During Women’s History Month, the Black Information Network is elevating the life and work of Black women who’ve pioneered and persevered across industries and generations.
Though the list of women we need to celebrate is vast and long, there are a few hidden figures we want to uplift here.
These Black women worked diligently, some behind the scenes, others at the forefront, making striking impacts on culture, social movements, laws, and more. Some formed groups, relying on the collective power to make change, others stood up where they were to make a change. However, the work was done; Black women did it and continue to do it for themselves and for those to come.
These are seven Black women hidden figures you may not know.
Beulah Mae Donald
After the brutal lynching of her son Michael in March of 1987, Beulah Mae Donald took the Alabama chapter of the Ku Klux Klan to court. She sued the white supremacist group for carrying out the murder under the organization’s policies and won. The settlement effectively bankrupted the unit of the Klan. A CNN original series about Beulah Mae Donald and her extraordinary feat is set to air in April.
Constance Baker Motley
Constance Baker Motley made history as the first Black woman to argue a case before the US Supreme Court. Her legal prowess laid the groundwork for several key cases of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. Her legacy includes writing the legal brief for the pivotal Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954. Throughout the Civil Rights Movement, Baker Motley represented Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Freedom Riders, and other protesters of the movement. She went on to be the first Black woman to…
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