Women’s History Month: A Salute to African-American Female Trailblazers

Well wouldn't luck have it! March is National Women's History Month, which means I can continue my series that I started last month for Black History Month. During the month of March, I'll be continuing my highlights of African-American women who were bold and were not afraid to push the limits. This is exciting for …

Black History Month: A Salute to Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson

Shirley Ann Jackson, born in 1946 in Washington, D.C., has achieved numerous firsts for African American women.  She was the first black woman to earn a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.); to receive a Ph.D. in theoretical solid state physics; to be elected president and then chairman of the board of the American …

Black History Month: A Salute to Serena Williams

American tennis player Serena Jameka Williams was born on September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan. The youngest of Richard and Oracene Williams's five daughters, Serena Williams, along with her sister Venus, would eventually dominate the sport at various times throughout her career, capturing 15 Grand Slam singles and 13 Grand Slam doubles titles. Serena's father—a …

Black History Month: A Salute to Charlotta Bass

Charlotta Spears Bass was a journalist and activist who, as editor of the California Eagle, championed African-American equality and freedom. Born on February 14, 1874, in Sumter, South Carolina, Charlotta Spears Bass worked as managing editor of the African-American newspaper The California Eagle. She and husband Joseph Bass called for an end to segregation and …

Black History Month: A Salute to Ruby Dee

Born Ruby Ann Wallace in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 27, 1922, African-American actress Ruby Dee has enjoyed a tremendous career on the stage, on television and in film. She grew up in New York's Harlem neighborhood, and got involved in acting as a teenager. Dee began studying her craft at the American Negro Theatre, a …

Black History Month: A Salute to Madame C.J. Walker

Madam C.J. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867, on a cotton plantation near Delta, Louisiana. Her parents, Owen and Minerva, were recently freed slaves, and Sarah, who was their fifth child, was the first in her family to be free-born. Minerva Breedlove died in 1874 and Owen passed away the following year, …

Black History Month: A Salute to Gwendolyn Brooks

Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was born on June 7, 1917, in Topeka, Kansas. When Brooks was six weeks old, her family moved to Chicago as part of the Great Migration. Brooks was known as "Gwendie" to close friends and family during her childhood. Brooks attended three high schools: the prestigious, integrated Hyde Park High School; the …

Black History Month: A Salute to Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald, known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist who interpreted much of the Great American Songbook. Born on April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia, singer Ella Fitzgerald was the product of a common-law marriage between William Fitzgerald and Temperance "Tempie" Williams Fitzgerald. Ella …

Black History Month: A Salute to Dorothy Height

Born on March 24, 1912, in Richmond, Virginia, African-American activist Dorothy Height spent her life fighting for civil rights and women's rights. The daughter of a building contractor and a nurse, Height moved with her family to Rankin, Pennsylvania, in her youth. There, she attended racially integrated schools. In high school, Height showed great talent …

Black History Month: A Salute to Lena Horne

  Actress, singer, dancer, pin-up, and Civil Rights activist Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was born on June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of a banker and an actress. Her parents divorced when she was 3, and because her mother traveled as part of various theater troupes, Horne alternately accompanied her on the road …