PAGE 5 || FEATURE THE TALON || SPRING 2019

INFLUENCIAL BLACK WOMEN

Five history-making women who battled society to change it
MARIAM HANNA
LIFESTYLES & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Photos courtesy of Creative Commons.

Katherine Johnson Michelle Obama Rosa Parks Harriet Tubman Ida B. Wells
(1918- ) (1964- ) (1913-2005) (1820- 1913) (1862-1931)

What she did:
-worked for NASA during
segregation and afterward
-calculated path for Freedom
7 that took Alan Shepherd to
space
-calculated path for Friendship
7 that made John Glenn the first
astronaut to orbit the moon
Thoughts from history
teacher Mrs. Christina Bettes:
“Her story is so inspiring, both
her accomplishments at NASA
as well as her life growing up,
where she graduated college
at only eighteen years old!
The impact she had on space
exploration, women’s rights and
civil rights is profound; breaking
barriers and overcoming
challenges throughout her
lifetime.”
“Take all the
courses in your
curriculum. Do
the research. Ask
questions. Find
someone doing
what you are
interested in! Be
curious.”
What she did:
-created “Let’s Move!”, a program
that aimed to end childhood
obesity
-launched “Reach Higher” to
encourage higher education and
“Let Girls Learn” to help girls
around the world get an education
-co-founded “Joining Forces”, a
program that helped veterans after
serving in the military
Thoughts from sophomore
Ava Biordi: “She has served as
an inspiration for many young
women in America through her
empowering speeches. I really
appreciate how much Michelle
Obama used her power as First
Lady to make the improvements
she saw needed to be made in our
society.”
“There are still
many causes
worth sacrificing
for, so much
history yet to be
made.”
What she did:
-helped in defending the
Scottsboro Boys
-held a leadership position in
NAACP
-refused to give up her seat on the
bus to a white man, which started
the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Thoughts from sophomore
Maddie Lawson: “She played
a major role in the civil rights
movement, but that wasn’t her
only job. She was a seamstress,
she had kids of her own, she had
a husband, she was living her life,
and she took this on in addition to
that. She was just a regular person,
and then she became this icon. I
think the coolest part of that was
that she was a regular person.”
“Stand for
something or
you will fall for
anything. Today’s
mighty oak is
yesterday’s nut
that held its
ground.”
What she did: What she did:
-was a conductor of the -wrote a book about lynching
Underground Railroad that helped called “A Red Record”
tens of thousands slaves escape -helped found the National
slavery Association for the Advancement
-fought for abolition of Colored People (NAACP)
-worked as a spy for the Union -fought for women’s right to vote
army in the Civil War
Thoughts from history teacher
Thoughts from junior Laeticia Mr. Chad Zwolinski: “Because
Moulaoui: “She inspires many of Wells’s work, future leaders
activists of the Black Lives Matter had the courage and the path to
movement [and] is so iconic and fight injustice. She challenged
inspirational that there were people inequality in race and sex at a time
who wanted her to be on the 20 when women and blacks weren’t
dollar bill.” expected to, and today, her story
should inspire those facing similar
challenges.”
“Every great dream “I’d rather go
begins with a down in history
dreamer. Always as one lone Negro
remember, you who dared to tell
have within you the government
the strength, the that it had done
patience, and the a dastardly thing
passion to reach than to save my
for the stars to skin by taking
change the world.” back what I said.”

-Katherine Johsnon -Michelle Obama -Rosa Parks -Harriet Tubman -Ida B. Wells