Ada Belle Huff Evans was the first African American elected mayor in Colorado. She was born on June 9, 1932 in Langley, South Carolina, a small town located in Aiken County. Much is unknown of her parents and earlier life. However, in 1951, she graduated … Read MoreAda Belle Evans (1932-2011)
Pioneering scholar in black women’s history, Rosalyn Marian Terborg-Penn was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 22, 1941, to Jeanne Van Horn Terborg, a clerical worker, and Jacques Arnold Terborg, a jazz musician born in Suriname. Terborg and her brother Jacques Jr., spent their … Read MoreRosalyn Terborg-Penn (1941-2018)
Sophia Angeli Nelson is an author, journalist, lawyer, and political strategist. Nelson was born on January 5, 1967, in Munich, Germany, where her father served overseas in the U.S. Army. She was raised in Somerdale, New Jersey, and attended San Diego State University (SDSU) in … Read MoreSophia Angeli Nelson (1967- )
Dorothy Johnson Vaughan was a teacher who became a leading mathematical engineer in the first aerospace program with NACA (now NASA), and the first African American female promoted as supervisor in the program. Vaughan was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on September 20, 1910, to … Read MoreDorothy Johnson Vaughan (1910-2008)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Jewel Limar Prestage was the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in Political Science at an American University. Prestage was born on August 12, 1931, in Hutton, Louisiana, to Brudis Leroy Limar Sr. and Sallie Bell Johnson Limar. At a … Read MoreJewel Limar Prestage (1931–2014)
On November 8, 2016, Kamala Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate from California, becoming the second African American woman to sit in that body after Carol Mosely-Braun of Illinois was elected to represent Illinois 24 years earlier in 1992. Before her election to the … Read MoreKamala Devi Harris (1964– )
On July 2, 2009 President Barack Obama appointed Gayleatha Beatrice Brown to be the United States ambassador to Burkina Faso, a nation in West Africa. This was her second ambassadorial appointment. Previously, Brown had been appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as U.S. … Read MoreGayleatha Beatrice Brown (1947-2013)
Congresswoman Alma Shealey Adams currently represents North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. She is the 100th woman elected to that legislative body and the second African American woman, after Eva Clayton, to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Congress. … Read MoreAlma Shealey Adams (1946-)
Image Ownership: Public Domain Yvonne Jeffries Johnson, the first African American mayor of Greensboro, North Carolina, was born on October 26, 1942 in Greensboro to Ruby Jeffries. She graduated from Dudley High School in 1960 and Bennett College in 1964, with a BA in Psychology. … Read MoreYvonne Jeffries Johnson (1942- )
Wanda Sykes is an American actress, comedian, writer, and voice artist. She is best known for her recurring role as Barbara Baran on the CBS primetime show The New Adventures of Old Christine, and for her comedic roles in such films as Monster-in-Law and My … Read MoreWanda Sykes (1964- )