Women's History Month: Black Pioneers List Celebrating 'First Of Many'

UPDATED: 6:00 a.m. ET, March 1, 2021 The month of March is recognized as Women’s History Month and is dedicated to the celebration of everyday women, as well as pillars and pioneers whose accomplishments have allowed for following generations to feel empowered to constantly break barriers. Black women, in particular, have been accomplishing the unthinkable for centuries and NewsOne is highlighting some of these women and their feats.

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The month-long celebration of women dates back to 1980 when former President Jimmy Carter issued the first Proclamation, which declared the week of March 8, 1989, as National Women’s History Week, according to the National Women’s History Museum. In March of 1987, Congress passed Public Law 100-9, proclaiming March as Women’s History Month. “Throughout history, women have driven humanity forward on the path to a more equal and just society, contributing in innumerable ways to our character and progress as a people,” said former President Barack Obama in his 2016 Women’s History Month Presidential Proclamation. “In the face of discrimination and undue hardship, they have never given up on the promise of America: that with hard work and determination, nothing is out of reach. During Women’s History Month, we remember the trailblazers of the past, including the women who are not recorded in our history books, and we honor their legacies by carrying forward the valuable lessons learned from the powerful examples they set.” Obama continued, “Because of the courage of so many bold women who dared to transcend preconceived expectations and prove they were capable of doing all that a man could do and more, advances were made, discoveries were revealed, barriers were broken, and progress triumphed. Whether serving in elected positions across America, leading groundbreaking civil rights movements, venturing into unknown frontiers, or programming revolutionary technologies, generations of women that knew their gender was no obstacle to what they could accomplish have long stirred new ideas and opened new doors, having a profound and positive impact on our Nation.” Check out a list of Black women pioneers in history and the present-day. 

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1. Kamala Harris, first woman and Black woman Vice President of the United States

2. Meisha Ross Porter, first Black woman to be NYC Schools Chancellor

3. Jennifer King, First Black Woman NFL Coach

4. Oprah Winfrey, First Black Woman Billionaire

5. Barbara Jordan, First Black Woman Elected Into Congress from the South

6. Mariya Russell, First Black Woman Chef to Earn a Michelin Star

7. Mae C. Jemison, First Black Woman in Space

8. Mary Jackson, First Black Woman to Work for NASA

9. Bessie Coleman, First Black Woman Pilot

10. Hattie McDaniel, First Black Woman to Win an Academy Award

11. Whoopi Goldberg, First Black Woman to Win EGOT (Academy Award, 1990), (Emmy, 2002 & 2009), (Grammy, 1985) and (Tony, 2002)

12. Alice Coachman, First Black Woman To Win an Olympic Gold Medal

13. Rebecca Lee Crumpler, First Black Woman to Become a Doctor of Medicine in the U.S.

14. Madam C.J. Walker, First Black Woman Millionaire

15. Serena Williams, First Black Woman to Win a Career Grand Slam in Tennis

16. Loretta Lynch, First Black Woman to be Attorney General of the U.S.

17. Stacey Abrams, First Black Woman to be a Major Party Nominee for State Governor