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

“Ma” Rainey
Phylicia Rashad
Della Reese

Condoleezza Rice
Faith Ringgold

Ma Rainey, Photographic Print

“Ma” Rainey, née Gertrude Malissa Nix
b. 4-26-1886; Columbus, GA
d. 12-22-1939; Columbus, GA

“Mother of the Blues” Ma Rainey was one of the first entertainers to record.

• Ma Rainey at Amazon.com

Phylicia Rashad
née Ayers-Allen
b. 6-19-1948; Houston, TX

Actress and singer Phylicia Rashad is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. She is the sister of actress and dancer Debbie Allen.

Della Reese, Photographic Print

Della Reese
née Delloreese Patricia Early
b. 7-6-1931; Detroit, Michigan

Della Reese, who began her career as a gospel singer with Mahalia Jackson, and moved into jazz in the 1950s, is well known as an actress in the TV series, “Touched by an Angel”.

• Della Reese at Amazon.com

Condoleezza Rice
b. 11-14-1954; Birmingham, AL

Political scientist and diplomat Condoleezza Rice served as the 66th United States Secretary of State. Rice was the first African-American woman secretary of state. FYI -Madeleine Albright was the first woman, Colin Powell the first African American to serve as Secretary of State.

Condoleezza Rice quote ~
• “I remember the bombing of that Sunday School at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1963. I did not see it happen, but I heard it happen, and I felt it happen, just a few blocks away at my father’s church. It is a sound that I will never forget, that will forever reverberate in my ears. That bomb took the lives of four young girls, including my friend and playmate, Denise McNair. The crime was calculated to suck the hope out of young lives, bury their aspirations. But those fears were not propelled forward, those terrorists failed.” Commencement 2004, Vanderbilt University, May 13, 2004

Faith Ringgold
b. 10-8-1930; NYC, NY

Artist Faith Ringgold, a professor and children's book illustrator, is best known for her painted story quilts that blur the line between craft and high art.

• more Black History posters

Diana Ross
b. 3-26-1944; Detroit, Michigan

Singer and actress Diana Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s and nominated for Best Actress Academy Award as Billie Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues (1972).

Wilma Rudolph
b. 6-23-1940; Clarksville, TN
d. 11-12-1994; Brentwood, TN

Poster Text: Wilma Rudolph was born in Tennessee in 1940, the 20th of 22 children. Her parents had to struggle mightily to make ends meet for their large family. Then, at the age of four, Wilma became seriously ill with scarlet fever and pneumonia. The illness left her with a crippled leg, and doctors told here she would never be able to walk normally again. But Wilma refused to give up. She soon recovered completely and grew to be an exceptionally tall and graceful young woman – and in time, she became a star athlete.

Wilma once scored 49 points in a high school basketball game – a school record that still stands! But her greatest triumph came during the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome where she won gold medals in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and the 400- meter relay. She set a new Olympic record in the 100 meter-dash with a time of 11 seconds. Wilma Rudolph overcame tremendous odds to become one of the greatest athletes in Olympic history. In 1993, just one year before she died of cancer, she was the first person ever to receive President Clinton's National Sports Awards.

• more Great American Women posters
• more women athletes posters
• American Women composite poster