6 Influential African American Women With Huge Contributions

These influential African American women have done incredible things for society.

These influential African American women have made a huge impact in our lives, and it’s important to reflect in their accomplishments.

Tarana Burke

Tarana Burke was actually the woman who founded the “Me Too” movement in 2006. She has spent decades supporting and advocating for survivors of sexual violence, especially young women of color. She created such an important movement for women all over the world, allowing them to claim their lives back from those who took it from them.

Jaha Dukureh

Jaha Dukureh is Founder of the NGO “Safe Hands for Girls”. This organization provides support to African women and girls who are survivors of FGM (as she was also a victim of) and addresses its lifelong, harmful physical and psychological consequences, by bringing awareness of it to the masses.

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou was an American poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She is known for her famous autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. Her works have been considered a defense and celebration of black culture, and still remains an important person in the community.

Ruby Bridges

Ruby Bridges was the first African American student to integrate in the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana. In 1999, she established The Ruby Bridges Foundation to promote tolerance and create change through education and was made honorary deputy in Washington, D.C in 2000.

Bessie Coleman

Bessie Coleman was the first black woman to fly an airplane. When she was denied an education in American flying schools, Bessie taught herself French and moved to France, earning her license from Caudron Brother's School in just seven months.

Claudette Colvin

Even though Rosa Parks is most known for this, Claudette Colvin was actually arrested at the age of 15 for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman, nine months before Parks' more famous protest. Because she was so young, the NAACP decided to exclude her case to challenge segregation laws. Colvin became one of the four plaintiffs in the Browder v. Gayle case. The decision, in this case, ruled that Montgomery's segregated bus system was unconstitutional.

It’s amazing to think where we would be now in this world if certain people didn’t shine through and take a stand against injustice. We will always be grateful for these influential African American women in history and should constantly remind ourselves of their amazing achievements that have truly made our world a better place.