Dr. Hawa Abdi Dhiblawe was a Somali human rights activist and Somalia’s first female obstetrician and gynecologist. She was the founder and chairperson of the non-profit Dr. Hawa Abdi Foundation (DHAF), which provides healthcare, education, shelter and access to sanitation to displaced families.
As she walked to school each day, Autherine Lucy was always in danger. She was the first African American student to attend the University of Alabama, and many white people did not want her to attend. On her third day of school, she had to lock herself in a classroom after an angry group of white students chased her and threw rotten eggs. However, thirty-two years later, Lucy was honored by the same college that tried to keep her from attending.
As the first African American woman to receive a Medical Degree (MD) in the United States, Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler challenged the prejudice that prevented African Americans and women from pursuing medical careers.
The founder of the Mississippi Health Project and the Southeast Neighborhood House, Dr. Dorothy Ferebee provided healthcare to the most vulnerable members of the African American community. She advocated for public health, civil rights, and women’s rights in her roles as president of the National Council of Negro Women, an international delegate for the U.S. government, and a pioneering obstetrician.
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of going to the back of the bus, which was designated for African Americans, she sat in the front. When the bus started to fill up with white passengers, the bus driver asked Parks to move. She refused. Her resistance set in motion one of the largest social movements in history, the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
When Daisy Bates was three years old her mother was killed by three white men. Although Bates, was just a child, her biological mother’s death made an emotional and mental imprint on her. The unfortunate death forced Bates to confront racism at an early age and pushed her to dedicate her life to ending racial injustice.
World renowned performer, World War II spy, and activist are few of the titles used to describe Josephine Baker. One of the most successful African American performers in French history, Baker’s career illustrates the ways entertainers can use their platforms to change the world.
Toni Morrison is one of the most celebrated authors in the world. In addition to writing plays, and children’s books, her novels have earned her countless prestigious awards including the Pulitzer Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. As the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, Morrison’s work has inspired a generation of writers to follow in her footsteps.
Cecily Tyson dedicated her career to portraying resilient African American women on the stage and the screen. She brought humanity and dignity to the roles she played, showing vast audiences that “Black is Beautiful.”
Civil rights pioneer and campaigner, Ruby Hurley is most known for her work with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in the 1950s and 1960s. She was an advocate for non-violent legislative activities, which advocated equality for all.