10 Women Who Made History | Facing History & Ourselves
Mary Church Terrell in chair black and white photo

10 Women Who Made History

Facing History invites teachers to take a deeper dive into the histories and experiences of women around the nation in work with their students. 

Here at Facing History, we see awareness months as opportunities to deepen our knowledge of and attention to the histories and contemporary experiences of historically marginalized communities. However, the focus on celebrating these communities over one particular month can further marginalize the very experiences we are hoping to elevate. With this in mind, what follows is an invitation to engage with important themes raised by Women’s History Month this March and throughout all of the months of the year.

This Women’s History Month, we invite teachers to take a deeper dive into the histories and experiences of women around the nation in work with their students. One powerful way to do this is to learn more about individual women’s lives both past and present.

Below are 10 Facing History profiles and interviews capturing a number of key figures from women’s history and contemporary life:

Daisy Bates

Daisy Bates

(1914-1999)

Journalist, civil rights activist, mentor to the Little Rock Nine, and speaker at the March on Washington.

For more, see “Celebrating Daisy Bates: Black Female Orator at the March on Washington”.

Grace Lee Boggs

Grace Lee Boggs

(1915-2015)
Chinese American philosopher and radical activist known for groundbreaking, ongoing collaboration with African American activists in Detroit, Michigan.

Fannie Lou Hamer

Fannie Lou Hamer

(1917-1977)
Political activist, celebrated orator, co-founder of the Freedom Democratic Party, and co-organizer of Freedom Summer.

For more, see “Fannie Lou Hamer: Unsung Woman of the Civil Rights Movement”.

bell hooks

bell hooks

(1952-2021)
Influential scholar, professor, and public intellectual in domains including race, feminism, and education.

For more, see “bell hooks Taught Us to Transgress”.

Credit:
Cmongirl, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Dolores Huerta

Dolores Huerta

(1930 - )
Legendary Chicana activist with an emphasis on labor and civil rights; cofounder of the National Farmworkers Association.

For more, see "Dolores Huerta's Life of Indefatigable Resistance".

Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde

(1934-1992)
Lesbian writer, activist, and pioneer in intersectional thought.

Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison

(1931-2019)
Acclaimed novelist, poet, playwright, and essayist.

Lucy Schwob

Lucy Schwob

(1894 - 1954)
French lesbian photographer, writer, and activist known in artistic circles as “Claude Cahun”; resisted the Nazis with partner Suzanne Malherbe a.k.a. Marcel Moore.

Mary Church Terrell

Mary Church Terrell

(1863-1954)
One of the first Black women to earn a college degree; suffrage and civil rights activist; cofounder of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs.

Helen Zia

Helen Zia

(1952 - )
Chinese American journalist, author, and leading activist in Asian American struggles for the last 40 years; recipient of honorary doctorates from the University of San Francisco and CUNY Law School for her significant social contributions. 

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