Francine Gálvez, a multi-talented actress, journalist, and newscaster, holds the distinction of being the first Black woman to anchor a news program in Europe. That achievement came when she took on the role at Televisión Española (TVE) as anchor of the weekend edition of Telediario … Read MoreFrancine Gálvez (1966- )
Leah Penniman is a farmer and food sovereignty activist who cofounded Soul Fire Farm near Grafton, New York, in 2010. Penniman was born in 1980 to Adele Smith, an African American woman and a White father in Central Massachusetts. Penniman’s parents divorced at an early … Read MoreLeah Penniman (1980- )
Sharon Y. Bowen, the first Black woman to head the New York Stock Exchange, was born on July 23, 1956, in Chesapeake, Virginia, to Leverta Wilson and Allen Dosher Bowen, Sr. She is the youngest of five children. Her father was an electrician at the … Read MoreSharon Y. Bowen (1956- )
Jeanne Martin Cissé was a Guinean teacher and nationalist politician. Cissé was born on April 6, 1926 to Darricau Martin Cissé and Damaye Soumah in Kankan, Guinea. She attended the Ecole Normale de Rufisque, a teacher-training institute for women in Dakar, Senegal, where she trained … Read MoreJeanne Martin Cissé (1926-2017)
On August 7, 2022, Francia Márquez became the first Black woman to be elected Vice President of Colombia. The following year, she was also sworn in as Minister of Women and Equality in the Cabinet of Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Marquez, a noted social activist … Read MoreFrancia Márquez (1981- )
Mary Smith Kelsey Peake, a pioneering educator, is one of few African American women to have a school, The Mary Peake Center of Hampton Public Schools, and a street, the Mary Peake Boulevard, named in honor due to her work as the first teacher for … Read MoreMary Smith Kelsey Peake (1823-1862)
Edna May Griffin, often referred to as ‘the Rosa Parks of Iowa,’ was a prominent American civil rights pioneer in her state. This nickname underscores her pivotal role in civil rights campaigns in Iowa, notably the 1948 Katz Drugstore Sit-In Protests in Des Moines. Born … Read MoreEdna May Griffin (1909-2000)
Educator, political campaigner, and women’s rights activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was born Frances Abigail Olufunmilayo Olufela Folorunso Thomas on October 25, 1900, in Abeokuta, Nigeria, to prominent farmer Chief Daniel Olumeyuwa Thomas and dressmaker Lucretia Phyllis Omoyeni Adeosolu. Ransome-Kuti was one of only six girls admitted … Read MoreFunmilayo Ransome-Kuti (1900-1978)
Pioneering T.V. Broadcaster Dianne White Clatto, born Dianne Elizabeth Johnson on December 28, 1938, in St. Louis, Missouri, was the only child of Milton Johnson and Nettie Johnson. Growing up in north St. Louis, Dianne a child, studied piano and classical ballet Pointe technique. She … Read MoreDianne White Clatto (1938-2015)
Ngina Kenyetta is the former First Lady of Kenya, widow of Mzee Jomo Kenyetta (the first president of Kenya), the mother of Uhuru Kenyetta (Kenya’s fourth president), and a recipient of the Macky Sall Prize for Dialogue in Africa (2019). She was born Ngina Muhoho … Read MoreNgina Kenyetta (1933- )
