Women’s History Month is a time to recognize and celebrate the remarkable contributions of women throughout history. Students from Milele Chikasa Anana Elementary School took this opportunity to research and share their thoughts on influential Black women who have shaped American history. From athletes and activists to artists and astronauts, these women have left a lasting impact on society, inspiring future generations to follow in their footsteps. Here’s what the students had to say:
Frida Kahlo
(Alexia Buxton)
Frida Kahlo is a world-famous Mexican painter who was born July 6, 1907, in Mexico City. At the age of six, she was diagnosed with polio.
When Kahlo was a kid, she played in her mother’s garden out and collected bugs. Kahlo was especially close to her father, who was a professional photographer, and she frequently assisted him in his studio where she developed a sharp eye for detail.
When Kahlo was 18, she was in a bus accident that left her with a broken spinal column, collar bone, ribs, pelvis and 11 fractures in her leg, along with a punctured abdomen and uterus. Because of the injuries, Kahlo wore a steel corset every day from 1944 to 1945. The accident inspired her to become an artist, and she created a lifelong connection to pain and the human body.
Kahlo and artist Diego Rivera were married on August 21, 1929. Kahlo happily got pregnant but sadly lost the baby because of her bus accident.
Frida Kahlo was pronounced dead on July 13,1954 due to a pulmonary embolism at the young age of 47.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
(William Finch)
Jackie Joyner-Kersee was one of the best track and field athletes. She was named the greatest female athlete of the 20th century. She went to the Olympics and broke the world record for the heptathlon and was the first American woman to earn a gold medal in the long jump. Now she uses her fame to help children reach their goals.
Rosa Parks
(Warren Pierce, Noah Fitzpatrick, Antonio Stanley, Ian Preiser, Keyla Jimenez German, Tenzin Norgyal and Joshua Ramirez)
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was born on February 4, 1913, and made history as a civil rights leader. One way she inspired other people is by not giving up her seat on a bus for a white man. She was arrested for not moving for the white person because there were no more seats left, doing what she felt was right.
In order to be successful, she needed to be very brave to stand up to discrimination. She had to persevere while white people were racist. She was arrested on December 1, 1955, because she did not follow the Jim Crow laws. She died on October 24, 2005, due to natural causes.
Parks needed a brave personality and perseverance to stand up for herself. She was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and other awards for her bravery.
Mae Jemison
(Luke Nesheim)
Mae Jemison was the first African American woman to be an astronaut. In the Readworks article titled Mae Jemison, it says, “In 1992 she and six others went to space.” She was a U.S. hero and she is still alive. She has made history by inspiring others to follow their dreams.
Sunita Williams
(James Wrigley)
Sunita Williams was born September 19, 1965. She did a total of nine space walks and retired from the navy. This shows that she’s very brave.
Serena Williams
(Zolen Lopez-Darden)
Serena Williams was born in September 1981. She has won 23 grand slam singles titles and 14 grand slam double titles in tennis. Sirena Williams is a brave and very athletic person.
Billie Eilish
(Uriah Mathews)
Billie Eilish was born on December 18, 2001. Eilish is a musician has won seven Grammy awards. Billie is creative and never gave up, even when it was hard for her to make music.
Harriet Tubman
(Jacoby Profit)
Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in 1882 on a plantation in Maryland. Tubman was a brave woman who helped slaves escape from plantations by using The Underground Railroad. In 1913, Harriet Tubman died at the age of 91 from pneumonia. Her last words were, “I go away to prepare a place for you that where I am you also may be”.
Milele Chikasa Anana
(Aria Olsen and Eve Pellitteri)
Milele Chikasa Anana was the first black school board member in Wisconsin and the long time editor and publisher of UMOJA. Miss Milele supported students at the University of Wisconsin who demanded that the University creates an Afro-American student department. The same year the Mayor appointed Anana as the city of Madison’s first black affirmative action officer.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
(Adaia Fitzpatrick)
Jackie Joyner-Kersee was an athlete. They called her the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th century. Miss Joyner-Kersee was born on March 3, 1962. Joyner-Kersee grew up to be one of the greatest track and field athletes of all time. She was important to American history because she inspires young black girls to do what she did.
Rosa Parks
(Ismael Soussi)
Rosa Parks was born on February 4,1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama and died in 2005 on October 24. She was famous for 3 things:
- She was a civil rights activist, as well as a key figure in the civil rights movement.
- She refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
- She was arrested for defying segregation laws on the Montgomery bus boycott. She also helped start the civil rights movement by her act of defiance.
Augusta Savage
(Jade Profit)
On February 29,1892, Augusta Savage was born. Augusta had a hard childhood, but she did not let that stop her from what she loved. So, she decided to move to New York to look toward her dream of becoming an artist. She studied in New York for a little bit then she went to Paris to look for more detailed art. Many people disapproved of her and didn’t like her being there, but after a while she moved back to her hometown and started her dream as an artist. She influenced the famous Harlem Renaissance.
Althea Gibson
(Rickita Burks)
Althea Gibson was born in 1927 in Harlem. As a kid sometimes she did not go to school. One day when she was going to school, she saw some kids playing sports so that made her want to play sports. She started to play tennis on a team with all black players. Things were segregated a few days later when she won a local tournament. A few years later she won the national title. People thought she could be like Jackie Robinson and lead the way for Black and white players together in tennis. When she was playing tennis, she experienced racism when she wanted to play in tournaments. They only let white people play. She was finally allowed to play in the national championship. She was the first Black person to play at Forest Hills which is a famous stadium in New York. She was beginning to play tennis internationally and she was the first Black person to play at Wimbledon. She won a lot of tournaments in three years. When she had gotten a lot better, she quit her career. She had no money after playing tennis for all the years. She started supporting other kids that were playing sports. Althea Gibson stopped segregation in tennis. She got white and Black people to get along.
Compiled by Hope Horne & Janice Lee
