NINA SIMONE (1933-2003) Nina Simone was a singer, songwriter, composer, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music defied standard definitions and continues to resonate with audiences worldwide. Simone, née Eunice Kathleen Waymon, was born in North Carolina in 1933. Her talent as a musician was evident early on, when she started playing the piano by … Read more
LAVERNE COX (b. 1972) Laverne Cox is 4-time Emmy-nominated actress, Emmy award-winning producer, and a prominent equal rights advocate and public speaker. Cox’s groundbreaking role of Sophia Burset in the Netflix series, Orange is The New Black (OINTB), brought her to the attention of diverse audiences all over the world. This role led to her to becoming … Read more
VERNICE ARMOUR (b. 1973) Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour is used to breaking barriers and challenging the status quo. She was the first Black woman combat pilot, the first Black woman on the Motorcycle Squad for the Nashville PD, and was the first Black woman on the Tempe PD in Arizona. She also served as a diversity … Read more
WANGARI MAATHAI (1940-2011) Wangari Maathai was born in Nyeri, Kenya (Africa) in 1940. She was a social, environmental, and political activist who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. Her work was often considered to be subversive and unwelcome, stepping far outside traditional gender roles. Maathai was educated in Kenya, Germany, and the United … Read more
MOTHER GEORGE (c. 1846 – c. 1919) Mother George was a Black trans woman and midwife who lived in Grays Lake, Idaho throughout the late 19th century. Over the course of her life, she delivered over 1,000 children for both Black and white families. With the support of her Native American mother, Mother George was … Read more
BARBARA SMITH CONRAD (1937-2017) Barbara Conrad (née Barbara Louise Smith) was an internationally acclaimed opera singer, educator, and civil rights pioneer. Conrad, the youngest of five children, was born and raised in an all-black town in Texas. In 1956, Conrad was one of 104 Black students to be admitted to the University of Texas in … Read more
ANGELA DAVIS (b. 1944) Angela Davis is an American political activist, revolutionary icon, professor, and author who was an active member in the Communist Party and the Black Panther Party. Born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1944, Davis was no stranger to the impact of racism and activism. In high school, Davis participated in a program that … Read more