Educator
Discover Black women's legacies month by month. Explore history's milestones and celebrate the remarkable achievements of influential figures.
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Jan 22
January
Willa Brown
Brown was the first black woman to hold both a private (1937) and commercial (1939) pilot’s license in the United States and one of the first woman to hold a commercial pilot's license and a master aviation mechanic's certificate (1935). She co-founded the Coffey School of Aeronautics where she trained thousands of pilots, nearly 200 of which became Tuskegee airmen. She was also the first black woman to run for Congress.
Feb 18
February
Toni Morrison
Born Chloe Ardelia Wofford (1931-2019), “Toni” Morrison was a Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize - winning novelist, editor, and professor. Her most notable works include “The Bluest Eye” (1970), “Song of Solomon” (1977), and “Beloved” (1987), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988.
Mar 3
May
Mar 31
March
Nikki Franke
Head coach of Temple University's fencing team and the first Black woman to represent the United States in fencing in the Olympic games. In 2017, she was inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame. She has also been inducted into the Temple University Hall of Fame and the United States Fencing Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Apr 15
April
Norma Merrick Sklarek
Sklarek (1926-2012) was the first African American woman to be licensed as an architect in the state of New York in 1954, and later, she became the first Black woman licensed as an architect in California in 1962. She was also the first Black woman member of the prestigious American Institute of Architects (AIA). These milestones shattered racial and gender barriers, blazing a trail for others to follow in the field of architecture.
Apr 16
April
Dr. Marie Maynard Daly
Dr. Daly (1921-2003), an extraordinary biochemist and trailblazer, was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry and the first African American to receive a doctoral degree from Columbia University. Daly's pioneering research, spanning over 20 peer-reviewed publications, covered cardiovascular health, digestion, protein synthesis, and many other areas.
May 1
May
Dr. Evelyn Boyd Granville
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.
May 21
May
Regina Anderson Andrews
Andrews (1901-1993) was a Harlem It Girl, Librarian, Hostess, and Cultural Icon. She helped organize the Civic Club Dinner of 1924 - the 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).
Jul 4
July
Lucy Diggs Slowe
Slowe's legacy is deeply woven into the fabric of African American history. As one of the nine original founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated at Howard University in 1908, she helped lay the foundation for an organization that would empower generations of Black women. Slowe became the first African American to win a major athletic title when she won the American Tennis Association championship in 1917, and she served as the first Dean of Women at Howard University (the first African American to serve in such a position at any university in the US), dedicating her career to supporting young Black women in higher education.
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