10 African American Women Who Changed the World

divinecaroline.com:

Black History Month dates back to 1976, when "Negro History Week" was extended to the month of February. That year doesn't seem so long ago, but when we stop to consider where we are in 2009, it's shocking to see how far we've come. Along with celebrating black history, we're also celebrating the fact that the NAACP will celebrate its 100th anniversary on February 12. We're rejoicing that a man of color now occupies the most powerful position in the country. It might seem like social change happens slowly, but witnessing such momentous events in our lifetime makes its occurrence undeniable.

Though Obama's election ignited a nation with optimism, it is just as inspirational that a woman came so close to the presidency. We have much to be grateful for this month, and it seems essential to recognize the achievements of some of the African American women whose pioneering efforts made this groundbreaking election possible.

1. Sojourner Truth
Sojourner was born into slavery with the name Isabella Baumfree. She changed her name after escaping from her owner and became a Christian preacher while living with a family in New York. After the state's Emancipation Act was passed, she became a vehement and vocal supporter of abolition and women's rights. She traveled the country giving speeches, including a famous one entitled Ain't I a Woman? that emphasized the strength and power of women and the need for equality between the sexes.

Read the whole story: divinecaroline.com

Comments

[goddess1871]

10:10 PM on 02/16/2009

Let's not forget Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, and other great women of the theater. I think Angela could read me her grocery list and I'd think it was the greatest thing ever.

[jdmba]

09:08 PM on 02/16/2009

Harriet Tubman makes me cry for the beauty and courage that she showed the world. Still. After all these years, I tear up.

[crayola 08]

02:36 PM on 02/16/2009

this is about as stupid as a 10 white men who changed the world list. except the white men list would probably be funnier cause we all know jesus h. christ would be at the top of the list even though he wasn't white. anyway my real point for this bein stupid is that if you narrow it down to just 10 then there's always gonna be those who were overlooked who seem just as deserving to to be on the list but aren't.

[AngieMom57]

10:58 AM on 02/16/2009

Whoopi Goldberg - Sister Act

[spartanmom]

10:49 AM on 02/16/2009

I clicked here to see if Sojourner Truth was on the list. Glad to see she is #1.
If you have never read "Ain't I a Woman", you should. Very powerful stuff.

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/sojtruth-woman.html

SUNY New Paltz's campus library is the Sojourner Truth Library.

[thankulord13]

09:30 AM on 02/16/2009

I also think the forgetting to mention the late Coretta Scott King who not only had the courage to march in Memphis just two days after the assasination of her husband, but she continued the fight that he fought for equality is a complete travesty.

[Freedomscap]

01:04 PM on 02/16/2009

And you can't forget Mariam Wright Edelman.

[AngieMom57]

09:10 AM on 02/16/2009

Oh God, I think it's time to update my i-pod with some blues from those ladies of blues...Bessie, Ella and thanks for the suggestion of Meatless Monday! What a positive thing to embrace as a step towards sustainability.

Be more, have less!

Live simply so others can simply live ;-)

[Freedomscap]

01:01 PM on 02/16/2009

Can't forget Shirley Horn nor Sarah Vaughn or Ella. This list is so incomplete. That's why folks on jeopardy can't answer the black American category.

[Nommo]

01:07 PM on 02/16/2009

lol! Big Jeopardy fan here. Love it when there is a category that even hints at Black people.
You can be sure that it is a lost cause.

[anotherbozo]

07:55 AM on 02/16/2009

Marian Anderson? Pioneer for blacks in opera, classical music, a woman of incredible dignity and courage.

[Kilantra]

08:40 AM on 02/16/2009

Thank you! Marian Anderson. Amazing!

[anotherbozo]

07:53 AM on 02/16/2009

Ella Fitzgerald. Fun second-guessing these lists, and provocative; maybe there are no wrong answers. Ella was voted THE female pop singer of the 20th c., and THE jazz singer too. Scholars underestimate the ability of the arts, even popular arts, in unifying a people, and through a stormy and racist era whites and blacks both loved her and could come together in affection. Ella's influence had to be tremendous worldwide too--Miriam Makeba cited her as a major inspiration in faraway South Africa.

[rockyersocksoff]

08:15 PM on 02/15/2009

Toni Morrison wins the Nobel for Literature, but not a place on this list?

[Kilantra]

04:36 PM on 02/15/2009

Where is Leontyne Price?
Mahalia Jackson? Mary McCloyd Bethune?
Bessie Smith? Do we underestimate the power
of the musical impact on lives in this world?
Acress Lena Horne. JOSEPHINE BAKER!!!!
Calder began doing mobiles after seeing Baker.
Picasso, and all of the art world were affected by
La Baker---reputed to be the original muse for
George Balanchine, she remained his ideal
long legs, syncopated rhythm throughout his life.

[jacqmac]

03:39 AM on 02/16/2009

Bethune IS on that list--obviously you didn't go to the second page!

[AngieMom57]

07:33 AM on 02/16/2009

Bessie Smith! going to you-tube me a Bessie Smith song, right now...Bless u!

[JohnnyL]

03:43 PM on 02/15/2009

I agree with 9 out of 10 on the list. Not bad I guess. You can take a wild guess as to who I think doesn't belong on the list. Hint: her name starts with an "O" and ends in "prah."

[Freedomscap]

01:06 PM on 02/16/2009

Clear bias on your part -- Oprah has clearly been very impactful.

[Takae]

02:25 PM on 02/15/2009

I enjoyed reading the article, but what's the deal with the "world"? Is it like how it is with American baseball's World Series? :/

[Nommo]

11:43 AM on 02/16/2009

Not at all. How could they not have had a worldwide influence? In the same sense that the growth and emergence of the United States impacted the entire world, those accomplishments and innovations engendered by those on any such list would have a world wide impact. Who, anywhere in the world coming to know the story of Sojourner Truth would not feel the impact, particularly those people under colonial occupation?

To state the obvious, Oprah opens a school in South Africa. Who knows who might emerge from that school and go on to have an impact on the whole world? If nothing else, the struggle for human rights embodied in the women known and unknown of this nation has become part and parcel of all movements on the world stage for human rights.

These acknowledgments are important because the contributions of Black people to this nations history and growth have been written out of the history of this nation.

[Takae]

06:57 PM on 02/18/2009

I mean no offense, but I hadn't heard of Sojourner Truth and other listees until I read this article.

I just feel that what may be historic in the US doesn't necessarily mean it'd have the same effect on the rest of the world and vice versa. I mean, Mary Seacole is a huge influence in the UK, some parts of Europe and "British colonial countries", but has anyone in the US heard of her? There are many similar figures around the world, too.

I mean, I perceived this list (and its title) as THE world's top ten, which is why I was taken aback. Perhaps I misunderstood? I hope I make sense. :/

[Takae]

06:59 PM on 02/18/2009

Huh. It has finally clicked. I think I get it now. -_- I can be so embarrassingly slow-minded sometimes. Excuse me.

[LALC]

01:42 PM on 02/15/2009

When I read the title, my first thought was of Sojourner Truth. I'm not trying to diminish eight of the women, but NO ONE compares to that of Sojourner Truth & Harriet Tubman. Their lives are completely incomparable - the obstacles overcome, absolutely astounding! Their lives as a young girls/women were extremely cruel yet both accomplished great things. I understand that article can only give a brief synopsis of each, but "not even scratching the surface" is an gigantic understatement!

Truth & Tubman were way, way ahead of their times, both ardent women's rights & women's suffrage activists. Sojourner Truth’s 'Ain’t I a Woman' speech is a must read.

[rebelzz]

10:23 PM on 02/15/2009

Tubman. She's pure courage...

[Nommo]

12:20 PM on 02/15/2009

Even as I comprehend the need for numbered lists, there is an extreme subjectivity that accompanies such listings. An interesting exercise can be one of naming others who could very well be on this list,
and expanding the notion of "changing the world" and what sort of activities can be responsible for such.

Madam CJ Walker, for one.

[AngieMom57]

09:14 AM on 02/16/2009

"The Guinness Book of Records cites Walker as the first female, black or white, who became a millionaire by her own achievements."