Clara Lemlich Shavelson was a Jewish immigrant, garment worker, activist, mother, public speaker, and union organizer at a time when women in her position were rarely allowed formal education or the opportunity to speak in public.

A vocal leader of the 20th century women’s suffrage movement, Alice Paul advocated for and helped secure passage of the 19th Amendment.

Stacey Milbern made waves in the disability justice movement through her organizing and activist efforts.

Anna Julia Cooper was a groundbreaking educator, activist, and author who changed the trajectories of many young Black women .

Etta Horn was a prominent welfare rights advocate. As an activist, she worked alongside other anti-poverty organizers to improve the living conditions of low-income DC residents.

Mary P. Burrill was a celebrated playwright whose works inspired many prominent writers of the New Negro Movement/Harlem Renaissance.

Georgia Douglas Johnson was one of the most well-known Black female writers and playwrights of her time.

Eleanor Holmes Norton was the first woman appointed to chair the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and continues to fight for DC statehood in her third decade as a congresswoman.

Nkenge Touré is an activist whose expansive collection of speeches and written works confront issues around reproductive justice, Black feminism, and women’s rights.

Sister Margaret Traxler was a Catholic feminist nun and a civil rights activist who marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the famous march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965.

LaNada War Jack is an indigenous activist, who since childhood, has fought to preserve Native American identity and tribal rights.

Ophelia Settle Egypt was a medical social worker and women’s rights advocate who fought to make women’s and reproductive healthcare accessible to the Black communities in Southeast Washington, DC.

Bernice Johnson Reagon is a renowned composer, historian, musician, and activist.

Loretta Ross is an academic and activist who has dedicated many years to advocating for women’s rights and reproductive justice.

Mary Treadwell was a notable DC-based activist and community organizer, best known for co-creating Youth Pride, Inc., a job-training program helping inner-city youth, and her abortion decriminalization advocacy.

As a teenager, Barbara Johns helped organize a strike that eventually led to the desegregation of schools in the United States.

Edith Kanaka’ole (also affectionately called “Aunty Edith”), a native Hawaiian composer, chanter and dancer, was a champion for the preservation of native Hawaiian culture and arts.

Sister Marjorie Tuite, O.P. was a Catholic feminist nun who fought for gender equality, especially within the Catholic Church.

Zitkála-Šá (“Red Bird”), also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, was a Native American musician, writer and activist who fought for women's suffrage and Indigenous voting rights in the early 20th century.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (commonly referred to by her initials, AOC) is the youngest woman and youngest Latina to ever serve in the United States Congress.