Photo by Los Angeles Times "I am standing here today by the grace of God as testament to the love and support that I've received from my family." Ketanji Brown Jackson recently made history when President Biden nominated her for Supreme Court of the United States to fill the vacancy left by the death of Antonin …
The Queen of Soul
"When God loves you, what can be better than that?" ~ Aretha Franklin There is so much I could write about Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul but I decided to concentrate on the highlights of her music career and her "social and civic contributions". Aretha Louise Franklin was born on March 25, 1942 in …
Mary Eliza Mahoney
Mary Eliza Mahoney She made history as the first African American to study and work as a professionally trained nurse in the United States. Mary Eliza Mahoney was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Her parents, originally from North Carolina, were freed slaves. They moved north before the Civil War, where they would face less discrimination. Mary …
Mary Ann Shadd Cary
Mary Ann Shadd Cary was the eldest of thirteen children. She was born on October 9, 1823 in Wilmington, Delaware. Her great-grandfather was Hans Schad, alias John Shadd, who served as Hessian soldier with the British army during the French and Indian War. Her father, Abraham Doras Shadd was trained as a shoemaker and owned a shop in …
Lena Horne
In celebration of Black History Month, Notes to Women are going to celebrate a few notable women. We begin with singer, actress, Lena Horne. Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was born in Bedford-sTuyvesant, Brooklyn. Her father, Edwin Fletcher Horne left the family when she was three years old. Her mother was the daughter of inventor Samuel R. Scottron. …
Global Renaissance Woman
"I thought, my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name. And then I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone..." Maya blamed herself for the death of the man who sexually abused and raped her when she was only eight years old. For five years …
Eleanor Roosevelt
Earlier this month when I was reading about African American women who made a difference so that I could feature them in the special issue of Notes to Women newsletter, one name kept popping up--Eleanor Roosevelt. I promised myself that I would do a little writeup on her. And here we are. "Where, after all, …
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