Famous and Notable Black Women Posters, “C...-”
for the social studies classroom, home schoolers and theme decor.

Diahann Carroll
Majora Carter
Shirley Chisholm

Septima Poinsette Clark
Alice Coachman
Rebecca Cole

Diahann Carroll
née Carol Diahann Johnson
b. 7-17-1935; NYC, NY

Actress and singer Diahann Carroll, who appeared in Carmen Jones and Porgy and Bess, also starred in 1968's Julia, one of the first series on American television to star a black woman in a non-stereotypical role.

Majora Carter
b. 10-27-1966; New York

Environmental justice advocate Majora Carter founded the non-profit environmental justice solutions corporation Sustainable South Bronx, SSBx.

Shirley Chisholm
b. 11-30-1924; Brooklyn, NY
d. 1-1-2005

“I'm ‘fighting Shirley Chisholm,’ and I'm unbought and unbossed.” That was how U.S. Representative Shirley Chisholm usually introduced herself to crowds. It was a very good description. Shirley Chisholm has always been a fighter, with very strong opinions and very little patience for people who fought the idea of change. Because of this, she has been called difficult and stubborn. But the many children Shirley Chisholm taught in day care classes, and the many people she helped while she was in Congress know her as a warm and caring person who always took the time to listen to them. This desire soon led Shirley into politics. At first, she worked on the campaigns of other black candidates. At the same time, she worked as a teacher. But in 1964, whe was elected to the New York State Assembly. And in November of 1968, she became the first black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In Congress, Shirley worked to stop discrimination in housing and employment. And she continued to speak out in favor of equality for women. In 1972, she ran for President as a Democrat and lost. But Shirley always said the real reason she ran was not to win, but to draw attention ito the issues she felt strongly about. Shirley Chisholm has always been a pioneer, and her message is simple: Don't listen to those who say, “you can't.” Listen to the voice inside yourself that says, “I can.” (poster published prior to 2005) ...

• more Shirley Chisholm posters
• more Great Black Americans posters

Septima Poinsette Clark
b. 5-3-1898; Charleston, SC
d. 12-15-1987

Innovative teacher and civil rights activist Septima Poinsette Clark developed the literacy and citizenship workshops for educating the participants in the drive for voting rights and civil rights for African Americans. She was known as the “Queen Mother” and “Grandmother of the American Civil Rights Movement”.

Alice Coachman
b. 11-9-1923; Albany, GA

Alice Coachman, the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal, won the 1948 Women's high jump and broke the Olympic record with 5'6 1/8".

Rebecca Cole
b. 3-16-1846; Philadelphia, PA
d. 8-14-1922; Philadelphia

Rebecca Cole became the second African American woman physician in the U.S. in 1867 (after Rebecca Crumpler in 1864).

Cole, who practiced medicine for fifty years, graduated from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (see Ann Preston) and interned at Elizabeth Blackwell's New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children.

Bessie Coleman
b. 1-26-1892; Atlanta, TX
d. 4-30-1926; Jacksonville, FL (air accident)

Bessie Coleman was the first female pilot of African American descent and the first person of African American descent to hold an international pilot license.

Marva Collins
b. 8-31-1936; Monroeville, AL

“Trust yourself. Think for yourself. Act for yourself. Speak for yourself. Be yourself. Imitation is suicide.”

In 1975 Marva Collins started Westside Preparatory School in Garfield Park, Illinois, serving an improverished neighborhood. Collins modified the classical Socratic method asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas for primary students. Due to lack of sufficient enrollment and funding the school closed in 2008.

• more Inspirational Quotations posters
• Marva Collins’ Way at Amazon.com

Rebecca Lee Crumpler
b. 2-8-1831; Delaware
d. 3-9-1895; Fairview, MA

Born a free person of color and raised by an aunt who served as a neighborhood care giver, Rebecca Davis Lee became the first female African-American doctor in the United States. Her A Book of Medical Discourses (1883) was one of the first medical books by an African American.

She worked as a nurse from 1852 to 1860, graduating from the New England Female Medical College in 1864. After serving newly freedpersons in Richmond, VA for several years she returned to Boston with her husband, Dr. Arthur Crumpler. There she “practiced from her home on Beacon Hill and dispensed nutritional advice to poor women and children.”