Janie Rogella Washington was the wife of James W. Washington, Jr., an internationally known Northwest artist. A Seattle nurse, she shared and inspired the spirituality that shaped his art. One of 12 children, Janie Rogella Miller, was born near Henderson, Texas, to Freeman Miller and … Read MoreJanie Rogella Washington (1908-2000)
Samora Machel, the first president of independent Mozambique, was born on September 29, 1933, in the village of Chilembene, in the Gaza Province of Mozambique. He was of the Shangana ethnic group and was born into a family of farmers. Machel attended a Catholic mission … Read MoreSamora Moises Machel (1933-1986)
Mary Eliza Mahoney, America’s first black graduate nurse, was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts on May 7, 1845. Originally from North Carolina, her parents were among the southern free blacks who moved north prior to the Civil War seeking a less racially discriminatory environment. The eldest … Read MoreMary Eliza Mahoney (1845-1926)
Rosa Franklin is the first black woman elected to the Washington State Senate, serving the 29th Legislative District in the Tacoma area. She is also a registered nurse who retired after 42 years in health care. Franklin was born Rosa Guidrion on April 6, 1927, … Read MoreRosa Franklin (1927- )
Karen Bass made history on December 11, 2022 when she was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris as the first woman and second Black person (after Tom Bradley) to be mayor of Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States. Before … Read MoreKaren Bass (1953- )
Nella Larsen, nurse, librarian, and, writer, was born Nella Marie Larsen in Chicago, Illinois in 1891 to a Danish mother and a black West Indian father. Knowing little about her father after his death when she was two years old, she was reared in the … Read MoreNella Larsen (1891-1963)
Inez Maxine Pitter Haynes, the middle sibling of the Pitter sisters, was born February 06, 1919 to Edward A. Pitter and Marjorie Allen Pitter, in Seattle, Washington. In 1936 she graduated from Garfield High School and entered the University of Washington as a pre-nursing major, … Read MoreInez Maxine Pitter Haynes (1919-2004)
Born 13 July 1913 in Akron, Ohio, Salaria Kee was orphaned in her infancy and raised by family and friends. After high school, she resolved to become a nurse but was denied by three nursing schools on account of her race. Leveraging connections to Eleanor … Read MoreSalaria Kee O’Reilly (1913-1991)
