“When I decided to become a historian,” recalls Darlene Clark Hine, “the last group I intended to study was black women.” That these words come from arguably the most influential scholar of African-American women’s history reflects the intertwined evolution of a career and field of study shaped by a struggle for recognition and legitimacy.
Matriach of the Legendary Ingramettes, widely considered Richmond, Va.’s “First Family of Gospel,” uplifting audiences for over six decades while becoming beloved cultural icons in the community.
Mamie Luella Williams was a lifelong educator in Topeka, Kansas.
Carol Moseley Braun served in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999 as a Democrat from Illinois.
A textile artist from Fairfield, Texas, Laverne Brackens represents a long tradition of improvisational quiltmaking among African-American women.
Linda Goss has blazed a trail in the Black Storytelling Tradition. She is called “Mama Linda” in honor of her mastery as a tradition bearer and premier contributor to the art of storytelling.
Lucille “Sweets” Preston rose to prominence in the 1930s as a vaudeville dancer at the Cotton Club and member of the Slim & Sweets comedy duo.
Margaret Murray Washington rose from humble beginnings to prominence as an educator, reformer, and clubwoman.
Intan Paramaditha, Indonesian of Sumatran-Sundanese heritage, anticolonial feminist academic and writer based in Australia, is one of the co-founders of Sekolah Pemikiran Perempuan (The School of Women’s Thought).
In May of 1854, 90-year-old Elizabeth Mason, a “free woman of color” from Campbell County, Virginia, appeared before a local Justice of the Peace to apply for a military widow’s pension.