Albertina Sisulu was a South African politician and nurse known for her anti-apartheid activism. Sisulu was born Nontsikelo Thethiwe on October 21, 1918 in Tsomo, Eastern Cape province, formerly a part of Transkei, then a British protectorate but later an autonomous region reserved for Xhosa … Read MoreAlbertina Sisulu (1918-2011)
Cori Anika Bush is the first African America woman elected to represent Missouri’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is also a single parent, a registered nurse, a former pastor, an activist, and a community organizer. Bush was born July 21, 1976 and raised … Read MoreCori Bush (1976- )
Dr. Leith Patricia Mullings was an anthropologist, author, and professor. She is one of triplets with Pauline Mullings and Sandra Mullings born on April 8, 1945 in Mandeville, Jamaica to Hubert Waite and Lillieth (Gayle) Mullings. She was the widow (m. 1996) of William Manning … Read MoreLeith P. Mullings (1945-2020)
In 2018, Lauren Underwood was elected to the U.S. Congress representing the 14th Congressional district of Illinois which is suburban Chicago. She is the first African American woman to represent the district, defeating incumbent Republican Congressman Randy Hultgren. At age 32, she is also the … Read MoreLauren Underwood (1986- )
Bessie Virginia Blount, pioneer physical therapist, inventor, and scientist, was born in Hickory (today Chesapeake), Virginia, on November 24, 1914. In the sixth grade, she had to discontinue her elementary education, although she would later earn a GED after her family moved to New Jersey. She studied nursing at the Community … Read MoreBessie Blount Griffin (1914-2009)
Darryl Dawkins (also known as Chocolate Thunder—a name music legend Stevie Wonder gave him), was born in Orlando, Florida, on January 11, 1957. Born to Harriet James and Frank Dawkins, he was raised by his grandmother, Amanda Celestine Jones, in Orlando where he attended Maynard … Read MoreDarryl Dawkins (1957-2015)
Image Ownership: David Shankbone Veronica Webb is an African American model, actress, writer, and television personality. Webb was the first African American to have a major cosmetics contract when she signed with Revlon in 1992. Webb also appeared on the covers of Vogue, Essence, and … Read MoreVeronica Webb (1965- )
Image Ownership: Public domain Bernice Mathews is a small business owner and the director of the nursing program at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada. She is best known as a former Democratic member of the Nevada State Senate. Mathews was born on November … Read MoreBernice Mathews (1933- )
Barbara Hillary was the first African American woman on record to reach both the North and South Poles. Born in New York City, New York on June 12, 1931, to Viola Jones Hillary and raised in Harlem, Hillary attended the New School University in New … Read MoreBarbara Hillary (1931-2019)
Mary Jane Grant Seacole was an early nurse in the British Empire during the 19th Century. Born in Kingston, Jamaica as Mary Grant, she was the daughter of a Scottish officer and a black mother. Mary’s mother ran a hospital/boarding house in Kingston and she, … Read MoreMary Jane Seacole (1805-1881)
