By Alex Berger
February is Black History Month. Quite a few Black History months ago, I ran a quiz listing short biographies of a few famous black and white men who carved a deserved niche in the pages of black history. I asked readers to identify them. Not many did. However, the response was encouraging.A teacher requested that I write a similar quiz on the women who stood shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts in the human rights struggle. So turn off your computers, lock the doors, and put on your thinking caps. How many of the following remarkable and distinguished heroines can you identify? All but (4), (5), (7), (11), (12), and (13) are honored on a U.S. postage stamp.(1) A noted educator and social activist who began life as one of 17 children in a family of slaves, she went on to become a major spokeswoman for civil rights. In 1904, she opened a school for girls in Daytona Beach, Fla. with only $1.50 as her budget. In 1936, she became the first African-American woman to head a federal agency when she was appointed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as director of the National Youth Administration.(2) This “Moses of Her People” was born a slave in Maryland. She escaped bondage to personally guide 300 slaves to Canada and freedom before and during the Civil War. This famous “Underground Railroad Conductor” had rewards of $12,000 posted for her capture. (She was the first African-American woman to be honored on a U.S. postage stamp)(3) She used her rich contralto voice to foster religion and brotherhood. Her many recordings of religious hymns are well-known worldwide. She earned the title of “Queen of the Gospel Singers.”(4) Her book, “Uncle Tom's Cabin” awakened many Americans to the cruelty and misery of slavery. When she met President Lincoln, he said, “So this is the little lady who made the big (Civil) war.”(5) She wrote only one novel, but “Gone With The Wind” set sales records for decades and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937. The book was made into a motion picture in 1939 and is still seen by millions of moviegoers. After winning worldwide acclaim, she spent her life working for integration and improving race relations.(6) Born a slave in New York in 1797, she was one of the most inspirational African Americans of the 19th century. In 1828, she received her freedom and became involved in the fight against slavery. She changed her name to her more famous one. In 1864, President Lincoln received her at the White House.(7) American-born, she became an international stage and cabaret star while living in France. During World War II, she fought Nazism in the French Resistance and received Frances's highest honors.(8) She is best known for writing the words for “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” the Union's anthem during the Civil War. Before the war, she helped her husband publish an antislavery newspaper.(9) Devoted her life to educating people about the tragic discrimination against African Americans, she was a founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1909.(10) The daughter of former slaves, she became a beauty products pioneer and one of the nation's first female millionaires. In the early 1900s, using her husband's name, she developed a successful business manufacturing hair goods and preparations, and her company eventually became one of the largest businesses owned by an African American. She was a strong political activist and supported political rights and economic opportunities for African American men and women.(11) Born in Mississippi, and reared on her grandmother's farm, she performed recitations at the age of three. At 13, she ran away from home after suffering abuse and molestation and as a last resort lived in Nashville under her father's strict supervision. Her broadcasting career began at 17. She moved to Baltimore to host a “talk show.” Six years later, she went to Chicago and hosted a successful show that was seen nationally two years later. She received many radio and television awards and earned nominations for an Oscar and Golden Globe Awards in the movies. She is the first African-American woman to become a billionaire.(12) Born in Alabama, she earned her bachelor's degree at the University of Denver, her master's from Notre Dame, and honorary doctorate degrees from seven universities. A professor and budget and academic officer at Stanford University, and author, she held important positions in both the private and public sectors. She was appointed to the highest federal office ever held by an African-American woman.(13) This active community worker and organizer was born to migrants from North Carolina in a tenement in New York City. Her minister father died when she was 9. At the age of 15, she left school to help support her mother and two sisters. In 1943, she met Dr. Carter G. Woodson, and devoted her life following the principles of this famous author and pioneer in the history of black Americans.I met her in the 1970s, and we established a daily, close, warm relationship during my former career. She spent most of her 96 years working with youth and encouraging them to study, to remember, and to preserve their black history. An avenue in Brooklyn was named after her. I will never forget her.Answers: (1) Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955); (2) Harriet Tubman (1820-1913); (3) Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972); (4) Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896); (5) Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949); (6) Sojourner Truth (1797-1883); (7) Josephine Baker (1906-1975); (8) Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910); (9) Ida B. Wells (1862-1931); (10) Madam C. J. Walker (1867-1919); (11) Oprah Winfrey (b. 1954); (12) Dr. Condoleeza Rice (b. 1954); (13) Rosetta “Mother” Gaston (1885-1981).(I selected these 13 heroines at random. I know that there are many others, past and present, equally as memorable, but space limitations restricted the number.)Reach columnist Alex Berger at timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
