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Septima Poinsette Clark (May 3, 1898—December 15, 1987)
Septima Poinsette Clark was a civil rights and education activist. Originally barred from teaching in Charleston, SC schools because she was Black, Clark petitioned for that right in 1920. She won. And she did it while teaching children during the day and adults at night in a nearby town. MLK Jr. refers to her as “The Mother of the Movement”.
Mae C. Jemison (October 17, 1956)
Mae C. Jemison was not only the first Black woman in space, she was the first Black female astronaut for NASA ever. She launched in the Endeavor in 1992, just 25 years ago.
Maria Weems (1840—?)
Above is Anna Maria Weems, a woman who escaped slavery by posing as a male. With a $500 reward for her capture, Weems spent over two months on the road until she found freedom in Canada. This art comes courtesy of the Smithsonian Libraries’ (@smithsonianlibraries) yearly celebration of BHM, which includes stories, art, personal histories, and lots more from their massive collection.
Follow these too:
Black Women Art (@fyblackwomenart) has been around since 2012 (!), giving anyone who follows them a regular dose of art featuring Black women.
Badass Black Women History Month (@bbwhm) is a brand new Tumblr celebrating badass Black women every day for Black History Month. Hell yeah.
There are more in the search results, of course. More Black women in STEM, in music, in sports, standing up for their rights, and have you read up on the Motorcycle Queen of Miami? One thing to note: some of these posts aren’t just highlighting women from 10, 20, 30, 100 years ago. They’re also highlighting Black women today, because Black women are still making history.