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Sojourner Truth was a preacher, gender, and racial equality activist who was born into slavery. She spread the word of God and equality in her lifetime and was best known for her 1851 speech titled 'Ain't I a Woman?'
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Harriet Tubman was born to slavery in 1822 in Maryland but successfully escaped to the free state of Pennsylvania in 1849. Then she proceeded to becoming the conductor of the Underground Railroad, leading many slaves to freedom and safety.
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The first Woman's Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. At this convention, both men and women came together to sign the Declaration of Sentiments,
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Charlotte Ray became the first African American female lawyer after being admitted into the D.C. bar. She also spent her time as a civil rights and women's rights activist.
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Sarah E. Goode was an inventor and entrepreneur and became the first African American woman to recieve a U.S. patent. She invented a folding bed which she described as a "folding bed" that could be used as a desk when it was closed.
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Hattie McDaniel was the very first African American woman on the radio. She was also the first black woman to win an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress in the popular film, Gone With The Wind.
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Mary Mcleod Bethune established the Daytona institute for African American children. At first, there were very few kids but it soon expanded to over 250.
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Frances Elliott Davis became the first African American Woman who was accepted as a nurse by the Red Cross in 1918.
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Mossell became the first African American Woman to earn a Ph.D. in the U.S.. She was also the first African American Woman who was admitted to the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
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Coretta Scott King is known as a prominent figure in the Civil Rights and Womens' Rights Movement, advising the nation's leadership and pursuing the causes of her late husband, the great Martin Luther King Jr.
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Alice Coachman became the first African American woman to win a gold medal in the olympics. Coachman was a highjumper and later became the first A.A. woman to endorse an international product, Coca-Cola.
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Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist who on this date refused to give up her seat on the bus for a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. Her act of defiance sparked a city wide bus boycott that led to the eventual removal of bus segregation in the city.
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Maya Angelou's autobiography is one of the essential reads of American literature and tells the coming of age story of an African American woman in a racist society.
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Shirley Chisholm became the first African American woman to be a presidential nominee in 1972 for the Democratic Convention. Even though she only received about 150 delegate votes, she still made an impact on the African American community as well as the female community.
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Oprah Winfrey is the richest African American person of the 20th century and the first black woman to become a multi millionaire. She also has an Emmy award winning talk show called the Oprah Winfrey Show and her own production company called Harpo, investing in helping victims of childhood sexual abuse, which she had herself been a victim of in her own childhood.
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Alice Walker was the first African American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel, "The Color Purple". She went on to become a civil rights activist and Women's Rights activist.
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Florence Griffith-Joyner was the first African American woman to win four medals in one Olympics. She has also set the record for the 100 and 200 meter dash which still stands today.
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Mae Jemison was the first African American woman to fly into space aboard the Endeavor. She was the science mission specialist who conducted experiments on motion sickness and weightlessness.
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Halle Berry is the first and only African American to win the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in "Monster's Ball".
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Tyra Banks is one of the most powerful supermodels and television personalities in today's media. She is also the first African American woman to appear on the cover of GQ. She created the show America's Next Top Model in 2003 and has been producing and hosting this show ever since.
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Michelle Obama is the first black First Lady of the United States. Her different engagements and her elegance make her a well known personality around the world. She has made things such as the fight against obesity and childhood fitness major roles as First Lady.
