In 1959, Lorraine Hansberry made history as the first African American woman to have a show produced on Broadway—A Raisin in the Sun. As a playwright, feminist, and racial justice activist, Hansberry never shied away from tough topics during her short and extraordinary life. an American artists. Her commitment to racial justice inspired countless more.
Born to sharecroppers in the Mississippi Delta, Blackwell rose from humble beginnings to become one of many unsung Black female heroines of the modern Civil Rights Movement.
Harlem Renaissance poet, critic, journalist, and activist
Irish journalist, broadcaster, and activist
In 1961, President Kennedy acknowledged Alice Dunnigan as the first African American White House correspondent after two years of being ignored. She became the first Black woman in the Senate and House of Representatives press galleries.
New Zealand communist and an organiser of protest movements, particularly against the Vietnam War, apartheid and racism.
African-American suffragist, civil rights activist, and community leader.
American activist for education and civil rights
American educator and civil rights activist
Influential civil rights activist and public health advocate