Willa Brown and her male colleagues being sworn in as officers of the Civil Air Patrol, 1942. Courtesy of the Federal Aviation Administration, National Archives.

In 1976, 50 years after the first celebrations, President Gerald R. Ford made Black History Month official in the United States. Ford said, it is time to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history," History.com reports.

This year, the Smithsonian Museum is celebrating Black History Month with leaders in the arts, highlighting the “art of resistance and the artists who used their crafts to uplift the race, speak truth to power and inspire a nation.”

At Take The Lead, we are celebrating seven exceptional Black women in history who broke barriers and made an impact globally and nationally.

“At @Takeleadwomen we are celebrating seven exceptional #Blackwomen in history who broke barriers and made an impact globally and nationally. #BlackHistoryMonth”

1. Mary Grant Seacole, called the “Greatest Black Briton,” and “Mother Seacole,” was a nurse and contemporary of Florence Nightingale, though it is Nightingale who is better known throughout history and was called the founder of modern nursing.

Historians in 1980 set to make Seacole’s story known and her statue is outside St. Thomas Hospital in London, the first Black woman honored for her nursing contributions in the U.K. The recognition came nearly 100 years affer her death in 1881.

Born in 1805 in Jamaica, Seacole tended to wounded soldiers on the battlefield of The Crimean War in 1856, while Nightingale's hospital was hundreds of miles from the front line.

The Jamaican Nurses Association renamed its headquarters The Mary Seacole House in 1956 and a ward at Kingston General Hospital was named after her. In 1990, Seacole was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit. Some historians refer to her as the first nurse practitioner.

“In 1990, Mary Grant Seacole was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit. Some historians refer to her as the first nurse practitioner. #BlackHistoryMonth”

2. Viola Desmond, a business woman and Canadian civil rights icon who in 2016 was the new face of the Canadian $10 bill, refused to give up her seat in a whites-only section of a Nova Scotia movie theatre in 1946 and was arrested. She was born in 1914 in Nova Scotia.

After studying at the Field Beauty Culture School in Montreal, she opened Vi's Studio of Beauty and Culture in Halifax, catering to Black women. She founded the Desmond School of Beauty Culture and launched a line of beauty products. She passed in 1965.

Nova Scotia named a holiday after her in 2014, the same year the Canadian Museum for Human Rights dedicated a display to honor her legacy.

“Nova Scotia named a holiday after Viola Desmond in 2014, the same year the @CMHR_News dedicated a display to honor her legacy. #blackwomenlead”

3. Phyllis Wheatley was the first Black woman to publish a book of poems in 1773, with Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Mora, when she was 20 years old. Because she was an enslaved woman American publishers did not publish her work, but the book was published in London. She had learned to read in Greek and Latin, and began writing poetry at 14.

4. Harriet E. Wilson was the first Black woman to publish a novel, with her work, Our Nig: Sketches from The Life of A Free Black in 1859. Born 1825 in Milford, N.H., her novel reportedly was thought to be the work of a white author until 1983 when Henry Louis Gates, Jr. re-published the autobiographical novel .

“Harriet E. Wilson was the first Black woman to publish a novel, with her work, “Our Nig: Sketches from The Life of A Free Black in 1859.” #BlackHistoryMonth #blackwriters”

5. Elisabeth Welch, a cabaret singer and stage performer was born in 1904 in New York, but spent five decades performing in London before returning to the U.S. in 1980. Her best-known songs were "Stormy Weather," "Love for Sale" and "Far Away in Shanty Town". As she was highly popular in Paris and London, she was based in Britain for most of her career.

In 1980 she received excellent reviews for her role in ''Black Broadway.” And in 1986 she was nominated for a Tony, and won an Obie for her one-woman show, ''Time to Start Living.'' She passed in 2003.

6. Elreta Alexander-Ralston was the first Black female judge elected to the bench in the United States. Born in 1919, she was the first Black woman to graduate from Columbia Law School and the first Black woman in 1947 North Carolina to be licensed and practice as a lawyer, to argue before its Supreme Court, and to be elected a judge. She was also the first Black woman to argue a case in 1955 before the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Considered a pioneer in legal circles, she passed in 1998, and is well known for saying, “Speak now, darlin’, because the truth will set you free.”

“Considered a pioneer in legal circles, Elreta Alexander-Ralston passed in 1998, and is well known for saying, “Speak now, darlin’, because the truth will set you free.” #BlackWomenLead”

7. Bessie Coleman was one of the first Black pilots, and in 2023 The United States Mint announced that her face will appear on U.S. quarters.

Born in Texas in 1892, she was the first Black woman to hold a pilot license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in 1921. The following year she completed the first public flight by a Black woman and later built a career in acrobatic stunt flying. Known as Queen Bess, she passed in 1926 and was later inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame; and getting her own U.S. Postal Service stamp.

“Known as #QueenBess, Bessie Coleman passed in 1926 and was later inducted into the @WomenoftheHall; and getting her own @USPS stamp. #BlackHistoryMonth”

8. Willa Brown was the first Black woman to earn a Commercial Pilot's License in the U.S. in 1937. Born in 1906 in Kentucky, her family moved to Indiana and at 21, she earned a bachelor’s degree in business at what is now Indiana State University. Moving to Chicago, she was a member of the Chicago Girls Flight Club and advocated for racial integration within the U.S. Airforce, creating The National Airmen Association of America. She later earned her Masters in Business Administration from Northwestern University. In 1941 she became a founding member of the National Airmen’s Association of America, the first Black aviators’ group. In 1942, she became part of the Civilian Pilot Training Program and the first Black officer for this branch.

Leadership Takeaway of the Week:

“Speak now, darlin’, because the truth will set you free.”
Elreta Alexander-Ralston, the first Black female judge elected to the bench in the United States.

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About the Author

Michele Weldon is editorial director of Take The Lead, an award-winning author, journalist, emerita faculty in journalism at Northwestern University and a senior leader with The OpEd Project. @micheleweldon www.micheleweldon.com