Calendar

Cagle (1959) is a Physician, U.S. Air Force Colonel (ret.), NASA astronaut, and educator.

"The First Lady of Song", Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) was the 20th century's preeminent jazz vocalist renowned for her pure tone, impeccable diction, scat singing mastery, and critically acclaimed interpretations of the Great American Songbook. She was also the first black woman to win a grammy. Over her six-decade career, she set vocal excellence standards, influenced multiple genres, and amassed top accolades including 13 Grammys, 1 Grammy Lifetime Achievement award, and the National Medal of Arts.

Fausset (1882-1961), was

Alice Allison Dunnigan was the first Black woman to receive White House press credentials, serving as Washington bureau chief for the Associated Negro Press from 1947 to 1961.

Lawyer, Jurist

Admiral Howard (ret.) was the first black woman to command a U.S. Navy ship. She was the first woman to be promoted to the rank of Four-Star Admiral in the U.S. Navy and the first African American and woman to serve as the Vice Chief of Naval Operations (2014).

Dr. Granville (1924-2023) was the 2nd African American woman to earn a PhD in Mathematics. During her career, she made significant contributions to the mathematics, space technology, and computer programming fields, including developing software for NASA's project Apollo, working on the first mass-produced computer in the world, and writing computer programs for NASA's Project Vanguard and Project Mercury. During her storied career, she also mentored Dr. Vivienne Malone Mayes and Dr. Etta Zuber Falconer, the 5th and 11th Black women to receive their Ph.D.s in Mathematics, respectively.

Co-Developer of the Mueller-Hinton agar.

Burroughs (1879-1961) was one of the most influential women of the early 20th century. She was a businesswoman, unbowed social and political activist, and a key figure in the women’s suffrage movement.

Advocate and Activits

A Rage in Harlem

Powell (1946), was the second Black woman to play on the LPGA tour.

Civil Rights Activist

Mary was the first licensed African American nurse in the United States and first African American graduate of an American nursing school. She was born in the spring of 1845 in Dorchester, Massachusetts to freed, formerly enslaved people who relocated from North Carolina for a chance at better civil and economic opportunities for their family.

Composer, Musician

Dancer, Choreographer

Pianist

Lawyer, Activist

NASA Astronaut, Geologist, Aquanaut, Athlete, Aviator, and the first Black woman to complete an International Space Station long term mission.

Stanton (1913-2012), a legend in the public library domain. She was the first woman and Black person to lead a Public Library system (Executive Director, Detroit Public Library - 1970) and the first Black President of the American Library Association.

Stalwart of the civil rights movement.

O'Leary (1937) is an American lawyer, consultant, and former government official. She served as the 7th United States Secretary of Energy from 1993 to 1997 under President Bill Clinton, becoming the first woman and first Black person to hold this position.

Ahhh, "to be young, gifted, and Black"! Hansberry was a dynamic playwright and the first Black woman author to have a play performed on Broadway. Her best-known work, the play A Raisin in the Sun, has been considered one of the greatest plays of the 20th century.

Lawyer and Civil Rights activist

Andrews (1901-1993) was a Harlem It Girl, Librarian, Hostess, and Cultural Icon. She helped organize the Civic Club Dinner of 1924 - the purported birthplace of the Harlem Renaissance - and she became the first Black librarian appointed to lead a New York Public Library branch (115th St. Branch, 1938).

The 83rd Attorney General of the United States, the first Black woman to hold the position.

Civil Rights and Women's Rights activist.

Librarian, Challenged and improved upon the Dewey Decimal system

Actress

“There is no one so black that is not akin to me”. Matthews declared during her 1897 speech “The Awakening of the Afro-American Woman”.

Born Betty Dean Sanders....