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

Althea Gibson
Nikki Giovanni

Whoopi Goldberg

Althea Gibson
b. 8-25-1927; Silver, SC
d. 9-28-2003; East Orange, NJ

Althea Gibson became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam title in 1956. She is sometimes referred to as “the Jackie Robinson of tennis” for breaking the color barrier.

FYI ~ Tennis champion Alice Marble supported Althea Gibson's entry into professional tennis.

TIME Cover Story “That Gibson Girl”

The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni (no commercially available poster)

“Nikki” Giovanni
née Yolande Cornelia
b. 6-7-1943; Knoxville, TN

Poet and activist Nikki Giovanni has taught English at Virginia Tech since 1987. In 2004 Giovanni was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.

Nikki Giovanni quotes ~
• “We love because it's the only true adventure.”
• “There is always something to do. There are hungry people to feed, naked people to clothe, sick people to comfort and make well. And while I don't expect you to save the world I do think it's not asking too much for you to love those with whom you sleep, share the happiness of those whom you call friend, engage those among you who are visionary and remove from your life those who offer you depression, despair and disrespect.”
• “Mistakes are a fact of life: It is the response to the error that counts.”
• “I am so hip even my errors are correct.”
• “Nothing is easy to the unwilling.”
• “A lot of people refuse to do things because they don't want to go naked, don't want to go without guarantee. But that's what's got to happen. You go naked until you die.”
• “I'm glad I understand that while language is a gift, listening is a responsibility.”
• “I really don't think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don't mind the failure but I can't imagine that I'd forgive myself if I didn't try.”
• “If you're a writer, the answer to everything is yes.”
• “If I can't do what I want to do, then my job is to not do what I want to do. It's not the same thing, but it's the best thing I can do.”
• “If you don't understand yourself you don't understand anybody else.”
• “Deal with yourself as a individual, worthy of respect and make everyone else deal with you the same way.”
• “We write because we believe the human spirit cannot be tamed and should not be trained.”
• “It's not a ladder we're climbing, it's literature we're producing. . . . We cannot possibly leave it to history as a discipline nor to sociology nor science nor economics to tell the story of our people.”

Whoopi Goldberg, Photographic Print

Whoopi Goldberg
née Caryn Elaine Johnson
b. 11-13-1955; NYC

Comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award.

FYI ~ Goldberg has cited Nichelle Nichols as an inspiration for her career path, as has Mae Jemison.

Florence Griffith Joyner
b. 12-21-1959; Los Angeles, CA
d. 9-21-1998; Mission Viejo, CA

Track and field athlete Florence Griffith Joyner, best known as Flo-Jo, is considered the “fastest woman of all time” based on the fact that she still holds the world record for both the 100 metres and 200 metres, both set in 1988 and never seriously challenged.

Flo-Jo died of epilepsy in 1998 at the age of 38.