Activism

Biography

Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka is one of the world’s greatest tennis players, having won numerous tournaments and awards and reaching the rank of World No. 1. Her openness about her struggles with mental health inspired others to share their own stories.

Biography

Nellie Bly

Nellie Bly became a star journalist by going undercover as a patient at a New York City mental health asylum in 1887 and exposing its terrible conditions in the New York World.

Biography

Reiko Homma True

A leading advocate for culturally sensitive mental health care, Dr. Reiko Homma True is dedicated to improving mental health treatment for the Asian-American community and other minority populations.

Biography

Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald, known as “The First Lady of Song,” was a revolutionary American jazz singer who performed all over the world.

Biography

Mary Lou Williams

One of the greatest jazz pianists, composers, and arrangers of all time, Mary Lou Williams was a swing and bebop icon.

Biography

Nina Simone

“The High Priestess of Soul,” Nina Simone was a singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist.

Biography

Victoria Woodhull

The first woman to run for president and the first female stock broker on Wall Street, Victoria Woodhull achieved remarkable success in finance, journalism, and politics.

Biography

Alice Coachman

Alice Coachman was the first Black woman from any country to win an Olympic gold medal.

Biography

Lisa Leslie

An early star of the WNBA and a four-time Olympic gold medalist, Lisa Leslie is one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

Biography

Candace Cable

Candace Cable became the first woman to medal at the summer and winter Paralympic Games.

Biography

Sarah B. Cochran

Once called America's only Coal Queen, Sarah B. Cochran was a coal industry leader and philanthropist in an era when American women could not universally vote or serve on juries.

Biography

Judith Heumann

Judith Heumann has improved accessibility and opportunities for the estimated 56 million people in the United States and one billion people around the world with disabilities.

Biography

Ladda Tammy Duckworth

As one of the first female veterans elected to the Senate, Senator Ladda Tammy Duckworth has been a tireless advocate for veterans and new mothers.

Lesson Plan

Angela Davis, Feminist Solidarity

Students will explore Angela Davis’ call for intersectionality and a feminist solidarity for the 21st century.

Lesson Plan

Dolores Huerta and the Delano Grape Strike

The Delano Grape Strike represents one of the most important labor movements in American history and demonstrates an intersection between the Civil Rights Movement and the movement initiated by the Mexican-American and Filipino-American communities.

Lesson Plan

Ida B. Wells: Suffragist and Anti-Lynching Activist

This mini lesson will introduce students to Ida B. Wells through a primary source and invite students to explore the geography of American lynchings through an interactive map.

Lesson Plan

Shirley Chisholm, Unbossed and Unbought

Students will use the words of Rep. Shirley Chisholm to better understand her experience, and the experience of women everywhere in America.

Biography

Sonia Sotomayor

As the first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the Supreme Court, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor has made an impact in and out of the courtroom.

Lesson Plan

Dolores Huerta: The Life and Work of a 20th Century Activist

Students will understand the contributions of the 20th-century farmworker activist Dolores Huerta and her impact on the farmworker rights and unionization movements in California and nationally in the late 20th century.

Biography

Audre Lorde

Poet and author Audre Lorde used her writing to shine light on her experience of the world as a Black lesbian woman and later, as a mother and person suffering from cancer.