Breaking Barriers

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

Serena Williams

Considered the greatest women’s tennis player of all time, and perhaps the greatest athlete of all time, Serena Williams has revolutionized women’s tennis since the 1990s.

Biography

Candace Cable

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

Biography

Margaret Ives Abbott

Imagine being the first woman to win an Olympic event for the United States, but never knowing that you had done so. This is what happened to Margaret Ives Abbott.

General

In Their Own Words:

Rosie the Riveter Oral Histories

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.

Biography

Lois Curtis was one of the plaintiffs in the landmark Supreme Court case Olmstead v. L.C. (1999) that established the right of individuals with disabilities to live in the least restrictive settings possible.

Biography

Alice Wong

Alice Wong is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, an online community that fosters and amplifies disability media and culture.

Biography

Antonia Novello

A dedicated public health advocate, Antonia Novello made history as the first female and first Hispanic U.S. Surgeon General in 1990.

Biography

Dorothy Boulding Ferebee

The founder of the Mississippi Health Project and the Southeast Neighborhood House, Dr. Dorothy Ferebee provided healthcare to the most vulnerable members of the African American community.

Biography

June Almeida

June Almeida serves as a role model for determination and innovation. As the person to identify the first human coronavirus, scientists, and people all over the world, are indebted to her work.

Biography

Kati Karikó

Karikó’s research and perseverance proved that mRNA vaccines were possible and paved the way for the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to end the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Biography

Dr. Rebecca Crumpler's "A Book on Medical Discourses"

Rebecca Lee Crumpler

Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first African American woman to receive a Medical Degree (MD) in the United States.

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.

Lesson Plan

Ida B. Wells: Suffragist and Anti-Lynching Activist

This mini lesson will introduce students to Ida B. Wells through a primary source and invite students to explore the geography of American lynchings through an interactive map.

Lesson Plan

Real Life Rosie the Riveters

This lesson features a series of student-centered grouping strategies and discussion forums that utilize primary and secondary sources accounts regarding real-life ‘Rosie the Riveters’ and their contributions to America’s victory in the Second World War.

Lesson Plan

Shirley Chisholm, Unbossed and Unbought

Students will use the words of Rep. Shirley Chisholm to better understand her experience, and the experience of women everywhere in America.

Biography

Elena Kagan

The first female Solicitor General of the United States and now an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, Elena Kagan is a prominent legal scholar and jurist who has advocated for justice and equality since childhood.