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Katherine Dunham's Life and Career The Katherine Dunham Collection   An Interactive Timeline     A studio photograph of Katherine Dunham in the 1920s. Courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis. 1909 Katherine Mary Dunham is born on 22 June 1909 in a Chicago hospital. Her father, Albert Millard Dunham, is black; her mother, Fanny June Dunham, is a woman of French-Canadian and American Indian heritage. Shortly after her birth, her parents take the infant Katherine to their home in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a village about fifteen miles west of Chicago. She spends her early years there in the company of her brother, Albert Jr., who is six years older than she. They become devoted to each other. 1913 Fanny June Dunham, twenty years older than her husband, dies. Katherine and Albert Jr. are sent to live with their father's sister, Lulu, on the South Side of Chicago. 1915 Albert Sr. marries Annette Poindexter, and the children go to live with their father and stepmother in Joliet, Illinois. Their stepmother becomes a benevolent influence, but their father is a strict disciplinarian who lays down hard rules of behavior and dispenses physical punishment for infractions. 1921 Dunham's short story, "Come Back to Arizona," written when she was twelve years old, appears in volume 2 (August 1921) of The Brownies' Book, a periodical edited by W.E.B. Du Bois. 1922 In high school, Katherine Dunham joins the Terpsichorean Club and begins to learn a kind of free-style modern dance based on ideas of Jaques-Dalcroze and Rudolf von Laban. At fourteen, to help raise money for her church, she organizes a "cabaret party." She is the producer, director, and star of the entertainment.

Sisters in the Struggle: Celebrating African female resistance to slavery, colonisation and the legacies of chattel enslavement

Black women's resistance to slavery goes back to the 7th century

If you men of Ashanti will not go forward, then we will... I will call upon my fellow women. We will fight the white men until the last of us falls on the battlefields Yaa Asantewa, Queen Mother of Ejisu

In the spirit of International Women’s Day on March 8, Deborah Gabriel examines the role of African women in forms of resistance against slavery and colonisation and the continued struggle to address the legacies of chattel enslavement.

It seems entirely fitting that in commemorating a day that pays tribute to women around the world and which examines the issues confronting women today, that we look specifically at black women of African descent. In 2007, 200 years since Britain passed an Act making it illegal to ship slaves from Africa (which did not abolish slavery); it is also especially relevant to draw attention to our black sisters in the struggle and feel pride at the role they have played in defending African nations against slavery and colonisation.

As early as the seventh century, a formidable black woman, Dahia al-Kashina of Mauritania became leader of the African forces around 690 and forced Arab invaders into a temporary retreat. But as the invasion persisted and defeat seemed a certainty, rather than yield to the Arabs she took her own life. In the fourteenth century, Queen Nzingha presided over Angola and Zaire and was a formidable opponent for the Portuguese army who were hell-bent on enslaving Africans.

Her military expertise held off the Portuguese for over 40 years and Queen Nzingah was determined to destroy the slave trade. She sought a coalition of forces through Africa to rid the continent of the Portuguese invaders and died still fighting for Africans at the age of 81 in 1663. In the seventeenth century, Mbuya Nehanda

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Marian Anderson Image Donated by Corbis - Bettmann NAME: Marian Anderson DATE OF BIRTH: February 27, 1897 – according to her birth certificate. (Throughout her life she gave her birthdate as February 17, 1902.) PLACE OF BIRTH: Philadelphia, Pennsylvannia FAMILY BACKGROUND: Marian Anderson was the oldest of three daughters born to John and Anna Anderson. John was a loader at the Reading Terminal Market, while Anna had been a teacher in Virginia. In 1912, John suffered a head wound at work and died soon after. Anna and her three daughters moved in with John’s parents, while Anna found work cleaning, laundering and scrubbing floors. EDUCATION: Marian attended William Penn High School (focusing on a commercial education course to get a job) until her music vocation arose. She transferred to South Philadelphia High School, focusing on music and singing frequently at assemblies, and graduating at age 18. She applied for admission to a local music school, but was coldly rejected because of her color. ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Marian’s musical career began quite early, at the local Baptist church in which her father was very active. She joined the junior choir at age six. Before long, she was nicknamed “The Baby Contralto.” When she was eight, her father bought a piano from his brother, but they could not afford any lessons so Marian taught herself. When Marian was 13 years old, she joined the senior choir at church and began visiting other churches; becoming well-known and accepting invitations to sing. She became so popular, she would sometimes perform at three different places in a single night. Finally she summoned the confidence to request five dollars per performance. In 1919, at the age of 22, she sang at the National Baptist Convention. When she was 15 years old, Marian began voice lessons with Mary Saunders Patterson, a prominent black soprano. Shortly thereafter, the Philadelphia Choral Society held a benefit concert, providing $500 for her to study for two years with leading contralto Agnes Reifsnyder. After she graduated from high school, her principal enabled her to meet Guiseppe Boghetti, a much sought-after teacher. When he heard Marian audition, singing “Deep River,” he was moved to tears. Marian’s initial invitations to sing grew to actual tours, focusing on black colleges and churches in the South. William “Billy” King accompanied her and also served as her manager. Soon she was making $100 per concert. On April 23, 1924, they took a giant step and held a concert at New York’s Town Hall. Unfortunately, it was poorly attended and critics found her voice lacking. Marian was so discouraged, she contemplated abandoning her career choice. But shortly after, she won a singing contest through the Philadelphia Philharmonic Society and then, in 1925, she entered the Lewisohn Stadium competition. She beat 300 rivals and sang in New York’s amphitheater with the Philharmonic Orchestra accompanying her. This concert was a triumph and gained her the attention of Arthur Judson, an important impresario, who put her under contract. In 1926, Marian toured the eastern and southern states, adding songs to her repertoire. On December 30, 1928, she performed a solo recital at Carnegie Hall. A New York Times critic wrote: “A true mezzo-soprano, she encompassed both ranges with full power, expressive feeling, dynamic contrast, and utmost delicacy.” But despite this success, her engagements were stagnating; she was still performing mainly for black audiences. Marian then obtained a scholarship through the National Association of Negro Musicians to study in Britain. On September 16, 1930, she performed at London’s Wigmore Hall. She returned to the U.S. only to return to Europe again, on a scholarship from the Julius Rosenwald Fund. She was intent on perfecting her language skills (as most operas were written in Italian and German) and learning the art of lieder singing. At a debut concert in Berlin, she attracted the attention of Rule Rasmussen and Helmer Enwall, managers who arranged a tour of Scandinavia. Enwall continued as her manager for other tours around Europe. Marian returned to the U.S. for more concerts and then, in 1933, returned to Europe again through the Rosenwald Fund. From September 1933 through April 1934, she performed at 142 concerts in Scandinavia alone, even singing before King Gustav in Stockholm and King Christian in Copenhagen. She received a rare invitation to sing from Jean Sibelius, a 70-year-old famous Finnish composer. He was so moved, he dedicated his song “Solitude” to her, and saying, “The roof of my house is too low for your voice.” She followed those concerts with ap

Mary Ann Shadd Cary Photo: Miss Mary Ann Shadd Cary, ca. 1845-55 Source: Library and Archives Canada/David Shadd collection/C-029977 NAME: Mary Ann Shadd Cary DATE OF BIRTH: October 9, 1823 PLACE OF BIRTH: Wilmington, Delaware DATE OF DEATH: 1893 PLACE OF DEATH: Washington D. C. FAMILY BACKGROUND: Mary Ann was the eldest child of thirteen children born to Harriet and Abraham Shadd, established leaders in the free Black community. Her father was a key figure in the Underground Railroad and a subscription agent for William Lloyd Garrison's Liberator. As a child, Mary Ann witnessed slavery and the dedication her family had to freeing slaves. Mary Ann Shad married Thomas F. Cary of Toronto in 1856. They had two children, Sarah and Linton. They lived in Chatham, Canada where Mary worked at her paper and taught school. Thomas died in 1860. EDUCATION: At the age of ten, the Shadd's moved to West Chester, Pennsylvania where Mary attended a Quaker School for the next six years. This experience influence dMary later in life, whereby she returned to this location and opened a school for Black children in 1840. Later, she also taught in New York City and Norristown, Pennsylvania. ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Mary Ann Shad Cary is noted for her attacks on slavery and promotion of self-reliance. Her gift of writing in a both elegant and targeted way attracted readers to her ideas. She preached against those who took advantage of freed slaves and tried to teach these slaves how to be self reliant. In 1850 the Fugitive Slave Law was passed and Mary and her brother, Isaac, emigrated to Canada with the rest of the American Black exodus. In Canada, Mary founded a racially integrated school in Canada with the support of the American Missionary Association. At this time she joined abolitionists Mary and Henry Bibb to fight against exploitive antislavery agents known as "begging agents." She simultaneously criticized Black Southern ministry and other Blacks who did not teach intellectual growth and self reliance to other Blacks. In 1852 she wrote "Notes on Canada West" which pursuaded American Blacks to come to Canada. After the decline of her paper, Mary moved to Washington D.C. and served as a recruiting officer for the Union Army, promoting Black nationalism. In Washington, Mary established a school for Black children and attended Howard University Law School; she became the first Black female lawyer in the United States when she graduated in 1870. As a lawyer she worked for the right to vote and was one of few woman to receive the right to vote in federal elections. She organized the Colored Women's Progressive Franchise in 1880 which was dedicated to women's rights. QUOTE: "Self-reliance Is the Fine Road to Independence." From the paper which served as her voice and in which she served as editor, publisher, and investigative reporter, Provincial Freeman. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Rhodes, Jane. Mary Ann Shadd Cary: the Black Press and Protest in the Nineteenth Century. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998.

MARY CHURCH TERRELL (1863-1954)

Mary Church Terrell, one of the early women of color engaged in lecturing and other activities for recognition of women and Negroes, was born in Memphis on September 23, 1863, the year of the Emancipation Proclamation. Her father, Robert R. Church, Sr., a pioneer Memphis businessman, was married twice. Mary, known to members of her family as "Mollie," and her brother were born during the first marriage to Louisa, which terminated in divorce when the children were very small. Robert, Jr., and his sister, Annette, were born during the second marriage to Anna (Wright) Church.
        Because of limited educational facilities in Memphis at the time, while very young she lived with close family friends in Yellow Springs, Ohio, to attend a "Model School" connected with Antioch College. Subsequently, she attended public schools in Ohio, Oberlin Academy, and enrolled in the four-year "Classical" or "Gentleman's Course" at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, being graduated in 1884. Mary completed her education by spending two years in Europe, studying French, German, and Italian languages.
        In 1891, Oberlin College offered her the position of registrar of the school, including faculty position, but she declined the offer because of her forthcoming marriage. During its centennial celebration in 1933, Oberlin recognized her as one of its one hundred outstanding alumni. In 1948, Oberlin conferred upon her the honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.
        After being graduated from college, Mary returned to Memphis and lived for a year with her father, who discouraged her interest in teaching there. He did not object when she accepted a position as a member of the faculty of Wilberforce University at Xenia, Ohio. She left Wilberforce to accept a teaching position at the M Street High School in Washington, D. C., where she met her future husband.
        On October 18, 1891, in Memphis, Mary married Robert Heberton Terrell (1857-1925) at the family home, 384 South Lauderdale Street, where the ceremony and reception took place. Annette Church was the Dower girl and Robert Church, Jr., was the ring bearer.
        Robert Terrell was a graduate of Groton Academy, Groton, Massachusetts, and a magna cum laude graduate in the class of 1884 of Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was graduated as valedictorian of his 1889 class at Howard University Law School, Washington, D. C., and received a master's degree in law from Howard in 1893. Terrell taught at the M Street High School in Washington, and later practiced law with John R. Lynch, a former member of the U. S. House of Representatives from Mississippi. He practiced law until he received four successive four-year Presidential appointments as judge of the Municipal Court of the District of Columbia, where he remained until ill health forced him to retire.
        The Terrells were parents of two children. Phyllis and adopted daughter Mary (deceased). There were no grandchildren.
        After her marriage, Mary Church Terrell made her home in Washington and maintained a summer home at Highland Beach, Maryland, which she built next to the home of Frederick Douglass. She became active in the feminist movement, founding a women's club, the Colored Woman's League, in Washington in 1892. This organization merged with the National Federation of Afro-American Women in 1896 and adopted the name National Federation of Colored Women. Mary Church Terrell was elected the first president.
        She was a popular speaker and lecturer and wrote many articles denouncing segregation. Her appointment to the District of Columbia Board of Education in 1895 was a first in America for a woman of color. She resigned in 1901, was reappointed in 1906, and held the post until 1911. In 1909, she was one of two Negro women (Ida B. Wells-Barnett was the other and both were former Memphians) invited to sign the "Call" and be present at the organizational meeting of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, thus becoming a charter member of the national organization. She assisted in the formation of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority at Howard University in 1914, accepted honorary membership, and wrote the Delta Creed, which outlined a code of conduct for young women. In World War One, she was involved with the War Camp Community Service, which aided in the recreation and, later, the demobilization of Negro servicemen. She worked in the suffrage movement, which pushed for enactment of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
        Mary Church Terrell was involved in the international women's movement on three occasions. She represented colored women on the American delegation to the International Congress of Women at Berlin in 1904 and was the only women to deliver her address in English, German, and French. Her theme was equal rights for women and Negroes wherever they may be found. In 1919, she received international recognition as a speaker on the program at the Quinquennial International Peace Conference in Zurich, and in 1937 she delivered an address before the International Assembly of the World Fellowship of Faith in London. In 1940, she wrote her autobiography, A Colored Woman In A White World.
        At age 89, she marched with her cane at the head of a picket line, carrying her sign to desegregate Kresge's store and Thompson's restaurant with members of the Coordinating Committee for the Enforcement of the District of Columbia Anti-Discrimination Laws. The Smithsonian Institution acquired from her family a full-length oil portrait of her, which it displays periodically at its National Portrait Gallery in connection with her activities in the feminist and civil rights movements.
        On July 24, 1954, Mary Church Terrell died at age 90, after a brief illness at Anne Arrundel General Hospital, Annapolis, Maryland, a short distance from her summer home at Highland Beach.

Roberta Church and Ronald Walter

Josephine Baker NAME: Freda McDonald aka Josephine Baker BIRTH DATE: 1906 BIRTH PLACE: St. Louis, Missouri EDUCATION: Dropped out of school at the age of 12. FAMILY BACKGROUND: Josephine Baker's mother was Carrie McDonald and her father was Eddie Carson. Arthur Martin was her stepfather. Her siblings were Richard, Margaret and Willie Mae. Josephine's first husband was Willie Wells; her second husband was Willie Baker; her third husband was Jean Lion; and, her fourth husband was orchestra leader Jo Bouillon. Her twelve adopted children were: Akio (male), Janot (male), Luis (male), Jari (male), Jean-Claude (male), Moise (male), Brahim (male), Marianne (female), Koffi (male), Mara (male), Noel (male), Stellina (female). Josephine's last marriage was to American Artist Robert Brady. DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Overcoming the limitations imposed by the color of her skin, she became one of the world's most versatile entertainers, performing on stage, screeen and recordings. Josephine was decorated for her undercover work for the French Resistance during World War II. She was a civil rights activist. She refused to perform for segregated audiences and integrated the Las Vegas nightclubs. She adopted twelve children from around the world whom she called her "Rainbow Tribe." DATE OF DEATH: Josephine died in 1975, in her sleep, after a large party given in her honor. PLACE OF DEATH: She died in Paris and was buried in Monaco. She became the first American woman to receive French military honors at her funeral. PORTRAYED BY: Vernice Jackson WEB SITES: CMG Worldwide Official Site of Josephine Baker Josephine Baker Josephine Baker biography from the Ultimate Band List University of Georgia Libraries Paris Music Hall Collection - Josephine Baker costume illustration This page may be cited as: Women in History. Josephine Baker biography. Last Updated: 1/25/2008. Lakewood Public Library. Date accessed 1/27/2008 . <http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/bake-jos.htm&#62;.

BARBARA JORDAN
1936-1996

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Barbara Jordan was the first Black woman to serve in the U.S. Congress from the South.

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Barbara Jordan was born in the Fifth Ward of Houston, Texas to a Black Baptist minister, Benjamin Jordan, and a domestic worker, Arlyne Jordan. She attended Roberson Elementary and Phyllis Wheatley High School.

While at Wheatley, she was a member of the Honor Society and excelled in debating. She graduated in 1952 in the upper five percent of her class. She wanted to study political science at the University of Texas-Austin, but was discouraged because the school was still segregated.

She attended Texas Southern University and pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Barbara was a national champion debater, defeating her opponents from such schools as Yale and Brown and tying Harvard University.

In 1956, she graduated magna cum laude from Texas Southern with a double major in political science and history. She expressed an interest in attending Harvard University School of Law, but opted to go to Boston University and graduated in 1959.

Ms. Jordan taught political science at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama for one year before returning to Houston in 1960 to take the bar examination and set up a private law practice.

She ran for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives in 1962 and 1964, but lost both times.... however, she made history when she was elected to the newly drawn Texas Senate seat in 1966, thereby becoming the first Black to serve in that body since 1883. She was an oddity at that time, as the first Black woman in that state's legislature.

Her brief record in the Texas State Senate is viewed as somewhat of a phenomenon. On March 21, 1967 she became the first Black elected official to preside over that body; she was the first Black state senator to chair a major committee, Labor and Management Relations, and the first freshman senator ever

Gwendolyn Bennett

(1902-1981)

The hostile Texas laws of the early 1900's prevented blacks from receiving birth certificates. But those laws did not stop Mayme and Joshua Bennett from remembering the birthdate of their daughter, Gwendolyn Bennett: July 8,1902. Bennett was the only child of the couple, who separated a few years after her birth. When custody was awarded to Mayme, in a fury Joshua kidnapped his daughter. He swept her away to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and after passing the bar examination, relocated to Brooklyn, New York. Bennett's adjustment to the elitist Brooklyn Girls School took some time. The academic work was hard, but she quickly became accustomed. She became the first African American to be admitted into the school's Dramatic Society and Literary Society. In addition to these pioneering accomplishments, she wrote the graduation song and speech. After her 1921 graduation she enrolled in Columbia University and then, because of racism, transferred to Pratt Institute. She began submitting poetry to major journals such as the National Urban League's Opportunity, where her poem, "Heritage" was published. Such Afrocentric poems and her illustrations are what made her an asset to the Harlem Writers' Guild. The "Renaissance Woman of the Harlem Renaissance," Bennett helped the world "...to speak the music in [her] soul..." ("Heritage") Bennett's reputation as an artist and poet allowed her to take a faculty position at Howard University. While teaching at Howard, she received, from her Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sisters, a thousand-dollar scholarship to study in Paris. Bennett returned to New York in 1926 and started the "Ebony Flute," a column that kept people abreast of the Black arts scene. Publications like the "Ebony Flute" as well as Bennett's illustrations heightened the African American consciousness.