A competitor in three consecutive Olympic games, Allyson Felix was a standout sprinter even in middle school. Felix came in seventh place for the 200-meter dash at the CIF California State Meet during her seventh grade year. In 2003, Felix signed a professional contract with Adidas and the company paid for her tuition at USC. In 2007, she became the second women to earn three gold medals in one World Championship competition.
Yvonne Brathwaite Burke was the first African American woman to serve in the California Legislature and the first Black woman from California to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She served in Congress from 1973 to the end of 1978. She was also the Los Angeles County Supervisor representing the 2nd District from 1992 to 2008. Her early legislative efforts centered on juvenile issues and limiting the garnishment of wages.
Sydney Leroux was a forward for the US national team during their 2015 World Cup Championship run. During her time at UCLA, she became a semifinalist of the MAC Hermann Trophy in 2011. She also was a member of the Soccer America’s MVP First Team. As a member of the US national team, Leroux became the highest scorer at the under-20 level.
Sojourner Truth was born Isabella (“Bell”) Baumfree in 1797. She was an African-American abolitionist and women’s rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, Ulster County, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son, in 1828 she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man. She gave herself the name Sojourner Truth in 1843. In 2014, Truth was included in Smithsonian magazine’s list of the “100 Most Significant Americans of All Time.”
South African businesswoman, Sizakele Petunia Mzimela is making history as the first black woman to launch her own airline. The power woman, who is widely referred to as Siza, kicked off operations for Fly Blue Crane at the O.R. Tambo International Airport in South Africa. The airline currently has two 50-seat ERJ 145s and offers low-cost domestic flights within the South African region. Siza hopes to expand destinations to Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the near future. In addition to her new airline, Siza is also the founder and executive chairperson of Blue Crane Aviation, which is an aviation services company that focuses on African airlines and provides them with airline consulting, aviation legal services, and aircraft management services in an effort to give them access to the global market.
Sophina Dejesus is a member of the UCLA Bruins Women’s Gymnastics team received media attention for her hip-hop dance-infused floor exercise this month. A senior in college, Dejesus was a member of the US national team in 2009. Dejesus is no stranger to the limelight, she has appeared in a video for Disney and Missy Elliott and also competed in the USA Championships three times.
At the age of 10, Simone Biles was a level 8 gymnast. She started the 2010 season with three all-around titles. In 2013, Biles represented team USA in the AT&T American Cup in Worcester, MA where she came in second place for the all-around. In 2015, Biles helped Team USA win a gold medal in Jesolo, Italy. She also won gold medals for the floor exercise, balance beam, and vault in the same competition.
Texas native Simone Manuel is a member of the 2014-2015 USA National Swim team and a sophomore on the Stanford Women’s Swim team. Manuel earned three Pac-12 titles in 2015 for 100 meter Freestyle, 400 Meter Freestyle Relay and 400 Meter medley. The seven-time All American also set five different Stanford records, which include the 50 meter Freestyle and 100 meter freestyle.
Sisters Nnemkadi (Nneka) and Chinenye (Chiney) Ogumike made great strides for the Stanford women’s basketball team. By the end of the regular season in 2011, they helped push the team to 2nd place in the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll. Chiney was the 1st overall pick in 2014 WNBA Draft and was drafted to the Connecticut Sun. Nneka plays for the Los Angeles Sparks; she was Rookie of the Year in 2012 and a two-time WNBA All Star.
Sharon Pratt Kelly was the third mayor of the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1995. She was the first African American woman to serve as mayor of a major American city. In 1994, she lost her bid for re-election as mayor to Marion Barry. From 1997 to 2001, Pratt served as the President of @ The Center, a start-up electrical marketplace for Africa. In 2002, Pratt began Pratt Consulting, working with companies and governments developing Homeland Security/Emergency Management Plans. She is also the Executive Vice President for BI Solutions.
Shirley Chisholm became the first African-American congresswoman in 1968. Four years later, she became the first major-party black candidate to make a bid for the U.S. presidency. She began her professional career as a teacher. She served as director of the Hamilton-Madison Child Care Center until the late 1950s, then as an educational consultant for New York City’s Bureau of Child Welfare.
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Sheila Crump Johnson is the only African-American female to enjoy ownership in three professional sports teams: the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals. Furthermore, as CEO of Salamander Hospitality, a company she founded in 2005, Ms. Johnson oversees a growing portfolio of luxury properties, including Woodlands Inn, in Summerville, SC, which is one of only a handful of properties to receive both a prestigious Forbes Five Star rating and a AAA Five Diamond rating for lodging and dining. In addition, Johnson is a partner in ProJet Aviation, a company specializing in aviation consulting, aircraft acquisitions, management, and charter services based in Winchester, VA. And she is a partner in Mistral, a maker of fine bath, body and home products. Johnson has long been a powerful influence in the entertainment industry as a founding partner of Black Entertainment Television (BET) and as a film producer. In partnership with other investors, her first film, “Kicking It”, premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. She executive produced her second film, “A Powerful Noise”, which premiered at the 2008 TriBeCa Film Festival in New York, as well as her third film, “She Is The Matador”.
Ballerina Misty Copeland became the first African-American woman to be a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre and recently made her debut on Broadway revival of “On the Town” playing Miss Turnstiles, a love interest for one of three sailors enjoying a few hours of shore leave in 1940s New York. Copeland has been named by Time magazine one of the most influential figures of 2015, and written both a children’s book, “Firebird,” and a best-selling memoir, “Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina.” She’s also performed in a music video with Prince and was featured in a hugely popular online ad for Under Armour sportswear.
U.S. Representative for the 43rd congressional district Maxine Waters has served three districts since 1991. She holds seniority over the 12 Black women currently serving in the United States Congress and is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Before her Congress days, Waters served in the California Assembly starting in 1976 to 1991. While in the assembly she worked for the divestment of state pension funds from businesses that were active in South Africa operating under the apartheid. She is also known for her support and work during the Rodney King trial when she helped bring national attention to the riots happening in South Los Angeles.
Maya Moore played basketball for the University of Connecticut (UCONN) helping the team earn national championship titles in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, she was the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft, earning a spot on the Minnesota Lynx roster. Moore went on to be Rookie of the Year and a three-time WNBA Champion. In 2012, Moore helped Team USA win a gold medal in London.
Born on July 10, 1875, in Mayesville, South Carolina, Mary McLeod Bethune was a child of former slaves. She graduated from the Scotia Seminary for Girls in 1893. Believing that education provided the key to racial advancement, Bethune founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute in 1904, which later became Bethune-Cookman College. She founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935. Bethune died in 1955.
Mae C. Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on September 12, 1992. Jemison has a background in both engineering and medical research. She has worked in the areas of computer programming, printed wiring board materials, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, computer magnetic disc production, and reproductive biology.
Marva Collins was a former substitute teacher. Her success at educating poor black students in a private school she founded made her a candidate for secretary of education and the subject of a television movie. She began with four students, including her daughter, charging $80 a month in tuition. Enrollment at the school, on Chicago’s South Side, grew to more than 200, in classes from prekindergarten through eighth grade. It remained in operation for more than 30 years.
District Attorney Jackie Lacey has spent most of her career as a prosecutor, manager and executive in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Since 2012, she has been the 42nd District Attorney. Her known priorities for the city of Los Angeles are keeping the community safe from violent and dangerous crimes. Her many initiatives include human sex trafficking, seniors financial and physical well-being, and environmental issues that affect health and livelihood.
U.S. House Representative Karen Bass represents California’s 37th congressional district since 2010. Prior to her House position, Bass represented the 47th district in the California State Assembly 2004 to 2010 and was the second woman, third African American speaker for the State Assembly from 2008 to 2010. Before her work as a politician, Bass received her bachelors in health sciences from California State University, Dominguez Hills in 1990. She first worked as a clinical instructor at the USC Keck School of Medicine physician assistant program before she moved on to the political world. In the start of her political career, Bass founded the Community Coalition, an organization in South Los Angeles geared towards the betterment of South L.A. residents.
Kamala Harris has been the Attorney General of California since 2011 and re-elected in 2014. A product of both Howard University and UCLA’s Hastings College of the Law, Harris worked as the Deputy District Attorney in Alameda County from 1990 to 1998, San Francisco’s District Attorney’s Office from 1998 to 2000 and City Attorney’s office in 2003. Harris is the first female and the first African American to hold the position of attorney general in California. She will be running for the United States Senate in the 2016 election.
Kristina Pink’s sports reporting career started while she attended the University of Florida. She provided sports features and worked as a sportscaster for the University. After graduating from Florida in 2009, Pink worked for an NBC affiliate in Maimi and an ABC affiliate in New Orleans. Pink joined FOX in 2012, working as a sideline reporter for the Los Angeles Clippers, an NFL of FOX sideline reporter, and a host for FOX Sports 1.
Juanita Millender-McDonald (September 7, 1938 – April 22, 2007) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1996 until her death in 2007, representing California’s 37th congressional district, which includes most of South Central Los Angeles and the city of Long Beach, California. She was a member of the Democratic Party. On December 19, 2006, Millender-McDonald was named Chairwoman of the House Committee on House Administration for the 110th Congress. She was the first African-American woman to chair the committee. She was also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and of the New Democrat Coalition and was considered a front-runner for the job of Secretary of Transportation if John Kerry had been elected President in 2004.
A Michigan State University alum, Jemele Hill started her sports writing at the Raleigh News & Observer. She won first place for sports feature writing at the North Carolina Press Association. In November 2006, Hill became a national columnist for ESPN. She is currently a co-host of a daily sports commentary show “His & Hers” and podcast of the same name.
A daughter of slaves, Ida B. Wells was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, on July 16, 1862. A journalist, Wells led an anti-lynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s, and went on to found and become integral in groups striving for African-American justice. She died in 1931 in Chicago, Illinois.
Senator Holly Mitchell has served in California’s Legislature since 2011 and was elected as the representative for the 30th Senate District in 2014. She has prided herself in focusing on reducing poverty and working with health and human services to help govern the people of her district. Prior to her work in the district, she was the field deputy in the Los Angeles district office of Senator Diane Watson. Mitchell founded the Senate Select Committee on Women and Inequality and is a member of the Black, Democratic and Women’s Caucuses.
The Virginia Beach native Gabrielle (Gabby) Douglas won a state championship in gymnastics at 8 years old. At the age of 15, Douglas moved from her family to learn gymnastics under the tutelage of a world-renounced coach. That led to her historical run in the 2012 London Olympics. Douglas became the first African American to win a gold medal in the individual all-round.
In 2013, after George Zimmerman’s acquittal for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Black Lives Matter (BLM) started with a hashtag (#BlackLivesMatter). The movement was co-founded by three black community organizers: Patrisse Cullors, (left), Opal Tometi (center) and Alicia Garza(right). BLM draws inspiration from the African-American Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power movement, the 1980s black feminist movement, Pan-Africanism, Anti-Apartheid Movement, Hip hop, LGBT social movements and Occupy Wall Street. Black Lives Matter has made its presence known across the nation with the continued killings of Black men and women with past few years. In the summer of 2015, Black Lives Matter began to publicly challenge politicians running for election in 2016. The movement has been become bold and unwavering in their protest and opposition to issues that undermine or inhibit the African American and Black community.
Gabby Maiden is recognized as the first black female competitive snowboarder, but that is just one of her many hobbies. She is from Los Angeles and began skiing at an early age, but she never felt comfortable doing it. When she was 12 she saw a few of her friends snowboarding and she decided to give it a try and she was hooked on it. Maiden has competed in the 4th Annual Supergirl Jam event, which featured surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding. She ended up taking 5th place out of 21 participants in the Snowboarding Rail Jam. She was in the top three for most of the event. She also models, acts, writes songs, plays the accordion, speaks a little bit of four languages, and travels throughout the world.
Diane Watson is a former U.S. Representative for California’s 33rd congressional district, which she served from 2003 until 2011. The entire district, which includes much of Central Los Angeles, re-elected Watson four times. When Watson was elected to California State Senate, she was known to be an advocate for health care for underserved children. Her experience as a teacher in Los Angeles public schools and the California department of education played a pivotal role in her advocacy for children. Throughout her 35 years in public office, Watson established a reputation for improving the plight of women and diverse legislative interests in welfare reform, civil rights and foreign aid for African countries.
Activist and filmmaker, Brittany “Bree” Newsome scaled a metal pole using a climbing harness and removed the confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina state capitol. Her daring act of civil disobedience sent shockwaves of courage and inspiration through a nation reeling from numerous injustices committed against the African American and Black community. She refused law enforcement commands to stop the act and was arrested along with James Ian Tyson, who is also from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Beverly Johnson originally planned to pursue law, she decided to pursue modeling. She got a modeling job at Glamour and would go on to appear on 500 magazine covers including her groundbreaking American Vogue cover being the first African American to appear on the publication. Johnson’s appearance on American Vogue changed the course of the fashion industry in the mid-1970’s and onward, opening doors even wider for Black models.
Coretta Scott King was an American civil rights activist and the wife of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. She established a distinguished career in activism in her own right. Working side-by-side with her husband, she took part in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and worked to pass the Civil Rights Act. After King’s death, she founded the Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta.
Betty Shabazz, also known as Betty X, was born Betty Dean Sanders. Although her birth records have been lost, she was likely born on May 28, 1934. Shabazz married Nation of Islam spokesman Malcolm X in 1958. After her husband’s assassination in 1965, Shabazz went on to a career in university administration and activism. She died from injuries sustained in a fire on June 23, 1997.
Democrat Barbara Lee is the U.S. Representative for California’s 13th Congressional District.
There probably isn’t anyone locally that you could find that has brought more attention to autism than Areva Martin. The attorney and president\founder of the Special Needs Network (SNN) has worked tirelessly to turn the tide against autism in South Los Angeles. In March, a 13-member board was established by the SNN and UCLA CART (Center for Autism Research and Treatment), to support the research the genetic causes of autism in African Americans in underserved communities, particularly South LA residents. SNN also celebrated 10 years in October of service to L.A.’s special needs citizens and their families.
Autumn Burke (D) is a California State Assembly member representing the 62nd district. Her district is home to some of Los Angeles popular beaches, LAX and the Los Angeles Forum. Assemblywoman Burke is a Los Angeles native who started her career off as a realtor and businesswoman before she entered into politics. Her biggest initiatives consisted of green technology provision, health care, education and solid job formation for active seekers. Burke is a member of the Yvonne Burke Foundation, which provides scholarships for young people in Los Angeles County to attend colleges, universities and career training programs.
Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, academic scholar, and author. She emerged as a prominent counterculture activist and radical in the 1960s as a leader of the Communist Party USA, and had close relations with the Black Panther Party through her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. Her interests include prisoner rights; she founded Critical Resistance, an organization working to abolish the prison-industrial complex. She was a professor (now retired) at the University of California, Santa Cruz in its History of Consciousness Department and a former director of the university’s Feminist Studies department. Davis was prosecuted under federal law and acquitted at trial of conspiracy in the 1970 armed take-over of a Marin County, California, courtroom, in which four persons died.
Television news anchor and reporter, Angela Black, is an African-American news figure, known primarily for her work for KABC-TV in Los Angeles, CA and for being the second female African-American news anchor in Los Angeles history. Born in Jacksonville, Florida to Army Major Bennie L. Canty and Bess Canty, a schoolteacher, Angela spent her childhood on Army bases Camp Sullivan in Whittier, Alaska and Fort Eustis in Virginia before settling with her parents and siblings in Jacksonville. After graduating from Bishop Kinney Catholic School, Angela traveled to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt University, ultimately transferring to and graduating from Jacksonville University with a BA in English. Angela is primarily known for her 12-year career spent at KABC-TV, becoming the second African-American female news anchor in Los Angeles history. Anchoring alongside Jerry Dunphy, Angela was a member of the “Eyewitness News” team of the late 1970s and 1980s.
Aja Brown is the youngest mayor ever elected in the history of Compton. At the age of 31, Brown beat out 12 candidates in 2013 to receive the mayoral position in Compton. Her career started at the University of Southern California where she received her bachelors in public policy and masters in urban planning with a concentration in economic development. In 2006, she began working for the city of Inglewood as an urban planner and soon made her way to the cities of Pasadena and Compton. During her time as mayor, a decrease in Compton gang crimes dropped by 65 percent in 2014.
