Activism

Biography

Andrea Jenkins

Andrea Jenkins made history in 2017 when she became the first African American, openly transgender woman elected to public office in the United States.

Biography

Cecilia Chung

Cecilia Chung is a groundbreaking advocate for the transgender community and those living with HIV/AIDS.

Biography

Laverne Cox

A prominent actress and the first openly transgender person nominated for an Emmy, Laverne Cox has promoted visibility and awareness on behalf of the transgender community.

Biography

Marsha P. Johnson

Marsha P. Johnson was one of the most prominent figures of the gay rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s in New York City.

Biography

Mamie Phipps Clark

Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark was a pathbreaking psychologist whose research helped desegregate schools in the United States.

Biography

Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka is one of the world’s greatest tennis players, and her mental health advocacy has inspired many others to share their own stories.

Biography

Nellie Bly

Nellie Bly became a star journalist by going undercover as a patient at a New York City mental health asylum in 1887 and exposing its terrible conditions in the New York World.

Biography

Reiko Homma True

A leading advocate for culturally sensitive mental health care, Dr. Reiko Homma True is dedicated to improving mental health treatment for the Asian-American community and other minority populations.

Biography

Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald, known as “The First Lady of Song,” was a revolutionary American jazz singer who performed all over the world.

Biography

Mary Lou Williams

One of the greatest jazz pianists, composers, and arrangers of all time, Mary Lou Williams was a swing and bebop icon.

Biography

Nina Simone

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

Biography

Victoria Woodhull

The first woman to run for president and the first female stock broker on Wall Street, Victoria Woodhull achieved remarkable success in finance, journalism, and politics.

Biography

Alice Coachman

Alice Coachman was the first Black woman from any country to win an Olympic gold medal.

Biography

Lisa Leslie

An early star of the WNBA and a four-time Olympic gold medalist, Lisa Leslie is one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

Biography

Candace Cable

Candace Cable became the first woman to medal at the summer and winter Paralympic Games.

Biography

Sarah B. Cochran

Once called America's only Coal Queen, Sarah B. Cochran was a coal industry leader and philanthropist in an era when American women could not universally vote or serve on juries.

Biography

Judith Heumann

Judith Heumann has improved accessibility and opportunities for the estimated 56 million people in the United States and one billion people around the world with disabilities.

Biography

Ladda Tammy Duckworth

As one of the first female veterans elected to the Senate, Senator Ladda Tammy Duckworth has been a tireless advocate for veterans and new mothers.

Lesson Plan

Angela Davis, Feminist Solidarity

Students will explore Angela Davis’ call for intersectionality and a feminist solidarity for the 21st century.

Lesson Plan

Dolores Huerta and the Delano Grape Strike

The Delano Grape Strike represents one of the most important labor movements in American history and demonstrates an intersection between the Civil Rights Movement and the movement initiated by the Mexican-American and Filipino-American communities.