Businesswoman Ernesta Gertrude Forster, more commonly known as Ernesta Procope, was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 2, 1923. The year of her birth is contested, as public records have her date of birth as February 9, 1923. Similarly, her family name also is … Read MoreErnesta Procope (1923-2021)
Rachel Bassette Noel was the first African American woman to be elected to public office in the state of Colorado. Born on January 15, 1918 in Hampton, Virginia, Noel earned her bachelor’s degree from Hampton University and her master’s in sociology from Fisk University. In … Read MoreRachel B. Noel (1918-2008)
In 2018, Ayanna Soynini Pressley became the first African American woman elected to represent the 7th District in Massachusetts. She unseated ten-term congressman Michael Capuano, a Democrat, in the August primary of that year. Ayanna Soynini Pressley was born on February 3, 1974, in Chicago, … Read MoreAyanna Pressley (1974- )
Nancy Sue Wilson was a legendary singer, actress, and musician whose career spanned over five decades. Born in Chillicothe, Ohio on February 20, 1937, to Olden Wilson and Lillian Ryan, she began singing in church, and by the age of four, she knew she wanted … Read MoreNancy Sue Wilson (1937-2018)
Dorothy Cotton was an American civil rights activist and leader, known for being the only woman in the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s inner circle. She was also the highest-ranking woman in King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As the organization’s Educational Director, Cotton ran SCLC’s Citizenship … Read MoreDorothy Cotton (1930-2018)
In 1983, 25-year-old Euzhan Palcy became the first black woman to direct a film produced by a major Hollywood studio. Palcy was born in the French colony of Martinique on January 13th, 1958. Her interest in films began when she was ten as she felt an attraction towards them. At the time, … Read MoreEuzhan Palcy (1958- )
Julia Pearl Hughes (Coleman-Robinson) was the first African American woman to successfully own and operate her own drugstore. Hughes was born to John and Mary Hughes in Melville Township, Alamance County, North Carolina. She attended the local schools and graduated in 1893 from Scotia Seminary (now Barber-Scotia College) … Read MoreJulia Pearl Hughes (1873-1950)
Saartjie (Sara) Baartman was one of the first black women known to be subjugated to human sexual trafficking. She was derisively named the “Hottentot Venus” by Europeans as her body would be publicly examined and exposed inhumanly throughout the duration of her young life. Moreover. her experience … Read More(Sara) Saartjie Baartman (1789-1815)
Rev. Dr. Katie Cannon was the first African American woman to be ordained into the United Presbyterian USA denomination. Rev. Cannon was ordained in Shelby, North Carolina, on April 24, 1974, by the Catawaba Presbytery. Katie Cannon was born on January 3, 1950, in Kannapolis, North Carolina. She … Read MoreKatie Geneva Cannon (1950-2018)
