FAMOUS ARTISTS
THE RESISTANCE
CHAMPIONS
WOMEN OF INFLUENCE
BORN TO LEAD
100
A former slave who was kidnapped from West Africa and brought to America, she was bought by a Boston family and became their personal servant. With the aid of the family, she learned to read and eventually became one of the first women to publish a book of poetry in 1773.
Phillis Wheatley
(1753-1784)
100
She was a civil rights activist and organizer of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, helped Blacks register to vote, and co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
Fannie Lou Hamer
(1917-1977)
100
This explorer is the first black woman to be admitted into the astronaut training program and fly into space in 1987. She also developed and participated in research projects on the Hepatitis B vaccine and rabies.
Dr. Mae Jemison
(1956-present)
100
Born Isabella Baumfree, she escaped slavery with her infant daughter and changed her name. She’s best known for her speech delivered at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in 1851 titled “Ain’t I A Woman?”
Sojourner Truth
(1797-1883)
100
An educator and civil rights activist who believed education was the key to racial advancement, she served as the president of the National Association of Colored Women and founded the National Council of Negro Women. She was also the president and founder of Bethune-Cookman College in Florida.
Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune
(1875-1955)
200
The first black woman to appear on the Grand Ole Opry, this country and blues singer went on to make 11 more appearances on the international radio program throughout her career, and she landed a Top 25 song with her 1969 single “Color Him Father.”
Linda Martell
(1941-present)
200
A self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior and poet”, this Caribbean-American writer and activist empowered her readers with her moving poetry, often tackling the injustices of racism, sexism and homophobia. She is also known for her memoirs such as, From a Land Where Other People Live, The Black Unicorn and A Burst of Light.
Audre Lorde 
(1934-1992)
200
She became the first African American to win an individual Olympic medal in women’s gymnastics for her floor performance at the 1996 games in Atlanta. She also won a gold medal with the U.S. women’s gymnastics team, and participated in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics before she retired.
Dominique Dawes
(1976-present)
200
She is the first black female doctor to receive a medical patent and the first African American woman to complete a residency in ophthalmology at NYU. In 1986, she created the Laserphaco Probe, a tool used to treat patients with cataracts with more precision and less pain. She was able to help restore the sight of people who had loss their eyesight for more than 30 years.
Dr. Patricia Bath
(1942-present)
200
This woman was regarded by President Barack Obama as “the godmother of the Civil Rights Movement.” She served as the president of the National Council of Negro Women for over two decades and was instrumental in the integration of all YWCA centers in 1946.
Dr. Dorothy Height
(1912-2010)
300
Known as the Queen of Gospel, she is considered to be one of the greatest musicians in American history. She sang at the 1963 March on Washington right before Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have A Dream” speech. While giving his speech, She interjected with “Tell them about the dream, Martin.” Her words led King to improvise the pivotal latter part of his speech.
Mahalia Jackson 
(1911-1972)
300
Several months before Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a bus, she was the FIRST person arrested for resisting bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama, at the age of 15. She also served as one of four plaintiffs in the case of Browder v. Gayle, which ruled that Montgomery’s segregated bus system was unconstitutional.
Claudette Colvin
(1939-present)
300
Nicknamed “the black gazelle,” she was born premature and was stricken with polio as a child. Though her doctor said she would never be able to walk without her brace, she went on to become a track star. She became the first American woman to win three gold medals at a single Olympics in 1960.
Wilma Rudolph
(1940-1994)
300
She was the first black woman to enroll at the University of Georgia. She became an award-winning journalist after she graduated and worked for outlets such as the New York Times, PBS and NPR.
Charlayne Hunter-Gault
(1942-present)
300
This queen broke major barriers when she became the first black congresswoman in 1968. She continued on her political track when she ran for president four years later, making her the first major-party black candidate to run.
Shirley Chisolm
(1924–2005)
400
After getting her start in New York, this diva found fame and fortune when she moved to France in the 1920s and became one of Europe’s most beloved performers, entrancing her audiences with her enticing dance moves and vocals. During World War II, she worked for the French Resistance, smuggling messages hidden in her sheet music and underwear. She frequently returned to the United States to join the Civil Rights Movement efforts. She was even a speaker at the 1963 March on Washington.
Josephine Baker
(1906-1975)
400
She is a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. She was instrumental in organizing the Freedom Rides, which helped desegregate interstate buses in the South. She also planned the Selma Voting Rights Movement in response to the Birmingham 16th Street Church bombing that killed four young girls.
Diane Nash
(1938-present)
400
She became the first black woman to earn a pilot’s license and the first black woman to stage a public flight in the United States. She specialized in stunt flying and parachuting and remains a pioneer for women in aviation.
Bessie Coleman
(1892-1926)
400
This beauty became one of the first female self-made millionaires in the world when she inventing a line of hair care products specially for African Americans in 1905. She traveled around the country to promote her products and give hair care demonstrations. She eventually founded her own company to manufacture cosmetics and train beauticians.
Madam C.J. Walker
(1867-1919)
400
A founding member of the National Organization of Women and one of the first black female lawyers to graduate from Columbia Law School, she helped found the Feminist Party in 1971, which later nominated Representative Shirley Chisholm for president.
Flo Kennedy
(1916-2000)
500
This extremely influential jazz vocalist was known for her “distinctive phrasing and expressive, sometimes melancholy voice.” Two of her most famous songs are “God Bless the Child” and “Strange Fruit,” a heart-wrenching ballad about blacks being lynched in the South.
Billie Holiday
(1915-1959)
500
This queen is a revolutionary American educator. The former Black Panther has fought for race, class and gender equality over the years. She authored one of the of the most distinguished books in the field of women’s studies called Women, Race & Class, and is an advocate of prison reform.
Angela Davis
(1944-present)
500
This American tennis player revolutionized women’s tennis with her powerful style of play and who won more Grand Slam singles titles (23) than any other woman or man during the open era.
Serena Williams
(1981-present)
500
Considered to be “The First Lady of Minnesota Civil Rights”. She lobbied to pass Minnesota’s anti-discrimination laws, was part of the historic March on Washington, was a community organizer for the Minneapolis Urban League and served as a legislative liaison to the Mayor of Minneapolis during the Civil Rights upheaval. She was appointed to the Board of Regents at the University of Minnesota in 1992. In spite of her long activism she is today quite active in community, social, and political causes.
Josie R Johnson
(1931-present)
500
Elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016, she was then elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, marking a number of historic electoral firsts: she is the first Somali-American, the first naturalized citizen from Africa, and the first non-white woman elected from Minnesota. She is also one of the first two Muslim women (along with Rashida Tlaib of Michigan) to serve in Congress
Ilhan Omar
(1982-present)