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1964 Democratic Convention: Weekly Women's History Image

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:40:05 +0000

Fannie Lou Hamer, working in the fields in Mississippi from the age of six, became active in the SNCC drive in the 1960s to register black voters in the South, and in 1963, at age 46, was able to register to vote herself for the first time. She helped organize "Freedom Summer" in 1964, and in that same year, was part of a delegation from Mississippi that challenged the whites-only delegation. In this picture, Fannie Lou Hamer is outside the convention at a demonstration in support of seating the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party delegates, including Hamer. She is with the parents of slain civil rights worker, Michael Schwerner, killed in June 1964 by members of the Ku Klux Klan with fellow civil rights workers James Chaney and Andrew Goodman.

_{Image: Contributed by Robert Abbott Sengstacke to Getty Images / Archive Photos. Used with permission.}

Josephine Baker

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:57:10 +0000

Josephine Baker found that her career in America was hampered by racism. When she went to Paris, she became a hit throughout Europe. Less known: her work in World ...

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Women in the Tudor Dynasty

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:15:56 +0000

Henry VIII faced a problem of many kings: how to ensure a stable succession. That meant having sons, or so he thought, which meant marrying someone capable of giving him ...

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Famous Women Scientists

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:00:47 +0000

Polls -- British and American -- have found that most people cannot name more than one woman scientist. How many can you name? Here's an extensive list of female scientists, so you can check your own answers and expand your knowledge -- and maybe challenge your friends to see how many they can name. Read more: Famous Women Scientists.

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Weekly Women's History Image: Teaching Women Sewing - 1866

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:37:27 +0000

After the end of the American Civil War, many volunteers from the north went to the south to work in Freedmen's schools, teaching the former slaves. Under slave state laws, it had been illegal to teach a slave even to read or write; these schools taught that and more, including vocational skills. The teachers in these schools were largely white women, though there were some men and some African American teachers as well. Less well known about this history: the Freedmen's Bureau, the government agency that took over operating the Freedmen's schools was also responsible for one of the first large-scale social welfare efforts in the United States.

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Women's Quotes for Black History Month

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:52:21 +0000

This quotation from educator Mary McLeod Bethune is one in a new collection of visual quotes from African American women, in honor of Black History Month. Share on Facebook.

Lil Hardin Armstrong, Jazz Pioneer

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:02:09 +0000

The first major woman jazz instrumentalist, Lil Hardin Armstrong can still be heard performing on some vintage jazz albums. She also made a lasting contribution to jazz when she ...

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Mother of Black History Month?

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:15:30 +0000

Mary McLeod Bethune was the founder of Bethune-Cookman College, originally opened as the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute in 1904, serving African Americans at a time when most schools admitted only white students. Because the local hospital was whites-only, the school hosted its own hospital from 1911-1921. In addition to playing a key part in other organizations, Bethune served as president for the Study of Negro Life and History from 1926 - 1951, an organization founded by black history pioneer Carter G. Woodson, who founded what became Black History Month.

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Traveling Preacher Turned Abolitionist

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:23:24 +0000

Born into slavery in New York at the end of the 18th century, the woman who would take the name Sojourner Truth became a traveling preacher, and then a popular speaker for the growing abolitiionist movement. She also advocated for women's rights.

More About Sojourner Truth:

Sojourner Truth Biography
Sojourner Truth Quotes
Sojourner Truth Picture Gallery - Index
Ain't I a Woman? Sojourner Truth speech, 1851
Sojourner Truth Books (Bibliography)
Sojourner Truth - Index
Sojourner Truth - Elsewhere on the Web

Super Bowl Sunday: Increased Violence Against Women?

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:21:48 +0000

About.com's Guide to Alcoholism takes on the myth -- and debunkers -- of the story that Super Bowl Sunday is a day of much-increased domestic violence: Read Full Post