Sign in to wowOwow

Enter the email address that you used when registering at wowOwow.
The password field is case sensitive. Click here if you have forgotten your password.

Please register for wowOwow

Newsletter subscriptions
Sign up to receive wowOwow's weekly newsletter and get our best picks delivered right to your inbox. Our newsletter content is hand-picked by the wowOwow editorial team and provides the top features, news, and commentary from our site. Subscribing to our newsletter is free and safe. We will never share your email or other information with a third-party without your direct consent.
By registering, you indicate that you have read and agree
with our privacy policy and terms of service.
Home › Politics

Politics | 02/04/2009 7:20 am

On Heels of Obama's Election, We Celebrate 15 Women Who Made Black History

Photo Essay

Play Slideshow
In honor of Black History Month, here are 15 groundbreaking women who helped America achieve its proverbial dream!
Read more about: Bessie Coleman, Condoleezza Rice, Coretta Scott King, Ella Josephine Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Harriet Tubman, Linda Brown, Mae Jemison, Mary McLeod Bethune, Patricia Roberts Harris, Politics, Septime Poinsette Clark, Sharon Pratt Kelly, Shirley Chisholm

9 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Belinda Joy
Thank you for doing this wOw, I appreciate you for being so conscientious. ~Belinda Joy
By Belinda Joy on 02/05/2009 11:55 am
Ms. Dee
Somehow, I just don’t put Rice in the same category as the others. But I wish I knew so much more about these courageous souls. Maybe I can find “Ain’t I a Woman” on the web somewhere. That’d be a treat.
By Ms. Dee on 02/05/2009 5:31 pm
CYNTHIA NEIL
I would add Phyllis Wheatley the first published African American poet(ess), and Eartha Kitt, primarily for her courage in speaking truth to power at a time when it was a career killer for a woman, let alone an African American woman.
By CYNTHIA NEIL on 02/05/2009 8:52 pm
Kashmir ____
I’ve been puzzled by this for quite some time but why is it that Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday is in January but February is Black History Month? It rather stands to reason that Black History Month falls during the birth month of the first black man to have a national holiday.
By Kashmir ____ on 02/06/2009 9:05 am
Ruby Stewart
February was chosen to celebrate Black History because it coincided with the birthdays of Abe Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. When it was created, it was originally Black History Week and I believe it fell during the week of both birthdays.It wasn’t until some time later, that the whole month of February became Black History Month. I remember this because in high school (nearly 2 decades ago), I did a story on the history of Black History Month for our school paper. Another interesting fact is that June celebrates African-American music and it also celebrates Juneteenth, a.k.a Emancipation Day on June 19.
By Ruby Stewart on 02/06/2009 7:52 pm
Sandbee (FB) 54
Thanks for the explanation Ruby, I’ve wondered how these things were decided. And I never quite understood Juneteenth which I hadn’t heard of in Pennsylvannia, found out about when I moved to Texas.
By Sandbee (FB) 54 on 02/07/2009 8:43 am
k g
Black History month was championed in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson- long before we even knew who Dr. King was.
By k g on 02/06/2009 4:21 pm
rocky rocky
Thank you, wOw, for acknowledging Black History Month. And thank you for including more women than the “usual.”
By rocky rocky on 02/09/2009 7:03 pm