Womanica

Margaret Ekpo (1914-2006) was a Nigerian women's rights activist and one of Nigeria’s first female elected officials. She worked tirelessly for the rights and political representation of women, as well as for Nigeria’s independence from British colonial rule. For Further Reading: Remembering Margaret Ekpo and the Enugu strike massacre Igbo Women and Political Participation in Nigeria, 1800s-2005 E...

Jacqueline Creft (1946-1983) was one of the key leaders in Grenada’s People’s Revolutionary Government. She believed in uplifting the nation’s women and children through education. Because of Jacqueline, Grenada has free secondary education for all.   For Further Reading: Forward Ever With Jacqueline Creft: the Paradox of Women's Liberation in the Caribbean Revolutionary Left Jacqueline Creft and...

Lélia Gonzalez (1935-1994) was a Brazilian professor, anthropologist, activist, and politician. She was a pioneer in the emergence of Black feminist theory throughout the 1970’s and 80’s. She founded the Unified Black Movement Against Racial Discrimination, and served as a leader and counsel through the re-democratization of post-dictatorship Brazil. For Further Reading:  Amefricanity: The Black R...

Dominga de la Cruz-Becerril (1909-1981) was a Puerto Rican patriot, activist, and poet known as the “one who picked up the flag” for her act of rescuing the Puerto Rican Flag during the Ponce Massacre of 1937. For Further Reading:  “Race” and Class among Nacionalista Women in Interwar Puerto Rico: The Activism of Dominga de la Cruz Becerril and Trina Padilla de Sanz Dominga Cruz-Becerril (1909-198...

Vicki Garvin (1915-2007) was a political activist, Pan-Africanist, workers rights organizer, and civil rights leader first in Harlem and later internationally, in Nigeria, China, and Ghana. She was a prominent figure in the Black Left movement during the height of McCarthyism and greatly shaped the political worldview of Malcolm X. Throughout her life, she served as a mentor for Black activists an...

Bibi Titi Mohamed (1926-2000) was an activist and ngoma artist who fought against colonial rule in Tanzania, helping form the women-led backbone of the TANU. Her work in women’s cultural spheres helped pave the way for Tanzanian nationalism. For Further Reading: Bibi Titi Mohamed Mothers of Nationalism This Black History Month, we’re talking about Revolutionaries: Black women who led struggles for...

Emma Mashinini (1929-2017) risked her life and reputation to fight for Black worker’s rights under apartheid in South Africa. She spent months isolated in prison without chargers for her work as a trade unionist and activist for African and women’s rights.  For Further Reading: Emma Thandi Mashinini | South African History Online   Strikes Have Followed Me All Me Life: A South African Autobiograph...

Aguil Chut-Deng (c.1964-2022) was a freedom fighter during Sudan’s second civil war. After immigrating to Australia, she dedicated herself to improving the lives of refugees. She believed children and education were the answer to history not repeating itself.  For Further Reading:  Woman warrior: A nation mourns the passing of a Queensland refugee   An indomitable spirit Kiir pays glowing tribute...

Assata Shakur (1947-present) was a member of the Black Liberation Army who was imprisoned and convicted of murdering a police officer. She escaped prison in 1979, and has lived in exile in Cuba ever since. In 2013, she was the first woman to be placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List.  For Further Reading:  Assata: An Autobiography Assata Olugbala Shakur (1947- ) AssataShakur.org This Black...

Madame Nwanyeruwa (c. 1920s) organized the Aba Women’s War, a revolt staged by Nigerian women against colonial taxation. Her actions helped ignite a movement that eventually led to the fight for independence in Nigeria.  For Further Reading: “Sitting on a Man”: Colonialism and the Lost Political Institutions of Igbo Women   Ogu Umunwanyi, Ekong Iban, Women’s War: A story of protest by Nigerian wom...

Muthoni Kirima (1930-2023) was a top ranking female fighter in the Mau Mau rebellion against British colonialism in Kenya. She led groups in guerrilla warfare to reclaim land and independence and became the only woman to have attained the high rank of Field Marshal. For Further Reading:  Muthoni Kirima, Mau Mau fighter who was the last to lay down her arms following Kenyan independence – obituary...

Denise Oliver-Velez (1947-present) is a community organizer, professor, and writer whose work with the Young Lords and Black Panthers in New York City focused on the importance of feminist work within activist coalitions. For Further Reading: “Machismo Will Never Be Fucking Revolutionary.”  Palante , Position Paper on Women Want to Start a Revolution? Radical Women in the Black Freedom Struggle Th...

Mae Mallory (1927-2007) was one of the many Black women whose activism during the Civil Rights Era went largely unsung. As part of the Harlem Nine, she helped fight against school segregation in New York City. Her alignment with the Black Power Movement made her a fierce advocate for justice — and a target of the FBI.  For Further Reading: Behind the Black Power Movement She Who Struggles: Mae Mal...

Carlota Lucumí (unknown - 1843) led a violent uprising against plantation owners in Cuba. She was kidnapped from Yorubaland and forced into slave labor in Cuba. To organize a rebellion against her enslavers, she found covert ways to communicate like sending messages through the music of a talking drum.   For Further Reading:  Carlota Lucumi, “La Negra Carlota” Rethinking Slave Rebellion in Cuba Th...

Catherine Flon (c. 18th century) was a prominent figure in Haitian history, known for her role in the creation of the Haitian flag. During the Haitian Revolution in 1803, she sewed together the first Haitian flag, symbolizing the nation's fight for independence from French colonial rule. Catherine’s historical significance is celebrated annually on Haitian Flag Day, commemorating the creation of t...

Elma Francois (1897-1944) was an Africentric Socialist political activist who is an official "national heroine of Trinidad and Tobago.” A grassroots labor organizer and domestic worker, she is known for leading multiple strikes and labor movements challenging British colonialism in Trinidad and Tobago.  For Further Reading: A Lion Amongst Men: The Story of Elma Francois Francois, Elma (1897–1944)...

Altheia Jones-Lecointe (1945 - present) is a Trinidadian physician and research assistant known for her role as a leader of the British Black Panther Movement. She represented herself in the hearings as one of the Mangrove Nine. It became one of the most influential Black power trials in British history. For Further Reading: Altheia Jones-Lecointe: the Black Panther who became a Mangrove Nine hero...

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (1946-2018) was an activist and social worker who led a key role in the fight against apartheid in South Africa. She was Nelson Mandela’s wife and supported him through his 27 years in prison. She was called the "Mother of the Nation” by her supporters, though later in life her legacy was marred by controversy. For Further Reading:  Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Nomzamo: Teac...

Angélica Gorodischer (1928-2022) was an Argentine writer whose short stories ranged in genre from science fiction to fantasy and crime. Her works had a strong feminist perspective. For Further Reading: 20 Questions with Angélica Gorodischer Award-Winning Author Angélica Gorodischer Has Passed Away Lingua Cosmica: Science Fiction from around the World (Angélica Gorodischer: Only A Storyteller) This...

Alice Bradley Sheldon (1915-1987) was an American science fiction and fantasy author better known by her pen name, James Tiptree Jr.. Until 1977, the public didn’t even know that James Tiptree Jr. was a woman. After an adventurous childhood and a career in the CIA, she took the sci-fi world by storm with her dystopian and feminist stories. Though, she left a complicated legacy.  For Further Readin...

Shirley Walker (1945-2006) was an American film and television composer and conductor. She is best known for her work on Batman: The Animated Series and other DC animated films under Warner Brothers. Her guidance and skill was instrumental in building out the field of film and TV composition. For Further Reading: The Musical Legacy of Shirley Walker Shirley Walker: An Appreciation Batman: the anim...

Begum Rokeya (c. 1880-1932) spent her life fighting for women’s rights in India and Bangladesh. She opened the first school for Muslim girls in her region and advocated for women’s education. She dreamed of a world where women could reach their full potential — a world she brought to life in her revolutionary feminist utopian short story “Sultana’s Dream.” For Further Reading: Sultana's Dream Begu...

Margaret Brundage (1900-1976) was an illustrator and painter who drew covers for the sci-fi pulp magazine Weird Tales in the 1930s. Her work often depicted alluring women in fantastical situations, and inspired a lot of controversy among readers.  For Further Reading:  The Revenge of Margaret Brundage, 'The Queen of the Pulps' Weird Tales: Meet Margaret Brundage, The First Lady Of Pulp Pinup Art M...

Judith Merril (1923-1997) was a pioneering political activist, sci-fi writer and editor, whose dark and dystopian stories were told through the perspectives of characters who were mothers and housewives.  For Further Reading: Better to Have Loved: The life of Judith Merril  Galactic Suburbia: Recovering Women’s Science Fiction Atomic Attack (1954) This month, we’re talking about Women of Science F...

Thea von Harbou (1888 - 1954) was a German screenwriter, novelist, director and actress. She worked as a screenwriter with husband and director Fritz Lang during the transition from silent to sound films. She is best known for her novel and screenplay Metropolis .  For Further Reading: von Harbou, Thea (1888–1954) Thea von Harbou Kriemhild’s Revenge This month, we’re talking about Women of Science...