Women in Dinner at Aunt
Connie's House
by Faith Ringgold
Rosa Lee Parks (1913- ) was arrested
for violating a Montgomery, Alabama law requiring that whites
and blacks sit in different rows on buses. She refused to relinquish
her seat to a white man who wanted to sit in her row.
The youngest of twenty children, Fannie
Lou Hammer (1917-1977) worked as a sharecropper most of
her life. She worked to obtain voting rights for blacks in Mississippi
and was once arrested and beaten for entering a "whites-only"
restaurant.
Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955)
was a child of former slaves who became a noted American educator.
She received many awards for her public service.
Best known for her novels and collections of folklore, Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) displayed
a unique gift for storytelling. She was most interested in Southern
black folk customs as well as the customs of Haiti and Jamaica.
Born into poverty, Bessie Smith
(1894-1937) became one of the finest blues singers in the history
of jazz. Her work was almost unknown to white audiences until
just before her death.
Given the name Araminta Ross when she was born, Harriet
Tubman (1820?-1913) became known by her mother's name.
After escaping from slavery herself, she returned to the South
numerous times to lead others to freedom.
Sojourner Truth (1797?-1883)
was the first black orator to speak out against slavery. She even
visited Abraham Lincoln in 1864 in the White House to explain
her cause.
In 1977, Marian Anderson (1897-1993)
won the United Nations Peace Prize. Racism greatly affected her
career in the United States although she won tremendous praise
in Europe for her talent.
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