Behind the Pages

N.C. Trailblazers:
Inspiring Black women who paved the way

 

Against all odds, African American women from North Carolina helped shape the state…as well as the nation and the world, improving all our lives. February is Black History Month, so this is a fitting time to discover influential women you might not have heard about in history class.

 

Here are just a few Black female leaders from the Tar Heel State:

 

  • 1861 - Harriet Jacobs, born a slave in Edenton, writes “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” one of the first narratives about the struggle for freedom by enslaved women in the plantation South.
  • 1862 - Mary Jane Patterson, a free Black from Raleigh, becomes the first African American woman to receive a bachelor’s degree.
  • 1892 - Anna Julia Haywood Cooper, an educator, activist and Raleigh native, writes “A Voice From the South,” a collection of essays considered the first book-length feminist analysis of the condition of African Americans.
  • 1894 – Moms Mabley, the top standup comedienne of her time, is born Loretta Mary Aiken in Brevard.
  • 1902 – Charlotte Hawkins Brown establishes the Palmer Memorial Institute, an African-American preparatory school in Sedalia, near Greensboro.
  • 1928 - Annie Wealthy Holland, of rural Gates County near the Virginia border, forms the N.C. Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers, the first such organization for African Americans in the state.
  • 1947 - Elreta Melton Alexander of Greensboro becomes the first African-American woman licensed as a lawyer in North Carolina.
  • 1951 - Shirley Caesar, a gospel singer and songwriter born in Durham, begins recording at the age of 12. Finding fame as the "First Lady of Gospel Music," her accolades include winning 11 Grammy Awards.
  • 1954 - Nina Simone, a native of Tryon, begins writing and singing in a one-of-a-kind style that merges classical training with a broad range of musical genres. In 2000, she receives a Grammy Hall of Fame Award; in 2018, she’s inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
  • 1962 – Little Eva, born in the town of Belhaven in Beaufort County, reaches the top of the charts with the dance song “The Loco-Motion.”
  • 1969 - Maya Angelou, a poet, award-winning author and professor in Winston-Salem, publishes her acclaimed memoir, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”
  • 1972 - Roberta Flack, born in Black Mountain, is nominated for her first Grammy Award for the song “You’ve Got a Friend,” going on to receive a total of 14 nominations and five awards.
  • 1992 - Eva M. Clayton is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She’s the first African-American woman to represent North Carolina in Congress.
  • 1997 – Star Jones, an attorney born in Badin, near Charlotte, becomes co-host of ABC’s “The View.”
  • 2007 - Yvonne Jeffries Johnson serves as the first African-American mayor of Greensboro,
  • 2015 – Loretta Lynch, born in Greensboro, becomes U.S. attorney general.
  • 2017 - Vi Lyles is elected mayor of Charlotte.
  • 2017 - Patrice Andrews of Morrisville, Cassandra Deck-Brown of Raleigh and CJ Davis of Durham are three of six female African-American police chiefs in major North Carolina cities.
  • 2018 - Jaki Shelton Green, who lives in Mebane, becomes the first Black woman to be poet laureate of North Carolina.
  • 2022 – Ariana DeBose, born in Wilmington and raised in Raleigh, wins the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her role in the film “West Side Sory.” She has also starred in “Hamilton” on Broadway and Disney’s animation feature “Wish.”
  • 2024 – Two Black women are reelected to represent North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives: Alma Adams (Mecklenburg) and Valerie Voushee (Durham).
  • 2025 – Ten African-American women serve in the N.C. House and five in the state Senate (including Sydney Batch of Wake County, who’s the Democratic leader). They comprise about 9 percent of the legislature, which is nearly in line with the Black female population in the state, roughly 11 percent.

Let’s honor the world-shaping contributions these women have made. They do us proud!

 

Think big,

Debra Simon

Editor & Publisher