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SISTAH, RECLAIM
YOUR IMAGE.
May
Black Women's History Calendar
The Black Women's History Timeline is a dynamic and empowering resource that highlights the monumental contributions of Black women throughout history. From trailblazing leaders and activists to innovators in science, culture, and business, this timeline offers a curated journey through their achievements and legacy. Each month, we spotlight key figures, events, and movements that have shaped the course of history and continue to inspire future generations. This timeline not only celebrates Black women's resilience, brilliance, and leadership but also educates and empowers communities to honor their invaluable impact on the world.
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May 3, 1898
Septima Clark, educator, civil rights activist, called “The Grandmother of the Civil Rights Movement” is born.
May 3, 1901
Estelle Massey Osborne, first African-American nurse to earn a master’s degree, integrated the American Nurses Association and served on its board of directors (1948-52) is born.
May 6, 1922
Gloria Richardson, civil rights activist in Maryland in the 1960s is born.
May 7, 1945
Mary Eliza Mahoney, the first African American to study and work as a professionally trained nurse in the U.S. is born.
May 8, 1910
Mary Lou Williams, jazz composer, became piano chair and writer for Benny Goodman (1931), wrote “The Zodiac Suite” for jazz ensemble, played it at New York’s Town Hall (1945) is born.
May 8, 1983
Lena Horne awarded the Springarm Medal for distinguished career in the field of entertainment.
May 12, 1910
Maida Springer Kemp, American labor organizer who worked extensively in Africa for the AFL-CIO, she advised fledgling labor unions, set up education and training programs, and liaised between American and African labor leaders, is born.
May 12, 1968
A 12-block Mother’s Day march of “welfare mothers” is held in Washington, D.C., led by Coretta Scott King accompanied by Ethel Kennedy
May 13, 1872
Matilda Arabella Evans, first African American woman to practice medicine in South Carolina, born.
May 15, 1938
Diane Nash, civil rights activist, and a leader and strategist of the student wing of the Civil Rights Movement, her efforts included the first successful civil rights campaign to integrate lunch counters, the Freedom Riders, co-founding the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and co-initiating the Alabama Voting Rights Project and working on the Selma Voting Rights Movement, is born.
May 17, 1912
Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner, African-American inventor most noted for her development of the sanitary belt, is born.
May 19, 1930
Lorraine Hansberry, first African-American woman to write a Broadway play, A Raisin in the Sun (1959), is born.
May 25, 1889
Lillie Mae Carroll Jackson, pioneer civil rights activist, organizer of the Baltimore branch of the NAACP, she pioneered the tactic of non-violent resistance, is born.
May 25, 1905
Dorothy Wesley, librarian and historian, one of the first African- American women to earn a master’s degree in library science (Howard University, 1932), as curator of the Moorland-Spingarn Collection at Howard University, she helped it become a world renowned resource on the history and culture of African-Americans, is born.
May 26, 1924
Thelma Hill, dancer, choreographer, educator, co-founder of the New York Negro Ballet Company (1954), one of the founders of the dance troupe that became the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, after an injury focused on teaching dance, is born.
May 27, 1861
Victoria Earle Matthews, African American author, essayist, newspaperwoman, settlement worker, and activist, is born.
May 27, 1919
Madame C.J. Walker, cosmetics manufacturer and first Black female millionaire, transitions to the ancestors.
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May 1, 1924
Evelyn Boyd Granville, the second African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics from an American University (Yale, 1949) is born.
May 1, 1950
Gwendolyn Brooks becomes the first African-American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, named Library of Congress’s Consultant in Poetry (later called Poet Laureate) in 1985
May 30 1965
Vivian Malone Jones becomes the first African American to graduate from the University of Alabama.
May 31, 1924
Patricia Harris, lawyer and ambassador, first African-American woman to hold a Cabinet position, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (1979-83), serve as an Ambassador (Luxembourg, 1965), and head a law school (Howard University, 1969), is born.
