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https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/harriet-tubman

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MLA - Michals, Debra. "Harriet Tubman." National Women's History Museum. National Women's History Museum, 2015. Date accessed.

Chicago - Michals, Debra. "Harriet Tubman." National Women's History Museum. 2015. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/harriet-tubman.

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Known as the "Moses of her people," Harriet Tubman was enslaved, escaped, and helped others gain their freedom as a "conductor" of the Underground Railroad. Discover more about her on womenshistory.org.

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https://www.biography.com/activists/harriet-tubman

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Harriet Tubman - Movie, Quotes & 20 Dollar Bill

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Harriet Tubman escaped slavery to become a leading abolitionist. She led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom along the route of the Underground Railroad.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3OehwRHIlo

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https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ida-b-wells-barnett

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Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a prominent journalist, activist, and researcher, in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries. In her lifetime, she battled sexism, racism, and violence. As a skilled writer, Wells-Barnett also used her skills as a journalist to shed light on the conditions of African Americans throughout the South.

Ida Bell Wells was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi on July 16 th, 1862. She was born into slavery during the Civil War. Once the war ended Wells-Barnett's parents became politically active in Reconstruction Era politics. Her parents instilled into her the importance of education. Wells-Barnett enrolled at Rust College but was expelled when she started a dispute with the university president. In 1878, Wells-Barnett went to visit her grandmother. While she was there Wells-Barnett was informed that a yellow fever epidemic had hit her hometown. The disease took both of Wells-Barnett's parents and her infant brother. Left to raise her brothers and sister, she took a job as a teacher so that she could keep the family together. Eventually, Wells-Barnett moved her siblings to Memphis, Tennessee. There she continued to work as an educator.

In 1884, Wells-Barnett filed a lawsuit against a train car company in Memphis for unfair treatment. She had been thrown off a first-class train, despite having a ticket. Although she won the case on the local level, the ruling was eventually overturned in federal court. After the lynching of one of her friends, Wells-Barnett turned her attention to white mob violence. She became skeptical about the reasons black men were lynched and set out to investigate several cases. She published her findings in a pamphlet and wrote several columns in local newspapers. Her expose about an 1892 lynching enraged locals, who burned her press and drove her from Memphis. After a few months, the threats became so bad she was forced to move to Chicago, Illinois.

In 1893, Wells-Barnett, joined other African American leaders in calling for the boycott of the World's Columbian Exposition. The boycotters accused the exposition committee of locking out African Americans and negatively portraying the black community. In 1895, Wells-Barnett married famed African American lawyer Ferdinand Barnett. Together, the couple had four children. Throughout her career Wells-Barnett, balanced motherhood with her activism.

Wells-Barnett traveled internationally, shedding light on lynching to foreign audiences. Abroad, she openly confronted white women in the suffrage movement who ignored lynching. Because of her stance, she was often ridiculed and ostracized by women's suffrage organizations in the United States. Nevertheless, Wells-Barnett remained active the women's rights movement. She was a founder of the National Association of Colored Women's Club which was created to address issues dealing with civil rights and women's suffrage. Although she was in Niagara Falls for the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), her name is not mentioned as an official founder. Late in her career Wells-Barnett focused on urban reform in the growing city of Chicago. She died on March 25 th, 1931.

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Pioneering journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett battled sexism, racism, and violence, particularly working to shed light on the conditions of African Americans throughout the South. Read her story on womenshistory.org.

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https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/ida-b-wells

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDIfbKqZrPU

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Who Was: Ida B. Wells | Encyclopaedia Britannica

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocbAfpjibr4

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Ida B. Wells: Crash Course Black American History #20

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https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sojourner-truth

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MLA - Michals, Debra. "Sojourner Truth." National Women's History Museum. National Women's History Museum, 2015. Date accessed.

Chicago - Michals, Debra. "Sojourner Truth." National Women's History Museum. 2015. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sojourner-truth.

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A former slave, Sojourner Truth became an outspoken advocate for abolition, temperance, and civil and women's rights in the nineteenth century. Learn more at womenshistory.org.

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https://www.biography.com/activists/sojourner-truth

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Sojourner Truth - Quotes, Speech & Facts

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Abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth is best known for her speech on racial inequalities, “Ain’t I a Woman?” delivered at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in 1851.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrVek_dWsmg

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Educational Videos for Students (Cartoons on Bullying, Leadership & More)

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A Must See Sojourner Truth for Kids Biography! (Black History Cartoon)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-HfiryNoXY

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Sojourner Truth - Civil Rights Activist | Mini Bio | BIO

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6q8ojdzW30

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Sojourner Truth: Fierce Warrior for Social Justice (WAMS E15)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fygjGXnaV9w

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How one journalist risked her life to hold murderers accountable - Christina Greer

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv7YhVKFqbQ

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The breathtaking courage of Harriet Tubman - Janell Hobson

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https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/madam-cj-walker

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MLA - Michals, Debra. "Madam C. J. Walker." National Women's History Museum. National Women's History Museum, 2015. Date accessed.

Chicago - Michals, Debra. "Madam C. J. Walker." National Women's History Museum. 2015. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/madam-cj-walker.

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Madam C.J. Walker was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist. She rose from poverty in the South to become one of the wealthiest African American women of her time.

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https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/madam-cj-walker

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHrgZZZrrjM

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Educational Videos for Students (Cartoons on Bullying, Leadership & More)

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The Life of an Inventor & Black History Icon: Madam C.J. Walker | Black History Month

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twrwLZ5TCro

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Madam CJ Walker - Political Activist | Biography

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https://www.biography.com/actors/hattie-mcdaniel

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https://www.notablebiographies.com/Ma-Mo/McDaniel-Hattie.html

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Born: June 10, 1898
Wichita, Kansas
Died: October 26, 1952
Hollywood, California
African American actress and singer

Hattie McDaniel's portrayal of the "mammy" figure in the film Gone with the Wind, for which she received an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 1940, is still widely seen as a role that could only have been played by her. She was the first African American to receive an Oscar.

Hattie's youth

Hattie McDaniel was born on June 10, 1895, in Wichita, Kansas, the youngest of thirteen children in a family of performers. Her father, Henry McDaniel, was a Baptist minister, carpenter, banjo player, and minstrel showman, eventually organizing his own family into a minstrel troupe. Henry married a gospel singer named Susan Holbert in 1875 and moved their growing family to Denver, Colorado, in 1901.

Hattie was one of only two black children in her elementary school class in Denver. Racial prejudice (an unfair judgment based on race) was less hostile in the West than elsewhere in the United States. For her talents as a singer and reciter of poetry, McDaniel became something of a favorite at the 24th Street Elementary School, where mainly white students attended. McDaniel sang at church, at school, and at home; she sang so continuously that her mother reportedly bribed her into silence with spare change. Before long she was also singing in professional minstrel shows, as well as dancing, performing humorous skits, and later writing her own songs.

In 1910 Hattie left school in her sophomore year at East Denver High School and became a full-time minstrel performer, traveling the western states with her father's show and several other troupes. The minstrel shows were usually performed by black actors, but were also sometimes performed

by whites in blackface. The shows presented a variety of entertainment that poked fun at black cultural life for the enjoyment of mostly white audiences.

When Hattie's father retired around 1920, she joined Professor George Morrison's famous "Melody Hounds" on longer and more publicized tours. She also wrote dozens of show tunes such as "Sam Henry Blues," "Poor Wandering Boy Blues," and "Quittin' My Man Today."

Broke into radio and film

McDaniel's first marriage ended brutally in 1922, when her husband of three months, George Langford, was reportedly killed by gunfire. Her career was much better, including a first radio performance in 1925 on Denver's KOA station. McDaniel was one of the first black women to be heard on American radio.

In 1929 McDaniel was left without a job due to the Great Depression (a time in the late 1920s and 1930s of economic hardship that resulted in unemployment for many), so she went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and found work at Sam Pick's Club Madrid-as a bathroom attendant. Eventually she became a performer there and remained at the Club Madrid for about a year. Next she went to Hollywood, California, where her brother and sister lived. Sam and Etta McDaniel had already played small roles in a number of motion pictures. Sam McDaniel had a regular part on the KNX (Los Angeles, California) radio show "The Optimistic Do-Nuts" and was able to get Hattie a small part, which she promptly turned into a big opportunity. McDaniel eventually became a hit with the show's listeners.

A big break came for McDaniel in 1934, when she was cast in the Fox production of Judge Priest. In this picture McDaniel was given the opportunity to sing a duet with Will Rogers (1879-1935), the well-known American humorist. Her performance was well received by the press and her fellow actors alike.

In 1935 McDaniel played "Mom Beck" in The Little Colonel. A number of African American journalists objected to Hattie's performance in the film. They charged that the character of Mom Beck, a happy black servant in the Old South, implied that black people might have been happier as slaves than they were as free individuals. This movie marked the beginning of McDaniel's long feud with the more progressive elements of the African American community.

Won Oscar for Gone with the Wind

Once established in Hollywood, McDaniel found no shortage of work. In 1936 alone she appeared in twelve films. For the decade as a whole her performances numbered about forty-nearly all of them in the role of maid or cook to a white household. McDaniel won the role of "Mammy" in Gone with the Wind over several rivals. Her salary for Gone with the Wind was to be $450 a week, which was much more than what her real-life counterparts could hope to earn.

McDaniel's performance as Mammy in Gone with the Wind was more than a bit part. It so impressed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that she was awarded the 1940 Oscar for best supporting actress, the first ever won by an African American. McDaniel's award-winning performance was generally seen by the black press as a symbol of progress for African Americans, although some members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) were still displeased with her work. At the least, her Oscar was a symbol of possible conciliation (the act of settling a dispute) between the races.

Feuds with NAACP

McDaniel spent much of 1940 touring the country as Mammy, and in the following year she appeared in three substantial film roles, earning no less than $31,000 for her efforts. She was married, for a third time, to James L. Crawford in 1941.

The mid-1940s brought trying times for McDaniel, who experienced a heart-wrenching false pregnancy in 1944 and soon after became the victim of racist-inspired legal problems. The actress found herself in a legal battle over a system in Los Angeles that limited the land and home ownership rights of African Americans. Having purchased a house in 1942, McDaniel faced the possibility of being thrown out of her home. She was one of several black entertainers who challenged the racist system in court, however, and won.

Still, throughout the 1940s a growing number of activists viewed McDaniel and all she represented as damaging to the budding fight for civil rights. NAACP president Walter White pressed both actors and studios to stop making films that tended to ridicule black people, and he singled out the roles of Hattie McDaniel as particularly offensive. In response McDaniel defended her right to choose whichever roles she saw fit, adding that many of her screen roles had shown themselves to be more than equal to that of their white employers.

Renewed success in radio

By the late 1940s McDaniel found herself in a difficult position. She found her screen opportunities disappearing even as she suffered insults from progressive blacks. After her third marriage ended in divorce in 1945, she became increasingly depressed and confused as to her proper path.

McDaniel could still use her vocal talent on radio. In 1947 she won the starring role of "Beulah" on The Beulah Show, a CBS radio show about a black maid and the white family for whom she worked. When Hattie McDaniel took over the role as Beulah, she became the first black performer to star in a radio program intended for a general audience. The program was generally praised by the NAACP and the Urban League, along with the twenty million other Americans who listened to it every evening at the height of its popularity in 1950.

McDaniel's last marriage, to an interior decorator named Larry Williams, lasted only a few months. In 1951 she suffered a heart attack while filming the first few segments of a projected television version of The Beulah Show. By summer she was diagnosed with breast cancer. McDaniel died in Hollywood, California, on October 26, 1952. She will always be remembered as Mammy of Gone with the Wind.

For More Information

Bogle, Donald. Brown Sugar: Eighty Years of America's Black Female Superstars. New York: Harmony Books, 1980.

Bogle, Donald. Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films. New York: Viking Press, 1973.

Jackson, Carlton. Hattie: The Life of Hattie McDaniel. Lanham, MD: Madison Books, 1989.

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Hattie McDaniel Biography - life, family, children, history, school, mother, old, information, born, movie, husband, house

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Born: June 10, 1898 Wichita, Kansas Died: October 26, 1952 Hollywood, California African American actress and singer Hattie McDaniel's portrayal of the "mammy" figure in the film Gone with the Wind, for which she received an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 1940, is still widely seen as a role that could only have been played by her.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh7r05RvOHU

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Educational Videos for Students (Cartoons on Bullying, Leadership & More)

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Unforgettable Moment: The First Black Oscar Winner | Hattie McDaniel

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI3zsRTgYHE

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Hattie McDaniel - The First African-American To Win An Oscar | Mini Bio | BIO

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https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/rosa-parks

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On December 1,1955, Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of going to the back of the bus, which was designated for African Americans, she sat in the front. When the bus started to fill up with white passengers, the bus driver asked Parks to move. She refused. Her resistance set in motion one of the largest social movements in history, the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Rosa Louise McCauley was born on February 4th, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. As a child, she went to an industrial school for girls and later enrolled at Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes (present-day Alabama State University). Unfortunately, Parks was forced to withdraw after her grandmother became ill. Growing up in the segregated South, Parks was frequently confronted with racial discrimination and violence. She became active in the Civil Rights Movement at a young age.

Parks married a local barber by the name of Raymond Parks when she was 19. He was actively fighting to end racial injustice. Together the couple worked with many social justice organizations. Eventually, Rosa was elected secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

By the time Parks boarded the bus in 1955, she was an established organizer and leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama. Parks not only showed active resistance by refusing to move she also helped organize and plan the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Many have tried to diminish Parks' role in the boycott by depicting her as a seamstress who simply did not want to move because she was tired. Parks denied the claim and years later revealed her true motivation:

"People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in."

Parks courageous act and the subsequent Montgomery Bus Boycott led to the integration of public transportation in Montgomery. Her actions were not without consequence. She was jailed for refusing to give up her seat and lost her job for participating in the boycott.

After the boycott, Parks and her husband moved to Hampton, Virginia and later permanently settled in Detroit, Michigan. Parks work proved to be invaluable in Detroit's Civil Rights Movement. She was an active member of several organizations which worked to end inequality in the city. By 1980, after consistently giving to the movement both financially and physically Parks, now widowed, suffered from financial and health troubles. After almost being evicted from her home, local community members and churches came together to support Parks. On October 24th, 2005, at the age of 92, she died of natural causes leaving behind a rich legacy of resistance against racial discrimination and injustice.

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Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and set in motion one of the largest social movements in history, the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Find out more about her at womenshistory.org.

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https://www.biography.com/activists/rosa-parks

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o0iF7fnsDw

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0E-3rfsxUw

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Rosa Parks: Civil Rights Movement Activist | Mini Bio | Biography

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https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/dandridge-dorothy-1922-1964/

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Dorothy Dandridge, born on November 9, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio, was a superb actress, singer and dancer who became a national and international star, and the first African American female actor nominated for both an Academy Award for Best Actress (Carmen Jones) and later a … Read MoreDorothy Dandrid…

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https://www.biography.com/actors/dorothy-dandridge

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gmrwL9xTkk

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Dorothy Dandridge - Actress & Singer | Mini Bio | BIO

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZbkdELCNVY

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This Week in Black History: Dorothy Dandridge

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https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/coretta-scott-king

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https://www.biography.com/activists/coretta-scott-king

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Coretta Scott King - Death, Quotes & Facts

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Coretta Scott King was an American civil rights activist and the wife of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYoUuqXNrY8

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcXNQ0-l5Nw

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Who is  Coretta Scott King ? Biography and Unknowns

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https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/shirley-chisholm

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MLA - Michals, Debra. "Shirley Chisholm." National Women's History Museum. National Women's History Museum, 2015. Date accessed.

Chicago - Michals, Debra. "Shirley Chisholm." National Women's History Museum. 2015. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/shirley-chisholm.

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Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was the first African American woman in Congress (1968) and the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president of the United States from one of the two major political parties (1972).

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https://www.biography.com/political-figures/shirley-chisholm

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Shirley Chisholm - Quotes, Family & Facts

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Shirley Chisholm became the first African American congresswoman in 1968. Four years later, she became the first major-party Black candidate to make a bid for the U.S. presidency.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyEy_RRIEhE

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Shirley Chisholm - The First Black Congresswoman

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MFdNTryTdg

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Shirley Chisholm: The first black woman to run for US president - BBC World Service

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https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/maya-angelou

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Prior to the start of World War II, Angelou moved back in with her mother, who at this time was living in Oakland, California. She attended George Washington High School and took dance and drama courses at the California Labor School.

When war broke out, Angelou applied to join the Women's Army Corps. However, her application was rejected because of her involvement in the California Labor School, which was said to have Communist ties. Determined to gain employment, despite being only 15 years old, she decided to apply for the position of a streetcar conductor. Many men had left their jobs to join the services, enabling women to fill them. However, Angelou was barred from applying at first because of her race. But she was undeterred. Every day for three weeks, she requested a job application, but was denied. Finally, the company relented and handed her an application. Because she was under the legal working age, she wrote that she was 19. She was accepted for the position and became the first African American woman to work as a streetcar conductor in San Francisco. Angelou was employed for a semester but then decided to return to school. She graduated from Mission High School in the summer of 1944 and soon after gave birth to her only child, Clyde Bailey (Guy) Johnson.

In 1969, Angelou published I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography of her early life. Her tale of personal strength amid childhood trauma and racism resonated with readers and was nominated for the National Book Award. Many schools sought to ban the book for its frank depiction of sexual abuse, but it is credited with helping other abuse survivors tell their stories. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has been translated into numerous languages and has sold over a million copies worldwide. Angelou eventually published six more autobiographies, culminating in 2013's Mom & Me & Mom.

Angelou carried out a wide variety of activities on stage and screen as a writer, actor, director, and producer. In 1972, she became the first African American woman to have her screen play turned into a film with the production of Kunta Kinte's grandmother in the television miniseries Georgia, Georgia. Angelou earned a Tony nomination in 1973 for her supporting role in Jerome Kitty's play Roots in 1977. Look Away, and portrayed

Angelou died on May 28, 2014. Several memorials were held in her honor, including ones at Wake Forest University and Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. To honor her legacy, the US Postal Service issued a stamp with her likeness on it in 2015. (The US Postal Service mistakenly included a quote on the stamp that has long been associated with Angelou but was actually first written by Joan Walsh Anglund

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Poet, dancer, singer, activist, and scholar Maya Angelou is a celebrated author best known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style.

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https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/maya-angelou

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyHqafC740Q

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Maya Angelou - Civil Rights Activist & Author | Mini Bio | BIO

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk9rdu21LxQ

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Maya Angelou: 20th Century Renaissance Woman | Black History in Two Minutes (or so)

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https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/tarana-burke

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As an activist, community organizer, and executive, Tarana Burke has made quite an impact. Known as the founder of the 'me too' Movement, Burke's hashtag has been used more than 19 million times on Twitter alone. Since then, Burke has been widely recognized for her work, and was named Person of the Year by TIME Magazine in 2017.

Tarana Burke was born on September 12, 1973 in The Bronx, New York. From a young age, Burke developed a passion for activism and community organizing. In the late 1980s, she joined an organization focused on youth development called 21 st Century. Starting as a teenager, Burke led campaigns and launched initiatives around issues like housing inequality, racial discrimination, and economic injustice. Fueled by her passion for activism, she decided to attend Alabama State University, a Historically Black University (HBCU), to further develop her organizing skills. Burke's advocacy and leadership continued throughout her college career. After graduating, she moved to Selma, Alabama to work for 21 st Century. While working with this organization, Burke encountered many young women of color that were survivors of sexual violence and abuse. Also a survivor of sexual abuse, Burke identified with these young women and her efforts shifted towards supporting them. She began to find ways to provide resources, support and safe spaces for young women of color to share their stories.

In 1996, Burke was working as the director of a youth camp when she encountered a young woman that would have a profound effect on her. After holding an all-girl bonding session at the camp, a young woman asked to speak with Burke privately about experiencing sexual abuse. Although Burke was unable to respond thoroughly in the moment, this encounter would become the foundation for the 'me too' Movement she created a decade later. She continued to focus on young women of color and co-founded an African-centered Rites of Passage program for girls called Jendayi Aza. This program evolved into her non-profit JustBe, Inc. which was founded in 2007. This organization was created to empower and encourage young Black girls through unique programming and workshops. JustBe, Inc. had a tremendous impact on the community, and the program was adopted by every public school in Selma, Alabama. Shortly after, the 'me too' Movement was born. Created as a way for young women of color to share their stories, Burke began using the phrase 'me too' to promote the idea of "empowerment through empathy." Her campaign was not only designed to facilitate healing, but she also wanted to train survivors to work in communities of color.

While developing 'me too,' Burke continued to work in the non-profit sector. She served as Managing Director of a Black arts organization in Philadelphia called Art Sanctuary. She was also the Executive Director of the Black Belt Cultural Arts Center, where she created community programs designed for underserved youth. In Selma, Alabama, Burke worked as a curatorial consultant and special projects director at the National Voting Rights Museum & Institute. While at this museum she helped to organize the annual Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee to commemorate the Selma Voting Rights Struggle. Burke's work earned her a consulting position on Ava DuVernay's award-winning film, Selma in 2014. A few years later, Burke's work returned to the spotlight. During the 2017 Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal, Burke's hashtag #metoo went viral. People all over the world began posting the phrase on their social media accounts to align with the movement.

Following this surge of support, Burke became a global leader and helped to get a larger conversation started around sexual violence. According to the Pew Research Center, in just one year the #metoo hashtag was used more than 19 million times on Twitter alone. In 2017, TIME Magazine named Burke and other "Silence Breakers" as Person of the Year. The very next year, she attended the 75 th Annual Golden Globe Awards as a guest of actress Michelle Williams. Burke has been internationally celebrated for her work and has been invited to speak across the country. In 2019, she earned the Sydney Peace Prize in Sydney, Australia. Burke currently serves as the Senior Director of Girls for Gender Equity in Brooklyn, NY. She is also frequently asked to provide social commentary and has been published in Teen Vogue, Colorlines, Mic, BK Nation, Glamour, Ebony, Essence, The Source, and The Root, among others. Burke currently resides in New York City with her daughter.

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As an activist, community organizer, and executive, Tarana Burke has made quite an impact. Discover more at womenshistory.org.

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https://www.biography.com/activists/tarana-burke

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Tarana Burke is a civil rights activist who was the original founder of the “Me Too” movement, which she started in 2006. It later became a global phenomenon that raised awareness about sexual harassment, abuse, and assault in society in 2017.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF55ItXWjck

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https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/nina-simone

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"The High Priestess of Soul," Nina Simone was a singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Mostly known as a jazz singer, her music blended gospel, blues, folk, pop, and classical styles. No popular singer was more closely associated with the Civil Rights Movement than Simone.

Nina Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933, in Tryon, North Carolina. Her mother, Mary Kate Irvin, was a Methodist preacher and housekeeper, and her father, John Divine Waymon, worked as an entertainer, barber, and dry-cleaner. The family's home was filled with music and Simone's mother encouraged her musical pursuits but did not approve of nonreligious music like blues and jazz. Simone took up the piano before her feet could reach the pedals, and by the age of six, she was playing during church services.

Simone soon began formal training, her lessons paid for by benefactors who saw her promise as a pianist. She learned classical repertory and specialized in playing the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Funds donated by a pair of white patrons in Tryon allowed Simone to attend the Allen High School for Girls, a private, integrated high school in Asheville, North Carolina. In 1950, Simone graduated from Allen as the valedictorian.

She earned a scholarship for a one-year program at the Juilliard School in New York City and used the time there to prepare for the entrance exam to the prestigious (and tuition-free) Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She worked as an accompanist and piano teacher to support herself but left Juilliard after she ran out of money. Simone applied to Curtis but was denied entry. She always felt that her rejection was based solely on her race and the injustice had a profound impact on her. Simone continued to work as an accompanist and music teacher as she took private lessons and pursued her dream of becoming a concert pianist.

While performing in the Atlantic City and Philadelphia areas, Simone signed with Bethlehem Records and released her debut album, Little Girl Blue, in 1958. Simone still sought to become a concert pianist and used her proceeds from her album to fund her classical training. Simone's version of "I Loves You, Porgy" from the musical Porgy and Bess became a Top 20 hit in 1959. She decided to move to New York to capitalize on her success.

Simone continued to speak out forcefully about the African American freedom struggle and became associated with the Black Nationalism and Black Power movements. Her albums covered a wide range of styles and included both politically motivated songs and reimaginations of popular songs. "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black" (1969) aimed to make African American children feel good about themselves and "Four Women" (1966) expressed the suffering and resilience of African American women. At the same time, her covers of songs by Leonard Cohen, George Harrison, and the Bee Gees earned acclaim.

In 1991, Simone published her autobiography, I Put a Spell on You (taking the title from her famous 1965 song). The Curtis Institute of Music, which had rejected Simone back in 1950, named her an honorary doctor in music and humanities in 2003. Two days later, she died from cancer at her home in Carry-le-Rouet, France.

Scholars have often overlooked Simone's legacy because her music crossed genres and could not easily be categorized, but she left a profound mark on American music. Singers such as Aretha Franklin, Rufus Wainright, and Roberta Flack cite her as an important influence. In 2008, Rolling Stone named Simone to its list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, and, in 2018, Simone was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

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"The High Priestess of Soul," Nina Simone was a singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist.

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https://www.biography.com/musicians/nina-simone-activism

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How Nina Simone Used Her Performances For Activism

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The musician used her voice and songs to support the civil rights movement and speak out about crimes against Black people in America.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a9IEr_X_RY

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Educational Videos for Students (Cartoons on Bullying, Leadership & More)

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Nina Simone | Facts, Biography, & Music| Black History

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Angela Davis - Women & the American Story

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This teaching resource is the life story of Angela Davis, a philosopher, activist, and political prisoner.

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https://www.biography.com/activists/angela-davis

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBNZo_joB-E

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How Did Angela Davis Inspire a Movement?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQyVeuIqReo

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Angela Davis ::: An Icon of The Civil Rights Era

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https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ruby-bridges

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https://www.biography.com/activists/ruby-bridges

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Ufz2Y6sOY

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Ruby Bridges, Age 6, Integrates New Orleans School

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'It Really Has Everything to Do with Love': Ruby Bridges Shares the Key to Overcoming Racism

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https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/oprah-winfrey

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https://www.ducksters.com/biography/entertainers/oprah_winfrey.php

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Kids learn about the biography of Oprah Winfrey including her childhood, early career as a news anchor, becoming famous as a talk show host, and her work as an actress.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGf85-bQmEQ

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Oprah Winfrey Biography: Life and Career

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XV9q3Vby5U

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Fresberg Cartoon – Learning & History for Students

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Oprah Winfrey for Kids (Biography) Black History Month for Kids/Children (Cartoon)

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https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mae-jemison

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As a doctor, engineer, and NASA astronaut, Mae Jemison has always reached for the stars. In 1992, Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space. She has also written several books and appeared on many television programs including an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In addition to her many awards, Jemison has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame.

Mae Carol Jemison was born on October 17, 1956 in Decatur, Alabama. The youngest of three children, her mother was an elementary school teacher and her father was a maintenance supervisor. A few years after she was born, Jemison and her family moved to Chicago, Illinois. In addition to her love for dance, Jemison knew that she wanted to study science at a very young age. Jemison grew up watching the Apollo airings on TV, but she was often upset that there were no female astronauts. However, Jemison was inspired by African American actress Nichelle Nichols who played Lieutenant Uhura on the Star Trek television show. Jemison was determined to one day travel in space. In 1973, she graduated from Morgan Park High School when she was 16 years old. Once she graduated, Jemison left Chicago to attend Stanford University in California.

As one of the only African American students in her class, Jemison experienced racial discrimination in school. She later served as president of the Black Student Union and choreographed a performing arts production called Out of the Shadows about the African American experience. Jemison graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts degree in African and African-American studies. After graduating from Stanford University, Jemison attended Cornell Medical School. While in medical school, she traveled to Cuba to lead a study for the American Medical Student Association. She also worked at a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand. Jemison graduated from Cornell with a Doctorate in Medicine in 1981. Shortly after her graduation, she became an intern at the Los Angeles County Medical Center, and then went on to practice general medicine. Fluent in Russian, Japanese and Swahili, Jemison joined the Peace Corps in 1983 and served as a medical officer for two years in Africa.

After working with the Peace Corps, Jemison opened a private practice as a doctor. However, once Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983, Jemison decided to apply to the astronaut program at NASA. She applied in 1985, but after the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986, NASA took a break from accepting new people. However, Jemison applied again in 1987 and was one of the 15 people chosen out of over 2,000 applications. She was selected for NASA Astronaut Group 12, which was the first group chosen after the Challenger explosion. After being selected, Jemison trained with NASA and worked on projects at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory. She received her first mission on September 28, 1989 when she was selected to join the STS-47 crew as a Mission Specialist. On September 12, 1992 Jemison and six other astronauts went into space on the space shuttle Endeavor. This voyage made Jemison the first African American woman in space. The team made 127 orbits around the Earth and returned to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 20, 1992.

Jemison left NASA in 1993 after serving as an astronaut for six years in total. She started The Jemison Group, a consulting company that encourages science, technology, and social change. She also began teaching environmental studies at Dartmouth College and directed the Jemison Institute for Advancing Technology in Developing Countries. After hearing that she was a fan of the Star Trek television show, actor LeVar Burton asked Jemison to appear in an episode. Jemison agreed and became the first real astronaut to be on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She played Lieutenant Palmer in the episode, "Second Chances." In 1994, Jemison created an international space camp for students 12-16 years old called The Earth We Share (TEWS). She also created a nonprofit organization called the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence. Jemison later accepted a position as the Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University in 1999. She went on to write her first book in 2001, Find Where the Wind Goes, which was a children's book about her life.

Currently, Jemison is leading the 100 Year Starship project through the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This project works to make sure human space travel to another star is possible within the next 100 years. She also serves on the Board of Directors for many organizations including; the Kimberly-Clark Corp., Scholastic, Inc., Valspar Corp., Morehouse College, Texas Medical Center, Texas State Product Development and Small Business Incubator, Greater Houston Partnership Disaster Planning and Recovery Task Force, and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. Jemison is a member of the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, and has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, National Medical Association Hall of Fame and Texas Science Hall of Fame. She has received multiple awards and honorary degrees including the National Organization for Women's Intrepid Award and the Kilby Science Award. She currently lives in Houston, Texas.

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Astronaut Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space. Discover more at womenshistory.org.

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https://www.biography.com/scientists/mae-c-jemison

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As a doctor, engineer, and NASA astronaut, Mae Jemison has always reached for the stars. In 1992, Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space. She has also written several books and appeared on many television programs including an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In addition to her many awards, Jemison has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame.

Mae Carol Jemison was born on October 17, 1956 in Decatur, Alabama. The youngest of three children, her mother was an elementary school teacher and her father was a maintenance supervisor. A few years after she was born, Jemison and her family moved to Chicago, Illinois. In addition to her love for dance, Jemison knew that she wanted to study science at a very young age. Jemison grew up watching the Apollo airings on TV, but she was often upset that there were no female astronauts. However, Jemison was inspired by African American actress Nichelle Nichols who played Lieutenant Uhura on the Star Trek television show. Jemison was determined to one day travel in space. In 1973, she graduated from Morgan Park High School when she was 16 years old. Once she graduated, Jemison left Chicago to attend Stanford University in California.

As one of the only African American students in her class, Jemison experienced racial discrimination in school. She later served as president of the Black Student Union and choreographed a performing arts production called Out of the Shadows about the African American experience. Jemison graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts degree in African and African-American studies. After graduating from Stanford University, Jemison attended Cornell Medical School. While in medical school, she traveled to Cuba to lead a study for the American Medical Student Association. She also worked at a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand. Jemison graduated from Cornell with a Doctorate in Medicine in 1981. Shortly after her graduation, she became an intern at the Los Angeles County Medical Center, and then went on to practice general medicine. Fluent in Russian, Japanese and Swahili, Jemison joined the Peace Corps in 1983 and served as a medical officer for two years in Africa.

After working with the Peace Corps, Jemison opened a private practice as a doctor. However, once Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983, Jemison decided to apply to the astronaut program at NASA. She applied in 1985, but after the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986, NASA took a break from accepting new people. However, Jemison applied again in 1987 and was one of the 15 people chosen out of over 2,000 applications. She was selected for NASA Astronaut Group 12, which was the first group chosen after the Challenger explosion. After being selected, Jemison trained with NASA and worked on projects at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory. She received her first mission on September 28, 1989 when she was selected to join the STS-47 crew as a Mission Specialist. On September 12, 1992 Jemison and six other astronauts went into space on the space shuttle Endeavor. This voyage made Jemison the first African American woman in space. The team made 127 orbits around the Earth and returned to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 20, 1992.

Jemison left NASA in 1993 after serving as an astronaut for six years in total. She started The Jemison Group, a consulting company that encourages science, technology, and social change. She also began teaching environmental studies at Dartmouth College and directed the Jemison Institute for Advancing Technology in Developing Countries. After hearing that she was a fan of the Star Trek television show, actor LeVar Burton asked Jemison to appear in an episode. Jemison agreed and became the first real astronaut to be on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She played Lieutenant Palmer in the episode, "Second Chances." In 1994, Jemison created an international space camp for students 12-16 years old called The Earth We Share (TEWS). She also created a nonprofit organization called the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence. Jemison later accepted a position as the Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University in 1999. She went on to write her first book in 2001, Find Where the Wind Goes, which was a children's book about her life.

Currently, Jemison is leading the 100 Year Starship project through the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This project works to make sure human space travel to another star is possible within the next 100 years. She also serves on the Board of Directors for many organizations including; the Kimberly-Clark Corp., Scholastic, Inc., Valspar Corp., Morehouse College, Texas Medical Center, Texas State Product Development and Small Business Incubator, Greater Houston Partnership Disaster Planning and Recovery Task Force, and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. Jemison is a member of the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, and has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, National Medical Association Hall of Fame and Texas Science Hall of Fame. She has received multiple awards and honorary degrees including the National Organization for Women's Intrepid Award and the Kilby Science Award. She currently lives in Houston, Texas.

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Astronaut Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space. Discover more at womenshistory.org.

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Mae Jemison: First African American Woman in Space | Biography

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGbEQq0oI2Q

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https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-families/michelle-obama/

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First Lady Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is a lawyer, writer, and the wife of the 44th President, Barack Obama. She is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Through her four main initiatives, she became a role model for women and an advocate for healthy families, service members and their families, higher education, and international adolescent girls education.

Each of us also comes here tonight," Michelle Obama told the Democratic National Convention in 2008, "by way of our own improbable journey" and "driven by a simple belief that . . . we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be." Michelle Obama's journey began in the South Side of Chicago, where Fraser and Marian Robinson instilled in their daughter a heartfelt commitment to family, hard work, and education.

Her father was a pump operator for the Chicago Water Department, while her mother stayed at home to care for Michelle and her older brother Craig. As she watched her father refuse to give in to multiple sclerosis, use two canes to get to his job, and save money to send her to college, she learned that "the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them."

Michelle earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and a juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School. In 1988, she returned to Chicago to join the firm of Sidley Austin. It was there that she met Barack Obama, a summer associate she was assigned to advise. They were married in 1992.

By that time Michelle had turned her energies to public service. She was assistant commissioner of planning and development in Chicago's City Hall before becoming the founding executive director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program that prepares young people for public service. In 1996, she joined the University of Chicago as associate dean of student services, where she developed the university's first community service program. In 2002, she went to work for the University of Chicago Medical Center, where in 2005 she became the vice president of community and external affairs. During these years the Obamas' daughters Malia and Sasha were born.

As first lady, Michelle Obama initiated Let's Move! a program aiming to end childhood obesity within a generation. Through it, elected officials, business leaders, educators, parents, and faith leaders worked together to provide more nutritious food in schools, bring healthy and affordable food into underserved communities, plant vegetable gardens across America, and provide new opportunities for kids to be more active. Each year local schoolchildren helped plant and harvest the garden she started on the White House South Lawn. Its vegetables and fruits were served at the White House and donated to soup kitchens and food banks.

During Barack Obama's second term Michelle spearheaded the Reach Higher Initiative to help students understand job opportunities and the education and skills they need for those jobs. She encouraged young people to continue their education past high school in technical schools and community colleges as well as at colleges and universities. Worldwide, she championed the education of girls and women. In a commencement address at the City College of New York she told graduates, "Never view your challenges as obstacles." It is a lesson she has embodied all her life. Throughout her time in the White House Mrs. Obama worked to support veterans and military families. She also focused her energies on what she calls her most important role: MominChief to her daughters, who grew into accomplished young women during their eight years in the White House.
The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from "The Presidents of the United States of America," by Frank Freidel and Hugh Sidey.
Learn more about Michelle Obama's spouse, Barack Obama.

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First Lady Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is a lawyer, writer, and the wife of the 44th President, Barack Obama. She is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Through her four main initiatives, she became a role model for women and an advocate for healthy families, service members and their families, higher education, and international adolescent girls education.

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https://www.biography.com/history-culture/michelle-obama

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Michelle Obama is a lawyer, writer, and the wife of former U.S. President Barack Obama. Prior to her role as first lady, she was a lawyer, Chicago city administrator, and community outreach worker.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyViiQDQs08

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0CYL9qdOvk

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Michelle Obama - First African American First Lady | Mini Bio| Biography

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https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/kamala-harris

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MLA - Rothberg, Emma. "Kamala Harris" National Women's History Museum, 2020. Date accessed.

Chicago - Rothberg, Emma. "Kamala Harris" National Women's History Museum. 2020. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/kamala-harris.

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On January 20, 2021, Kamala D. Harris became the first woman, the first African American woman, the first Indian-American, the first person of Asian-American descent, and the first graduate of an HBCU to become the Vice President of the United States.

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https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/vice-president-harris/

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Download Official Portrait Download the Vice President's Biography
Kamala D. Harris is the Vice President of the United States of America. She was elected Vice President after a lifetime of public service, having been elected District Attorney of San Francisco, California Attorney General, and United States Senator.
Vice President Harris was born in Oakland, California to parents who emigrated from India and Jamaica. She graduated from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of Law.

Vice President Harris with her mother, Shyamala

"My mother would look at me and she'd say, 'Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last.'"
Kamala Harris, January 28, 2019

Vice President Harris and her sister, Maya Harris, were inspired by their mother, Shyamala Gopalan. Gopalan, a breast cancer scientist and pioneer in her own right, received her doctorate the same year Vice President Harris was born.

Her parents were activists, instilling Vice President Harris with a strong sense of justice. They brought her to civil rights demonstrations and introduced role models-ranging from Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall to civil rights leader Constance Baker Motley-whose work motivated her to become a prosecutor.

Growing up, Vice President Harris was surrounded by a diverse community and extended family. In 2014, she married Douglas Emhoff. They have a large blended family that includes their children, Ella and Cole.

Vice President Harris at the Pride Parade in San Francisco, California

Throughout her career, the Vice President has been guided by the words she spoke the first time she stood up in court: Kamala Harris, for the people.

In 1990, Vice President Harris joined the Alameda County District Attorney's Office where she specialized in prosecuting child sexual assault cases. She then served as a managing attorney in the San Francisco District Attorney's Office and later was chief of the Division on Children and Families for the San Francisco City Attorney's Office.

She was elected District Attorney of San Francisco in 2003. In that role, Vice President Harris created a ground-breaking program to provide first-time drug offenders with the opportunity to earn a high school degree and find employment. The program was designated as a national model of innovation for law enforcement by the United States Department of Justice.

In 2010, Vice President Harris was elected California's Attorney General and oversaw the largest state justice department in the United States. She established the state's first Bureau of Children's Justice and instituted several first-of-their-kind reforms that ensured greater transparency and accountability in the criminal justice system.

As Attorney General, Vice President Harris won a $20 billion settlement for Californians whose homes had been foreclosed on, as well as a $1.1 billion settlement for students and veterans who were taken advantage of by a for-profit education company. She defended the Affordable Care Act in court, enforced environmental law, and was a national leader in the movement for marriage equality.

Vice President Harris speaking at an event

"At every step of the way, I've been guided by the words I spoke from the first time I stood in a courtroom: Kamala Harris, For the People."
Kamala Harris, August 19, 2020

In 2017, Vice President Harris was sworn into the United States Senate. In her first speech, she spoke out on behalf of immigrants and refugees. As a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, she fought for better protections for DREAMers and called for better oversight of substandard conditions at immigrant detention facilities.

On the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, she worked with members of both parties to keep the American people safe from foreign threats and crafted bipartisan legislation to assist in securing American elections. She visited Iraq, Jordan, and Afghanistan to meet with servicemembers and assess the situation on the ground. She also served on the Senate Judiciary Committee. During her tenure on the committee, she participated in hearings for two Supreme Court nominees.

As Senator, Vice President Harris championed legislation to combat hunger, provide rent relief, improve maternal health care, and address the climate crisis as a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Her bipartisan anti-lynching bill passed the Senate in 2018. Her legislation to preserve Historically Black Colleges and Universities was signed into law, as was her effort to infuse much-needed capital into low-income communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vice President Harris embraces a young supporter

On August 11, 2020, Vice President Harris accepted President Joe Biden's invitation to become his running mate and help unite the nation. She is the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected Vice President, as was the case with other offices she has held. She is, however, determined not to be the last.

As Vice President, Kamala Harris has worked in partnership with President Joe Biden to get America vaccinated, rebuild our economy, reduce child poverty, and pass an infrastructure law that will lift up communities that have been left behind. She has led the Administration's efforts in rallying broad coalitions to protect the freedom to vote, expand workers' rights to organize and collectively bargain, and stand up for women's rights - supporting women in our workforce, addressing the maternal health crisis, and defending reproductive rights. The Vice President has also played a key role in engaging world leaders and strengthening our nation's alliances and partnerships. In everything she does, she remains focused on the people of our nation-and our collective future.

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Kamala D. Harris is the Vice President of the United States of America. She was elected Vice President after a lifetime of public service, having been elected District Attorney of San Francisco, California Attorney General, and United States Senator.

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Educational Videos for Students (Cartoons on Bullying, Leadership & More)

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Top 10 Interesting Facts about Kamala Harris | Bio, Family, & more | Black History for Students

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https://www.biography.com/athletes/simone-biles

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https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Simone_Biles

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Educational Videos for Students (Cartoons on Bullying, Leadership & More)

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10 Fun Facts About Olympic Gymnast Simone Biles | Educational Videos for Students

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https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ibtihaj-muhammad

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Born on December 4, 1985 to parents Eugene Muhammad and Denise Garner, Ibtihaj Muhammad is one of six children. Growing up in Maplewood, New Jersey, Muhammad participated in several sports, such as swimming, volleyball, tennis, and softball. Athletics were a challenge, however, as most uniforms did not conform with her Muslim faith, which called for covering her arms, legs, and head.

Muhammad graduated from Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey in 2004. She earned an academic scholarship to Duke University, where she majored in international relations and African and African American studies, and studied Arabic. She excelled on Duke's fencing team, earning All-American honors three times. There she took up the sabre, the fastest of the three fencing disciplines. The speed and aggression of the sabre suited Muhammad: "It's the closest representation of who I am. I'm very aggressive," she told the New York Times.

Muhammad accumulated numerous victories in her seven years on the U.S. national team. The team won gold at the 2014 World Championships and the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games, and bronze at the 2011-2013 and 2015 World Championships. She earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in 2016, making her the first American athlete to compete in the Olympic Games while wearing the hijab, a feat that garnered great attention. In February 2016, she attended President Obama's speech at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, where he encouraged her to bring home the gold. At a lead-up event to the 2016 Olympics, Muhammad gave First Lady Michelle Obama a fencing lesson in New York City's Times Square. Time magazine included Muhammad in its list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2016. Muhammad helped the U.S. Olympic team win the bronze medal in saber fencing in Rio and placed 12 th in her individual competition.

In 2018, Mattel released a Barbie doll with Muhammad's likeness as part of its "Shero" line that honors accomplished women who inspire young girls. Muhammad's doll was the first Barbie to wear the hijab, marking an important milestone in Muslim representation for the iconic toy. That same year, Muhammad released her memoir, Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream. It details her journey from childhood in New Jersey to the U.S. Olympic fencing team and the racism and xenophobia she encountered along the way.

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A world-class fencer, Ibtihaj Muhammad made history as the first American to wear a hijab in Olympic competition at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro.

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Who Is Ibtihaj Muhammad?

Fencing champion Ibtihaj Muhammad was born in 1985 in New Jersey. She discovered fencing when she was 13 years old and has gone on to earn numerous medals and accolades for her achievements in the sport. In 2016, she secured a spot on Team USA. In qualifying for the Olympics, Muhammad made history when she became the first Muslim woman who wears a hijab, a traditional Muslim headscarf, to represent the United States. She became the first female Muslim-American athlete to win an Olympic medal when she took home the bronze in the team sabre event at the Summer Games in Rio.

Early Life

Ibtihaj Muhammad was born on December 4, 1985 in Maplewood, New Jersey. She is one of five children born to parents Eugene and Denise Muhammad. From a young age, Muhammad had a competitive streak and loved sports. However, participating in sports at school sometimes conflicted with her religious observance to dress modestly. Often when playing sports, her mother Denise had to alter the uniforms to add long sleeves or covering for her legs. When she was 13, Muhammad and her mother discovered fencing when they saw a high school fencing team practice as they drove home. "The kids were wearing their long pants and hats, and my mom just thought, 'This is perfect,'" Muhammad said. "That's where it all began." Fencing was an ideal opportunity to participate in sports while wearing a hijab. Unlike when she played other sports, she also did not feel out of place amongst her teammates.

When Muhammad first tried fencing in middle school, she didn't particularly care for it, but she soon changed her mind. From a practical and financial standpoint, she viewed fencing as an opportunity to obtain a sports scholarship to a prestigious university. She also changed her weaponry from the epée, finding the saber better suited to her personality. (Of the three fencing disciplines, the foil, the epée, and the saber - the saber is considered the fastest and most forceful.) Soon her enthusiasm grew and Muhammad began attending the Peter Westbrook Foundation, a non-profit organization that introduces and teaches the sport of fencing (and life skills) to underprivileged inner-city youth in New York City. There, she met other kids from similar backgrounds and more encouragement to pursue the sport.

Muhammad attended Maplewood's Columbia High School, where she excelled and became captain of the fencing team for two years and helped win two state championships.

Career Beginnings

Ibtihaj Muhammad attended Duke University on a scholarship. She graduated in 2007 with dual bachelor's degrees in international relations and African-American studies with a minor in Arabic. During her first year at college in 2004, she earned All-America honors with a record of 49-8. From there, she went on to place second at the mid-Atlantic/South Regional and 21st at the Junior Olympics. The following year, she finished 11th for saber at the NCAA Championships, and earned her second consecutive All-America honors. A third would come in 2006.

"Fencing has taught me so much about myself and what I am capable of. I want to be an example for minority and Muslim youth that anything is possible with perseverance. I want them to know that nothing should ever hinder them from achieving their goals-not race, religion, or gender." - Ibtihaj Muhammad, Duke Magazine, 2011

Muhammad also serves on the council for the U.S. Department of State's Empowering Women and Girls Through Sport Initiative, which encourages girls across the globe to reach their potential.

Becoming A Champion

In 2009, Muhammad elevated her training when she was coached by the 2000 U.S. Olympian, Akhi Spencer-El. That same year, she won a national title. Since then Muhammad has become a five-time Senior World Team medalist. She helped her team take home gold for the United States in 2014 in Kazan, Russia. Throughout her career, she has earned numerous medals for both team and individual events on the World Cup circuit. In 2012, Muhammad was named Muslim Sportswoman of the year.

"What I loved most about fencing was it allowed me to pursue my desire to be involved in sports, but also allowed me to be myself as Muslim woman." - Ibtihaj Muhammad, Elle Magazine, 2016

In 2016, Muhammad earned a spot on the U.S. Saber Fencing Team for the Olympics in Rio. She is the first Muslim woman to wear a hijab, a traditional Muslim headscarf, to represent the United States at the Olympics. She has stated that qualifying for an Olympic team means a great deal not only for her and her family, but also for the Muslim community. She is seen as a symbol of promise for a community that sees few Muslim women playing at an elite level of sport.

At the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, Muhammad won her first qualifying round in the individual saber event, but was defeated by French fencer Cécilia Berder in the second round. Muhammad went on to become the first female Muslim-American athlete to win an Olympic medal when she took home the bronze in the team sabre event. Muhammad and teammates Dagmara Wozniak, Mariel Zagunis and Monica Aksamit defeated the Italian team 45-30 for the win.

"A lot of people don't believe that Muslim women have voices or that we participate in sport," Muhammad said in an interview with USA Today. "And it's not just to challenge misconceptions outside the Muslim community, but within the Muslim community. I want to break cultural norms."

She added, "It's a blessing to represent so many people who don't have voices, who don't speak up, and it's been a really remarkable experience for me."

The Entrepreneur

Muhammad has traveled the world for her sport, but also as a speaker at various public engagements and at conventions relating to sports and education. Often she would find herself frustrated with the lack of modern fashion that was modest in design for observant Muslim women.

Seeing that void in the marketplace, and with the suggestion and encouragement of her brother Qareeb, Muhammad founded her online shop Louella in 2014. Her e-tail shop offers an affordable fashion alternative for the Muslim market. Her brother helped connect her to a manufacturer in Los Angeles, where all the clothing is made. He now runs the manufacturing end and she and her sisters design the products. Starting her own business and working with her family has become another outlet for Muhammad, who hopes to transition to operate her company full-time after retiring from her sporting career.

On November 13, Mattel announced that it was honoring Muhammad with the unveiling of a new Barbie doll in her likeness. Part of the brand's annual Shero program, which celebrates notable women and their achievements, the doll is the first in Barbie's lengthy history to come with a hijab.

The Olympic medalist responded to the news by posting an Instagram photo of her with a doll, writing, "I'm proud to know that little girls everywhere can now play with a Barbie who chooses to wear hijab! This is a childhood dream come true."

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Fencing champion Ibtihaj Muhammad was born in 1985 in New Jersey. She discovered fencing when she was 13 years old and has gone on to earn numerous medals and accolades for her achievements in the sport. In 2016, she secured a spot on Team USA.

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Ibtihaj Muhammad was the first US Olympian to wear a hijab

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https://www.biography.com/musicians/beyonce-knowles

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Beyoncé Knowles is a multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning recording artist who’s acclaimed for her thrilling vocals, videos and live shows.

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https://teachrock.org/traceitback/beyonce/

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Beyoncé

aka Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
Birth name: Beyoncé Giselle Knowles
Birthplace: Houston, TX
September 4, 1981-Present
Years Active: Early 1990s- Present

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter was born September 4th, 1981 in Houston, Texas. Her father Mathew Knowles was a businessman, and her mother Tina Knowles (Lawson) was a hairdresser. Her younger sister, singer-songwriter Solange, was born June 26th, 1986. Beyoncé's career in music and dance began as a small child. She was enrolled in dance classes and attended art schools in the Houston area. She ventured into singing through local talent shows and becoming a part of her school and church choirs.

Her love for singing and performing became more than a hobby in 1992, when Beyoncé, along with her family friend Kelly Rowland and LaTavia Robinson, auditioned for an all-girls R&B group that would eventually become Girl's Tyme. Girl's Tyme added three other members for a total of 6, and appeared on the hit television talent show Star Search. The group unfortunately lost Star Search, but their appearance on the show motivated them to work harder. Beyoncé's father Matthew Knowles began to manage the group, cutting it down to four members, adding LeToya Luckett, and booking them at local gigs around Houston.

After a few years of rigorous rehearsals, Girls Tyme opened for established R&B acts like Dru Hill. After difficulties working with record labels, the group changed their name to Destiny's Child in 1996. They released their self-titled debut album in 1998 with the lead single "No, No, No," which peaked at the #3 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. The success of their first album was immediately followed by their second album The Writing's on the Wall a year later. The Writing's on the Wall included the first of their many signature songs such as "Say My Name," "Bills, Bills, Bills," and "Jumpin, Jumpin." The Writing's on the Wall era would produce two more lineup changes for Destiny's Child: the departure of Robinson and Luckett who were replaced by Farrah Franklin and Michelle Williams. In less than a year, Franklin was fired from the group, leaving Destiny's Child as a trio.

By the new millennium, Destiny's Child achieved success as a trio with Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. They released their third album Survivor in 2001, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, went quadruple platinum, and earned them a Grammy. The mega success of Survivor established Destiny's Child as R&B and Pop superstars. While still in the group during the early aughts, Beyoncé pursued solo endeavors. She starred in movies such as Carmen: A Hip Hopera, Austin Power: Goldmember, and The Fighting Temptations. In 2003, Beyoncé released her debut solo album Dangerously in Love with the immediate hit "Crazy in Love" featuring rapper Jay Z, who she would eventually marry in 2008. Beyoncé went on to win five Grammys for her debut album. A year later, she returned to Destiny's Child who released their final album Destiny Fulfilled, which produced several hits and a successful world tour in 2005. In 2006, Destiny's Child officially disbanded.

After the group disbanded, Beyoncé continued her solo career, with the release of B'day (2006), her first visual album. I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008) spawned the viral hit single "Single Ladies" and dance craze. For 4 (2011), she famously promoted while pregnant with her first daughter Blue Ivy Carter.

Her following two releases changed the music industry. With absolutely no marketing, she released the widely praised visual album BEYONCÉ on December 13, 2013 which was never done before. The surprise release soon inspired other music artists to take control of when their albums drop. In 2016, Beyoncé released another visual album and her magnum opus, Lemonade, which premiered as a television special on HBO, a few months after the release of the lead single "Formation." Lemonade marked a new era of Beyoncé's career, one that was more political and centered her southern Black roots. Lemonade inspired countless think pieces and even college courses. It has also been named one of the greatest albums of the '10s by numerous music publications.

She took a brief hiatus to give birth to twins in 2017 but soon returned to the spotlight to headline Coachella 2018 as their first Black female headliner. The two-hour performance celebrated HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and Black culture, creating arguably one of the most important pop culture moments of the '10s. Her performance was turned into a Netflix special and an album the following year.

Closing the Lemonade era in 2018, Beyoncé with her husband, Jay Z, under the moniker "The Carters," released a joint album titled Everything is Love while traveling for their record-breaking tour, On The Run II. With over 25 years of experience in music, Beyoncé is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, the most Grammy nominated woman artist, and arguably one of the greatest entertainers in history. Her work and career have inspired contemporary music artists such Normani, Ariana Grande, Adele, and Sam Smith in the same way Beyoncé has been inspired by other legends. Throughout her career, she has cited Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, and Tina Turner, who has inspired Beyoncé's energetic performing style, as her influences. She has also credited Anita Baker, Mary J. Blige, Selena, Aaliyah and Madonna as other influences of hers.

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Beyoncé Knowles-Carter was born September 4th, 1981 in Houston, Texas. Her father Mathew Knowles was a businessman, and her mother Tina Knowles (Lawson) was a hairdresser. Her younger sister, singer-songwriter Solange, was born June 26th, 1986. Beyoncé's career in music and dance began as a small child.

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https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-church-terrell

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MLA- Michals, Debra. "Mary Church Terrell." National Women's History Museum. National Women's History Museum, 2017. Date accessed.

Chicago- Michals, Debra. "Mary Church Terrell." National Women's History Museum. 2017. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-church-terrell.

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Mary Eliza Church Terrell was a well-known African American activist who championed racial equality and women's suffrage in the late 19th and early 20th century.

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https://www.biography.com/activists/mary-church-terrell

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Mary Church Terrell - Quotes, Speech & Facts

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Mary Church Terrell was a charter member of the NAACP and an early advocate for civil rights and the suffrage movement.

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Mary Church Terrell: Championing Suffrage and Civil Rights (WAMS E17)

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https://www.biography.com/artists/misty-copeland

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Acclaimed ballerina Misty Copeland is the first African American performer to be appointed as a principal dancer for American Ballet Theatre.

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https://kids.kiddle.co/Misty_Copeland

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Misty Danielle Copeland (born September 10, 1982) is an African American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history.

Copeland was born in Kansas City, Missouri to Sylvia DelaCerna and Doug Copeland. She was raised in the San Pedro community of Los Angeles, California. Her father is of German and African American descent. Her mother is of Italian and African American ancestry and was adopted by African American parents.

Copeland is the youngest of four children from her mother's second marriage and has two younger half-siblings, one each from her mother's third and fourth marriages. Her mother, a former Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader, had studied dance.

Copeland never studied ballet or gymnastics formally until her teenage years. Following in the footsteps of her older sister Erica, Copeland became captain of the Dana Middle School drill team, where her natural grace came to the attention of its classically trained coach, Elizabeth Cantine.

Taking up ballet

In early 1996, Cantine convinced Copeland to attend a ballet class at her local Boys & Girls Club. Cynthia Bradley, a friend of Cantine's, taught a free ballet class at the club once a week. Copeland attended several classes as a spectator before participating. Her mother let her go to the club after school until the workday ended.

Soon after Bradley invited Copeland to attend class at her small ballet school, San Pedro Dance Center. Copeland initially declined the offer, because she had to help her mother to take care of her siblings. Copeland began her ballet studies at the age of 13 at the San Pedro Dance Center when Cynthia Bradley began picking her up from school. After three months of study, Copeland was en pointe.

Copeland wanted to give up ballet, as the school was too far from her house, but Bradley wanted Copeland to continue. She offered the girl to move in with her and her family. Eventually, Copeland and her signed a management contract and a life-story contract with Bradley. Copeland would spend most of her next three years with the Bradleys.

Ballet prodigy

Copeland was considered a prodigy. By the age of fourteen, Copeland was the winner of a national ballet contest and won her first solo role. She read a lot about ballet and watched videos. She performed as Clara in The Nutcracker at the San Pedro High School after only eight months of study. This fact attracted media attention to her.

She played a larger role as Kitri in Don Quixote at the San Pedro Dance Center and then performed with the L.A. Academy of Fine Arts in a featured role in The Chocolate Nutcracker, an African American version of the tale, narrated by Debbie Allen. The latter was presented at UCLA's Royce Hall. Copeland's role was modified especially for her, and included ethnic dances.

In addition to Bradley's intensive ballet training, her husband, a modern-dance teacher, served as Copeland's pas-de-deux instructor and partner. The summer before her fifteenth birthday, Bradley began to homeschool Copeland for 10th grade to free up more time for dance.

At fifteen years old, Copeland won first place in the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Awards at the Chandler Pavilion in March 1998. The winners received scholarships between $500 and $2500. Copland was recognized by the Los Angeles Times as the best young dancer in the Greater Los Angeles Area.

Custody battle

Copeland returned to her mother's home. The two frequently argued. Her mother decided that Copeland would cease study with the Bradleys. Copeland was distraught with fear that she would not be able to dance. She wanted to become independent from her mother and filed the emancipation petition with the advice of the Bradleys.

In 1998, her ballet teachers, who were serving as her custodial guardians, and her mother, fought a custody battle over her. Both sides dropped legal proceedings, and Copeland moved home to begin studying under a new teacher, who was a former ABT member.

After two summer workshops with ABT, she became a member of ABT's Studio Company in 2000 and its corps de ballet in 2001, and became an ABT soloist in 2007.

American Ballet Theatre

Copeland the only black woman in the company. She felt the burden of her ethnicity in many ways. Recognizing that Copeland's isolation and self-doubt were standing in the way of her talent, ABT's artistic director, Kevin McKenzie, asked writer and arts figure Susan Fales-Hill, then vice-chair of ABT's Board of Directors, to mentor Copeland. Fales-Hill introduced Copeland to black women trailblazers who encouraged Copeland and helped her to gain perspective.

Copeland was appointed a soloist at ABT in August 2007, one of the youngest ABT dancers promoted to soloist.

As of 2008, Copeland was the only African-American woman in the dance company during her entire ABT career. The only male African American in the company during her career, Danny Tidwell, left in 2005. In an international ballet community with a lack of diversity, she was so unusual as an African American ballerina that she endured cultural isolation. She has been described in the press as the Jackie Robinson of classical ballet.

On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African-American woman to be promoted to principal ballerina in ABT's 75-year history. Copeland's achievement was groundbreaking, as there have been very few African-American principal ballerinas at major companies.

In 2017, she appeared as a guest artist with La Scala Theatre Ballet when it visited Southern California.

Personal life

Copeland and her husband, attorney Olu Evans, live on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The couple were introduced to each other around 2004 by Evans' cousin, Taye Diggs, and disclosed their engagement in a 2015 cover story in Essence magazine. They married in California on July 31, 2016. They have one child, a son born in 2022.

Interesing facts about Misty Copeland

Copeland never studied ballet or gymnastics formally until her teenage years, but in her youth she enjoyed choreographing flips and dance moves to Mariah Carey songs.

When she was seven, she saw the film Nadia on television and its subject Nadia Comăneci became her new role model.

When she saw Paloma Herrera, a principal ballerina with ABT, perform at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Copeland began to idolize her as much as she did Mariah Carey.

In March 2009, Copeland filmed a music video with Prince for a cover of "Crimson and Clover".

She began taking acting lessons in 2009.

In addition to her dance career, Copeland has become a public speaker, celebrity spokesperson and stage performer.

She has written two autobiographical books and narrated a documentary about her career challenges, A Ballerina's Tale.

In 2011, she was featured in the Season 1, episode 5 of the Hulu web series A Day in the Life.

Copeland was a guest judge for the 11th season of FOX's So You Think You Can Dance.

She released a memoir in 2014, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, co-authored by Charisse Jones.

Her 2014 children's picture book, titled Firebird, with illustrator Christopher Myers, has a message of empowerment for young people of color. She released a children's book, Bunheads, in 2020.

She performed on Broadway in On the Town, toured as a featured dancer for Prince and appeared on the reality television shows A Day in the Life and So You Think You Can Dance.

Copeland was included in the 2015 International Best Dressed List, published by Vanity Fair.

In 2017, Copeland released the book Ballerina Body, a health and fitness guide.

Copeland dances the lead ballerina role in the 2018 Disney film, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, based on the 1816 story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King".

She has endorsed products and companies such as T-Mobile, Coach, Inc., Dr Pepper, Seiko, The Dannon Company and Under Armour.

Copeland enjoys cooking.

In 2016, Mattel created a Misty Copeland Barbie doll.

Misty Copeland quotes

"I knew that I just didn't have it in me to give up, even if I sometimes felt like a fool for continuing to believe."

"Start unknown, finish unforgettable."

"I may not be there yet, but I am closer than I was yesterday."

"Knowing that it has never been done before makes me want to fight even harder."

"Decide what you want. Declare it to the world. See yourself winning. And remember that if you are persistent as well as patient, you can get whatever you seek."

"Don't underestimate yourself. You are more capable than you think."

In 2008, Copeland won the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Arts, which funds study with master teachers and trainers outside of ABT.

In 2013, she was named National Youth of the Year Ambassador by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

In 2014, Copeland was named to the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hartford for her contributions to classical ballet and helping to diversify the art form.

Copeland was a Dance Magazine Awards 2014 honoree.

After her promotion as principal dancer, Copeland was named one of Glamour's Women of the Year for 2015; one of ESPN's 2015 Impact 25 athletes and influencers who have made the greatest impact for women in sports.

In 2016, Copeland won a Shorty Award for Best in Dance in Social Media.

In Spanish: Misty Copeland para niños

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Misty Copeland's Hard-Fought Journey to Ballet Stardom

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How Misty Copeland Made History as a Black Ballerina

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Gabby Douglas: Courageous Olympic Medalist | BIO Shorts | Biography

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Black History Month Profiles Gabrielle Douglas

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https://www.biography.com/musicians/lizzo

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Melissa Jefferson (born April 27, 1988 in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.), known professionally as Lizzo, is an American rapper and singer. She is a founding member of indie hip hop groups The Chalice, Grrrl Prty, The Clerb, Ellypseas, and Absynthe. Her debut album, Lizzobangers, was released in 2013. In 2015, she released her sophomore album, Big Grrrl Small World.

Born in Detroit in the late 80's, Lizzo spent much of her formative years in the church, where she was raised on the gospel sounds of The Winans, The Clark Sisters, and Fred Hammond, along with mainstay secular artists such as Stevie Wonder and Elton John. At the age of 10 her family moved to Houston, TX, and Lizzo was exposed to a wide array of emerging Southern musical styles, from the trademark chopped and screwed rap tracks of the underground, to the progressive and polished R&B sounds of groups like Destiny's Child that were raising the city's national profile to new heights. In fact, it was after she stumbled across a Destiny's Child performance at Wal-Mart that Lizzo-then a 5th grader- was inspired to start writing music on her own. Over the next decade that decision would take her through the trenches of some of the most varied musical genres: R&B girl groups (I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S., Cornrow Clique), progressive rock bands (Elypseas), solo rap ventures, and electro-pop duos (Lizzo & The Larva Ink).

In 2011 she made the move to Minneapolis with Larva Ink in order to be a part of that city's blossoming and collaborative musical community. Lizzo & The Larva Ink was well received there, and the group earned a few encouraging nods from the press. Lizzo was soon introduced to Sophia Eris and Claire de Lune, with whom she would form The Chalice, the three-piece all-female rap/R&B group that would elevate Lizzo's profile and reputation. In 2012 The Chalice released We Are The Chalice, an album that would gain them instant local success amongst fans and critics alike, garnering City Pages' prestigious Best New Band and Picked To Click accolades in the same year.

The success brought setbacks, though, and a falling out soon led to the demise of Lizzo & The Larva Ink. Feeling discontent with the loss of one group and the hurried blur of success of another, Lizzo was creatively drained from writing We Are The Chalice in two short months. She found herself in the throes of her first full-blown case of writer's block. Unable to create music for herself, she began listening to several different local albums in hopes of finding inspiration. It was LAVA BANGERS, a 20-track instrumental mixtape from Doomtree producer and Minneapolis music vet Lazerbeak, that ultimately caught her ear. Beaks' beats proved the fix for Lizzo's problem. "I sat at home and listened to LAVA BANGERS, and when "Lift Every Voice" came on, my writer's block was cured," says Lizzo. "I think it revived my gospel roots. I wrote pages and pages of songs, and finally reached out to Lazerbeak, not thinking anything would come of it."

Her timing could not have been better. Beak, impressed with Lizzo's output with The Chalice, as well as her guest appearances on several other local releases, was looking for a change of pace from his daily Doomtree production and business responsibilities. He immediately signed on to work on some demos. Beat tapes were exchanged, songs were written, and mutual friend and musical collaborator Ryan Olson (Totally Gross National Product founder, Gayngs/Marijuana Deathsquads mastermind) was brought on board to creatively oversee the project. Olson recorded and edited all 15 tracks in his bedroom studio, bringing in laid back hype-man Cliff Rhymes along the way to add even more layers to Lizzo's dynamic vocals.

LIZZOBANGERS is the culmination of that four-way collaboration, an album that manages to capture all of the varied musical influences of Lizzo's upbringing and combine them with the forward-thinking experimental production style of Beak and Olson. The end result is a brave new project that encapsulates the best parts of both the familiar and the future. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Past Shows

This artist doesn't have any past events at The Vogue.

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Melissa Jefferson (born April 27, 1988 in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.), known professionally as Lizzo, is an American rapper and singer. She is a founding member of indie hip hop groups The Chalice, Grrrl Prty, The Clerb, Ellypseas, and Absynthe. Her debut album, Lizzobangers, was released in 2013.

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Lizzo Didn't Fit Expectations but It Didn't Stop Her | Life Stories By Goalcast