design: Wyatt Downey
permission to print: Associated Press Images
Madame C.J. Walker
Born December 23, 1867, as Sarah Breedlove, Madame C.J. Walker, the first self-made female millionaire, would lead a lifetime of success as she went on to grow her hair care empire. With products like Madame C.J.’s Wonderful Hair Grower and the Hot Comb, Madam C.J. became the forefront of black hair care, according to womenshistory.org
Garret Morgan
Garret Morgan, a former sewing machine mechanic, is one of the most unknown and underappreciated inventors in American history. By the end of Morgan’s life, he ended up patenting not only the traffic light and gas mask but also a hair straightening product and an improved sewing machine, according to www.thoughtco.org
Claudette Colvin
As a pioneer to the civil rights movement, Claudette Colvin inspired Rosa parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. At age fifteen, Colvin, (who was pregnant at the time) refused to give up her seat when told to do so for a white woman; she was later arrested. While Claudette played an important role in the coming civil rights movement, she was never recognized in the media due to her being a teen and having a darker complexion, aaregistry.org
Jane Bolin
Jane Bolin, an attorney and judge, was the first black woman to graduate from Yale. She has served as a role model to black women all over America due to her being a pioneer to women in law. She defended specifically women and children of color in her law pursuits at the New York City Family Court, and was also the first black women to join the New York Bar Association, according to nytimes.com and ignitenational.org.
While all these people helped to influence modern day culture, their efforts aren’t recognized in the media, so one could say these are a few of the unsung heroes of today’s society. “I think its crazy that these people that created all these important things are really unknown,” Junior Samyra Smith said.
