The Alabama native has become an iconic figure in American history and is remembered by many as the “mother” of the Civil Rights Movement. It was in 1955 that Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus, which was considered a major violation of segregation laws at the time. Parks was arrested and faced a $14 fine, but her actions gave new life to the push for equality. It encouraged Martin Luther King Jr. to lead a major demonstration that called for Black people to boycott the bus company.
Hattie McDaniel
The Kansas native was the youngest of 13 children and a well-known actress. By the time 1925 came around, McDaniel delivered the first major blow to barriers that kept Black women off the radio when she became the first African-American woman on the radio. In the 1930s, she made her first on-screen appearance in Judge Priest and most famously played Mammy in Gone with the Wind. She went on to make history as the first African-American woman to win an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress.
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