One of the first individuals to receive gender-affirming surgery in the United States, Simmons was also well-known in Charleston society for her marriage to John Paul Simmons. Theirs was reportedly the first documented interracial marriage in South Carolina.
Lorena Hickok, Eleanor Roosevelt’s devoted friend, mentor, and pioneering journalist, wrote Reluctant First Lady, a biography of Eleanor, and six children’s biographies.
Katharine Lee Bates was a professor and writer best remembered as the author of the lyrics to the song “America the Beautiful.” She shared a home for almost three decades with her companion, fellow academic and social reformer Katharine Coman.
Doctor in the American West who provided care to working-class and poor patients, including birth control information and abortions at a time when both were illegal.
In 1959, Lorraine Hansberry made history as the first African American woman to have a show produced on Broadway—A Raisin in the Sun. As a playwright, feminist, and racial justice activist, Hansberry never shied away from tough topics during her short and extraordinary life. an American artists. Her commitment to racial justice inspired countless more.
Harlem Renaissance poet, critic, journalist, and activist
Alice Hamilton promoted “industrial medicine” and laws to protect employees from dangerous substances in the workplace.
Dr. Margaret “Mom” Chung was the first Chinese American woman to become a physician. She founded one of the first Western medical clinics in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the 1920s. During World War II, she and her widespread network of “adopted sons,” most of them American soldiers, sailors, and airmen who called her “Mom,” became famous.
Stormé DeLarverie was a butch lesbian with zero tolerance for discrimination, or as she called it, “ugliness.” During an era that often showed hostility towards LGBTQ people, and queer women in particular, DeLarverie provided safety and acceptance.
American theologian, author, and activist