This Black History Month, it’s important we celebrate uplift Black voices of both past and present. Black women have been holding it down as innovators, creatives, policy creators, and activists for generations, yet are often sidelined compared to Black men and other people of color. So many inventions like central air and caller ID were brought to life by a sista! I don’t know about you, but I’d be at a loss without both of those things! Here are five Black female revolutionaries who helped shape the world into what it is today.
- Marian Anderson (1897~1993)
Known for her outstanding voice, Marian Anderson was a star during the Roosevelt era. She thrived during a time of racial prejudice and became a star in the public eye long before she made any kind of political statement. Anderson could do it all, from opera to negro spirituals that were a new concept in White society at the time. She was famously blocked from performing to an integrated audience in 1939 by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), only for First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt herself to reach out and offer her a job to perform on the Lincoln Memorial Steps on Easter Sunday, 1939. One thing about Mrs. Roosevelt, she knew how to spot a legend.
- Joan Little (1954~
The first woman to be acquitted for self-defense based on sexual assault on capital murder charges, Joan Little turned her story of survival into her strength for Black and brown women worldwide. She was acquitted of the 1979 slaying of a White prison guard who attempted to assault her in her prison cell. She faced the gas chamber after fleeing arrest and turning herself in. Little’s lawyer even used comparisons between her and To Kill a Mockingbird’s Tom Robison, as a way to further emphasize her innocence. Little maintained her story, refusing to allow anyone to twist her account of events. Her fortitude and the forensic evidence led to her being found not guilty. She’s lived in secrecy ever since her trial. Good for her!
- Claudette Colvin (1939-2026)
We recently lost a Civil Rights movement legend, none other than the iconic Claudette Colvin. This lovely lady was only 15 years old when she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama city bus in 1955. Sound familiar? Well, what if I told you that Rosa Parks wasn’t the first to do this kind of protest? Colvin originated it! Turns out, the NAACP didn’t think Colvin was the right martyr for their cause. She was a dark-skinned woman with a smart mouth when she talked to the police, which didn’t fit the narrative they were so carefully trying to construct. Civil rights campaigners abandoned Colvin’s case because of this, since she was also unmarried and pregnant at the time. Colvin is often left out of history books due to her story, but it is very important that we recognize her influence and put her back on the page.
- Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler (1831~1895)
As important as it is to see Black faces in the medical field, we have Dr. Crumpler to thank. The first Black woman to receive a medical degree, Dr. Crumpler’s extraordinary efforts are exactly why Black women are going to college at higher and higher rates each year. Dr. Crumpler’s alma mater, now known as Boston University, gave her scholarships for all her years of school (at which she was the only African American student). I consider her to be a bit of a Robin Hood of medicine since she spent her career treating patients from poor and low-income backgrounds, often accepting no form of payment in return. She even worked for the Freedman’s Bureau to help provide medical aid and assistance to freed slaves. Even though many of her male counterparts didn’t respect her or the work she did, that didn’t stop her from outsmarting them at every opportunity and helping people in need.
- Madam CJ Walker (1867~1919)
It’s only fitting that America’s first female self-made millionaire was a Black woman. Many of the Black hair care lines and products we have today might not have existed without her work. She made her dollars in Black haircare and skin products, in a truly extraordinary story that I highly suggest everyone become educated on. She founded Madam CJ Walker Manufacturing Company and was widely known for her activism. Walker’s life and accomplishments were even featured in a TV series, portrayed by Octavia Spencer, called Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C. J. Walker in 2020.
Black History Month should be highlighted every month, not just 28 days out of a year that’s already flying by. These ladies’ accomplishments highlight the exact values that Her Campus preaches: highlighting women’s achievements and positions of power and empowering women across the nation to succeed.