As national director of health services for Project Head Start in 1965, Dr. Gertrude Hunter helped implement the first national comprehensive health program to immunize, offer preventive medical and dental care, and treat any hidden health conditions in preschool children.
Dr. Grace James was one of the first two African American women on the faculty at a southern medical school and the first African American on the staff of the Louisville Children’s Hospital and on the faculty at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.
When Halle Tanner Dillon passed the Alabama State Medical Examination in 1891, even the New York Times took notice.
Aesha Ash is an internationally acclaimed, talented dancer who founded a nonprofit to inspire young black girls to pursue their dance dreams.
In 1862, Mary Jane Patterson became the first African-American woman to receive a BA degree when she graduated from Oberlin College with a B.A. degree and highest honors.
Leader in the Civil Rights Movement.
G. Valerie Beckles-Neblett, M.D. organizes medical missions to Haiti and Honduras, two of the poorest countries in the world. Along with the other doctors she recruits for her trips, Dr. Beckles treated thousands of people — many who had never visited a doctor before.
Working for African Americans’ civil and political rights, Arianna C. Sparrow joined Black women’s organizations to protest racial discrimination and support women’s suffrage.
In 1975, Dr. Ethel Allen became the first African American councilwoman elected to an at-large seat on the Philadelphia City Council.
During the course of her 43-year career, Ms. McNeal Kenny received NSA’s two highest awards: the Meritorious Civilian Service Award (1980) and the Exceptional Civilian Service Award (1984).