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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Bessie Coleman, born January 26 1892, was the first woman of African-American descent and Native-American descent to earn an international pilot's license. Her goal was to encourage women and African Americans to reach their dreams. Unfortunately, her career ended with a tragic plane crash, but her life continues to inspire people around the world. Born…

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Mae Carol Jemison is the first black female astronaut to travel into space! After being admitted into NASA’s astronaut training program in 1987, Mae travelled into space in 1992 aboard the Endeavour with six other astronauts. Mae orbited the Earth for nearly eight days on September 12–20, 1992 and in recognition of her accomplishments, she…

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