Famous African American Women

In every aspect of our lives, we are always asking ourselves, How am I of value? What is my worth? Yet I believe that worthiness is our birthright.~ Oprah Winfrey

Many talented women have had the determination and persistence to pursue their dreams and make a mark for themselves in their respective fields. These women who have focused their attention on a goal and pursued it with undying passion and enthusiasm have reached a place where they are not only successful, but they are lending a helping hand and contributing to the welfare of others. Mentioned below are the profiles of some famous African American women, who have excelled in their respective fields and are a source of constant inspiration for many women as well as men across the world.

Angela Davis

I think the importance of doing activist work is precisely because it allows you to give back and to consider yourself not as a single individual who may have achieved whatever but to be a part of an ongoing historical movement. ~ Angela Davis

Angela Davis stepped into activism as a part of Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee. She later became an active member of the American political scenario and was associated with the Black Panthers and with the black power politics during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Angela Davis was also linked to the murder of Judge Harold Haley during an attempted Black Panther prison break, when she fled underground, and was on FBI’s most wanted list. She was eventually arrested, tried, and then acquitted in what can only be described as one of the most famous trials in recent U.S. history. In 1968, she joined the Communist party and also ran for US Vice President elections in 1980. After that Angela Davis has been known as an activist and a writer advocating women’s rights and racial justice. She pursued her career as a philosopher and a teacher at the University of Santa Cruz and San Francisco University. She works for racial and gender equality and for prison abolition. She has gained recognition as a popular public speaker not only on a national level but also internationally. She is the founder of the anti-prison grassroots organization called Critical Resistance, which is a national organization that works to build a mass movement to dismantle the prison- industrial complex and believes that putting people in a cage will not make the society safe.

Gwendolyn Brooks

I who have gone the gamut from an almost angry rejection of my dark skin by some of my brainwashed brothers and sisters to a surprised queenhood in the new Black sunam qualified to enter at least the kindergarten of new consciousness now... I have hopes for myself. ~ Gwendolyn Brooks

Gwendolyn Brooks was a famous African American poet, whose poems were generally based on lives of urban African Americans who battled racism and poverty. Having published her first poem at the age of 14, Brooks went on to study at the Wilson Junior College in 1936 and later attended writing workshops at South Side Community Art Center in Chicago. Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for her poetry in the year 1950. She also attended the Second Black’s conference at Fisk University in1967. She taught at the Northeastern Illinois State College, the University of Wisconsin at Madison as well as the City College of the City University of New York.

Mae Jemison

Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live. ~ Mae Jemison

Mae Jemison is an African American physician and a former NASA astronaut, who was the first African American woman to travel in space. After completing her medical internship, Mae Jemison had joined the Peace Corps where she served as a Medical Officer from 1983 to 1985. She was in charge of the health of Peace Corps Volunteers who were serving in Liberia and Sierra Leone She was a part of NASA’s Space Shuttle endeavor carried out on September 12, 1992. After her work in NASA, she joined the staff of a medical school, and also started her own technology firm.

Oprah Winfrey

We are each responsible for our own life - no other person is or even can be. ~ Oprah Winfrey

One of the most influential African American women, Oprah Winfrey is truly a source of undying inspiration for many and has touched millions of lives with her work. Oprah has achieved many ‘famous firsts’ by being the first African American syndicated talk show host, or by being the first African American woman billionaire. Oprah owns her own production house, which is responsible for the Oprah Winfrey show, the O Magazine, Oxygen Network, Oprah’s Angel Networks and the famous Oprah Book Club. In 1993 Oprah also campaigned for a special bill called the ‘Oprah bill’, which was aimed at providing a national database of convicted child abusers. Oprah has been a part of several movies and television productions. Owing to her success she has been able to contribute towards social improvement. She has always chosen to donate for several causes, especially the ones stressing education. As a part of Oprah's Angel Network she gives $100,000 awards to people who are helping others in significant ways. Oprah has won a lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in1998. Time Magazine has also named her as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.