Alma Woodsey Thomas was a successful black avant-garde painter, despite the barriers presented by her race and gender. Thomas an abstract painter, devoted her life to the youth of Washington and other local communities, both as a teacher and as an organizer of cultural events. In 1924 she became the first graduate of Howard University's…

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Augusta Savage was one of the leading artists of the Harlem Renaissance as well as an influential activist and arts educator. Born in Florida in 1892, Augusta Savage began creating art as a child by using the natural clay found in her hometown. After attending Cooper Union in New York City, she made a name for…

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Tessa Sanderson is an Olympic gold-winning javelin thrower who also has the distinction of being the first British black woman to win Olympic gold and compete in six separate ‘Olympic Games’. She set several javelin records during her career, besting the UK record multiple times. She broke the 16-year losing streak for British women at…

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Raven Wilkinson became the first African American woman to receive a contract to dance full time with a major ballet company, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo of New York City in August 1955 at the age of 20. She was promoted to soloist during her second season with the troupe, and remained with the…

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Wilma Glodean Rudolph was an American sprinter who grew from a sickly child unable to walk, to becoming a world-record-holding Olympic champion and international sports icon in track and field following her successes in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games. Rudolph competed in the 200-meter dash and won a bronze medal in the 4 ×…

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Mary Prince was a British abolitionist and autobiographer, born in Bermuda to an enslaved family of African descent. Prince was sold to a number of owners and subjected to brutal treatment. Prince ended up in Antigua belonging to the Wood family. In December 1826, she married Daniel James, a former slave who had bought his freedom and worked…

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Bonita Mabo was a South Sea Islander reconciliation activist. Bonita was the widow of Torres Strait Islander land claimant Eddie Mabo. She was born near Ingham, a descendant of Vanuatuan workers (formerly known as ‘Kanaks’) who were taken to Queensland, some 2000 km west of their home, to work in substandard conditions on sugar plantations…

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Josephine Baker was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture. In 1927, Baker starred in the silent film Siren of the Tropics. Baker was born Freda Josephine McDonald on June 3, 1906, in St. Louis, Missouri. As well as being an entertainer, Josephine was also a French Resistance agent and a…

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Katherine Johnson was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. Johnson had a long and successful career at NASA and she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to…

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