HOW 18 BLACK HISTORY HEROES YOU MAY NEVER HAVE HEARD OF, TRANSFORMED OUR COUNTRY ... (2974 hits)
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"18 Black History Heroes You May Never Have Heard Of"
During Black History Month, and every other month, we must take the time to honor the role and achievements of African-American heroes in United States history. These icons, many of which were overlooked at the time and continue to be sidelined today, transformed our country. While some groundbreaking heroes are well-known, there are many unsung heroes worth celebrating—particularly Black women. Here, we rounded up just some of the African-American women whose tireless efforts changed everything, and who never got the credit they deserve.
Jane Bolin
Jane Bolin became the nation's first Black woman judge in 1939. She was the first Black woman to graduate from Yale Law School, and would serve on New York's Family Court for four decades. Besides dealing with domestic cases, she worked to stop probation officers from getting assignments based on the color of their skin. During her career, she also worked with Eleanor Roosevelt to create a program that would intervene to stop young boys committing crimes.
Alice Allison Dunnigan
Alice Allison Dunnigan was the first African-American female White House correspondent. She was also the first Black female member of the Senate and House of Representatives press galleries. Her love for writing began when she was 13, penning one-sentence pieces for the Owensboro Enterprise. She became the chief of the Associated Negro Press in 1947, which would allow her a year later to become the first female African American to follow a President's campaign out on the road. While she had to pay her way to cover Harry S. Truman on his Western campaign trail, she would finally receive the respect she deserved when John F. Kennedy was elected. She would serve as an education consultant of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity until 1965.
Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai became the first Black woman to win the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her environmental work in Kenya. She was also the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree. Maathai served as the chairman for six years on the National Council of Women in Kenya, and introduced the idea of accomplishing the largest tree-planting campaign in Africa—the Green Belt Movement. The organization has planted over 51 million trees in Kenya since its founding in 1977.
Marsha P. Johnson
Marsha P. Johnson was an LGBTQ activist and trans woman who was one of the first drag queens to walk into the Stonewall Inn. In addition to being a drag performer, Johnson co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries organization with Sylvia Rivera, according to CNN. The organization housed and fed homeless youth that identified as queer, as well as s*x workers in the lower part of New York City, said USA TODAY. Johnson also modeled for Andy Warhol, performed with the drag group Hot Peaches, and was an AIDS activist with ACT UP for five years.
