History is a narrative often lead by those in power. Colonization has played a heavy role in the decision making of whose voices get heard and highlighted. This is why most contributions made by marginalized people, especially those of color, are often ignored, erased, or altered. Even though Black History Month has ended, it doesn’t mean that topics like these lose any relevance, so here’s a list of (some) amazing women who have broken molds, norms, and glass ceilings.
1. Rosa Parks
Perhaps known as the speaker of the iconic “No” heard around the world. Rosa Parks’s story is perhaps one of the most common stories with an African American lead discussed in classrooms when talking about American history. However, it is often summed up in a nice and simple “she sat down and refused to stand up for a white man.” As if this event didn’t inspire a ripple effect. As if this was both the beginning and end of the story. What led to it? What happened after?
Contrary to common narratives, Rosa’s resistance to racial oppression didn’t begin on that bus. As a granddaughter of slaves, her grandfather raised her to stand firm against oppression. Rosa was never docile in moments where she was expected to assume a certain role according to racism and segregation.
After learning more about her background as someone who was always opposed to segregation, her historical “no” comes as no surprise.
While riding the bus on December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks was asked to give up her seat for a white man who had just gotten onto the bus. She was not “too tired from working all day” to do so, she was tired of the consistent oppression and to a stand (by not standing) against it.
In fact, in her autobiography, Parks wrote “I was not tired physically,” she wrote, “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.”
Thus, she refused to give up her seat. This lead to her arrest and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a year-long civil rights protest in which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama.
Although this is her most noted moment, this was not her first or last stand against segregation.
Rosa Parks had been part of the National Association of Colored People (NAACP) since 1943, and a civil rights activist before joining. She had also had other encounters with the bus driver who demanded she gave up her seat and continued to protest and fight for equal rights until the day she died.
Rosa Parks was one of the most important voices in the fight against segregation, but contrary to what history books teach us. Her voice and activism was never limited to one event.
2. Madam C.J. Walker
Madam CJ Walker was born as Sarah Breedlove in Delta Louisiana in 1867. She was the daughter of sharecroppers who had been enslaved up until the Civil War. After her parents died when was seven, Sarah and her older sister worked at cotton fields until she turned 14 and left Louisiana to escape her abusive brother-in-law.
She got married and had a daughter in 1885, but moved to St.Louis with her to work with her brothers for $1.50 a day after her husband died.
However, during the 1890s, Sarah began suffering from a scalp condition that caused her hair loss. She began experimenting with different home remedies and store-bought products to deal with her hair loss.
In 1905 she moved to Denver with her third husband, changed her name to Madam C.J. Walker and founded her own business where she began selling “Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower”.
From that moment on, her business only grew and she became “the first black woman millionaire in America”.
What’s most iconic about Walker is that she used her fortune and power for good. She dedicated her cause to empowerment, founded scholarships, and donated to the NAACP and other charities. Walker dedicated her time to making sure she awarded and prized her workers for successful sales, philanthropic endeavors and educational efforts.
There is no doubt about Madam C.J. Walker’s importance as the first African American millionaire.
However, what’s most important about her is not her money or success, but the fact that she used it all to raise those around her as well.
3. Marsha P. Johnson
Pride is a month long event that is used to celebrate diversity within the LGBT+ spectrum. Today, it is characterized by joy, laughter and a strong sense of community. However, its roots lay in a set of events known as the StoneWall riots. Though the movement was soon shifted to leadership by white cisgender men, it’s important to note Martha P. Johnson’s leadership and role.
When the movement shifted its focus away from colored trans voices, Johnson co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) alongside her friend Sylvia Rivera. They created this group with the purpose of allowing young transgender voices to be heard in conversations amongst the LGBT community.
They started it off in a parked trailer and had it serve as a shelter and social space for trans street youth, drag queens, and sex workers. Martha P. Johnson was also a gay rights and AIDS activist known for her passion towards equality and her compassion.
Martha P. Johnson served as a trailblazer and icon. She used her voice to pave the way for not only herself but her community as well and did so in a way that promoted love and a sense of community. If we can learn anything about her at all is to stay true to ourselves and fight for our rights and what we believe in.
To learn more about here, you can find a documentary about her life on Netflix called “The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson”
4. Mildred Loving
At 17 years old, Mildred Jeter married her white childhood sweetheart Richard Loving in Washington D.C. However, love has never been easy, especially love that doesn’t conform to the molds society sets up.
Which is why, upon returning to their home state in 1958, the Lovings were jailed for “cohabitation”. After they moved away, they were arrested for traveling together when they visited their families, and this unleashed a domino effect that began with Mildred writing a letter.
She wrote to the Supreme Court and the ACLU represented her renowned case “Loving v. Virginia” in 1967. The Supreme court ruled unanimously and established that “anti-miscegenation” statutes were unconstitutional under the 14th amendment.
This case not only forced Virginia to accept interracial marriage but also proved to be the first step in dismantling segregation laws and statutes.
Loving v. Virginia is one of the most important legal battles when it comes to human rights. Its impact continues to show today after having been used as an example to legalize gay marriage in the United States in 2015.
Mildred Jeter serves as an exemplary woman who showed how important it is to fight for what you love no matter how long it takes.
5. Henrietta Lacks
In 1951, Henrietta Lacks went to John Hopkins Hospital complaining of vaginal bleeding only to discover that she had cervical cancer. Without her consent, her doctor, Dr. Howard Jones sent a sample of her tissue to another doctor who had been working at a tissue lab.
When studying her tissue, they noticed that instead of her cells dying, they duplicated every 20 to 24 hours. These cells are nicknamed HeLa cells in honor of Henrietta Lacks and are used to study toxins, drugs, and cancer treatments without having to use humans.
Additionally, her cells have been used to understand the human genome, develop the polio vaccine, and have even been sent into space to observe the effects of zero gravity on cells.
Though Henrietta provided one of the most groundbreaking elements in modern medicine, it is important to note that she was never made aware of the fact that her cells had been taken as samples. This shows how, even when they have contributed to saving the world in more ways than one, black women are still erased from narratives.
To counteract this, a foundation has been created to help individuals who have unknowingly made contributions to scientific research without benefiting from it.
History shapes our perception of the world. It serves as both a source to understand the cause and effects of the world we see today, and works as a guide for future leaders. By silencing or diminishing voices of color, especially black voices, history enables white supremacy and enforces roles that were never fair or logical in the first place. The minute we begin looking deeper into our history, asking questions, and giving back the power to voices of color, is the minute we will begin to dismantle white supremacy.