about four Black women who had been accepted by the New York Public Library for training. Catherine Latimer was one of the four. She became New York Public Library's first Black librarian.

Suffragist

International Criminal Law Attorney

Owner of Rose Meta House of Beauty in Sugar Hill & A founder of NY's only black owned commercial bank, the Freedom National Bank.

The Voice!

Actress and Singer, Lyric Sooprano

Modernly, Cooper has been referred to as the Mother of Black Feminism after her book A Voice from the South: By a Black Woman of the South sparked a new era of Black feminist thought, challenging the prevailing narratives of race, gender, and class.

Mayor of San Francisco

"It seems I was born different. At least, I always thought I was."

Artist, Educator

Opera (1890-1967)

15th Surgeon General of the United States, Pediatrician, and Public Health Administrator.

Ada Beatrice Queen Victoria Louise Virginia Smith, called "Bricktop" for her fiery red hair, led an extraordinary life and was known by many names including The Queen of Paris Nightclubs.

After suing for and being granted her freedom, Biddy became one of the first black women to own land in Los Angeles and she founded the first black church in Los Angeles, the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, in 1872. "If you hold your hand closed, nothing good can come in. The open hand is blessed, for it gives in abundance, even as it receives."