Black Herstory Month: Five Influential Black Women You May Not Have Learned About In Your Classrooms

We are one week into Black History Month and as a society it is important to continue to learn and listen to the numerous stories of our African American ancestors and how they have impacted our lives today. Here I have listed five influential, groundbreaking black women who have left their marks on American history!

Ella Josephine Baker

Ella Josephine Baker was an African American pioneer in civil rights and human rights throughout her lifetime. Mostly working behind the scenes as a community organizer and political activist, she worked closely with some of the most well known names in the civil rights movement including W.E.B. DuBois and John Tilley. Over her decades long career, Baker worked with the NAACP and the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) to promote group centered leadership rather than leader-centered activism seen with Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy. 

Quote: “Give light and people will find a way.”
Learn more here!: https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/baker-ella-josephine

Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was the first African American Congresswoman and the first African American and woman to seek a presidential nomination in the United States from one of the country’s two major political parties. Coming from an immigrant household in New York, Chisholm spent part of her childhood back home in Barbados while her parents worked through the Great Depression. “Fighting Shirley” went on to take this work ethic to a political platform in both a congressional and presidential way.

Quote: ”If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” 

Learn more here!: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/shirley-chisholm

Mary Bethune

Mary Jane McLeod Bethune was an educator, stateswoman, civil rights activist, philanthropist, and humanitarian who is most known for her fight for the African American right to education and freedom from discrimination. Coming from a household of former slaves, Bethune went on to found Bethune-Cookman University and worked closely with President Franklin D. Roosevelt as an advisor and advocate for African Americans.

Quote: “The true worth of a race must be measured by the character of its womanhood.” 

Learn more here!: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-mcleod-bethune

Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice is a diplomat, professor, civil servant, and political scientist who was the first African American woman to serve as the United States' national security advisor under Former President George W. Bush, as well as the first African American woman to serve as the U.S. Secretary of State also under Former President Bush. Born into a society of racism and oppression in 1950s Birmingham, Alabama, Rice has gone on to create a legacy of political power and representation for all minorities in the United States.

Quote: “Great leaders never accept the world as it was and always work for the world as it should be” 

Learn more here!: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/condoleezza-rice

Hattie McDaniel

Hattie McDaniel was an actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian best known for being the first African American to win an Oscar all the way back in 1940 for her performance in “Gone With The Wind” as Mammy. McDaniel was also one of the first African American women to perform on radio. Later on in her career, McDaniel worked closely with the NAACP as well as set up entertainment for Black troops at the end of World War II up until her death in 1952.

Quote: “Putting a little time aside for clean fun and good humor is very necessary to relieve the tensions of our time.”

Learn more here!: https://www.biography.com/actor/hattie-mcdaniel