7 Badass Black Women Who Paved The Way For Others

Source: WWD / Getty

Visualization is a big part of achieving goals, and for many Black girls around the world, visualization has been difficult because there were no Black women thriving in the spaces they wanted to be in. Young people need to see people who look like them, accomplishing dreams that look like theirs.

That’s why Black female trailblazers leave their mark, long after their careers and even lives are over. They pave the way for other Black women to rise up and dominate in spaces from which Black women had previously been excluded. This Women’s History Month, we celebrate these badass Black women who created a path for future generations of Black women’s excellence.

Shirley Chisholm

Source: WWD / Getty

Before there was Kamala Harris, there was Shirley Chisholm. Chisholm was the first Black woman to run for U.S. president in a major party in 1972 and the first Black woman elected to congress in 1968. During her presidential campaign, Chisholm was prohibited from appearing in televised debates and survived three assassination attempts. But she did not shy away from seeing her campaign through.

While Chrisholm did not get elected as president, she did serve for seven terms on New York’s 12^th congressional district.

Tamron Hall

Source: Variety / Getty

Tamron Hall became the first Black woman to co-anchor the Today show in 2014. Reports state that the day she signed her contract, Hall honored female Black trailblazers who came before her by wearing a jacket that belonged to civil rights activist Lena Horne. Hall has since gone on to have her own syndicated daytime talk show, the Tamron Hall Show, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award.

Bessie Coleman

Source: George Rinhart / Getty

Bessie Coleman was the first Black woman to get her pilot’s license in the U.S. and the first Black person ever to earn an international pilot’s license. Coleman grew up in a time when there was no pilot’s license training available for people of color or women. So she saved up and attended flight school in France.

Coleman went on to appear in major air shows, performing dangerous tricks, earning her the nickname “Brave Bessie.” Coleman had plans to open a flight school for aspiring Black pilots but died in a plane crash before she had the chance.

Shonda Rhimes

Source: Variety / Getty

Shonda Rhimes was the first Black woman to produce a top 10 network series with her show Grey’s Anatomy. Rhimes was additionally the creator, head writer and showrunner for the hit series.

Time magazine listed Rhimes on their list of top 100 most influential people three times – in 2007, 2013 and 2021. Rhimes’ show Grey’s Anatomy also won the Outstanding Drama Series award at the NAACP Image Awards four years in a row.

Tarana Burke

Source: Variety / Getty

Many people incorrectly assert that Alyssa Milano started the Me Too movement. In reality, it was Tarana Burke who began using the term “Me Too” in 2006 as a way of encouraging other women to speak up about their experiences with sexual abuse and harassment. In 2017, Milano popularized the phrase when she used the hashtag on Twitter, but we have Burke to thank for this transformative and healing movement. Time named Burke Person of the Year in 2017 for her women’s rights activism.

Dr. Mae Jemison

Source: San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images / Getty

Dr. Mae Jemison was the first Black woman to travel to space in 1992. Jemison is an astronaut, doctor and engineer. She was awarded a scholarship to Stanford University at the age of 16 and earned degrees in chemical engineering as well as African and African American studies. Jemison additionally became the first real astronaut to appear on an episode of Star Trek in 1993.

Starr Andrews

Source: Ezra Shaw / Getty

Starr Andrews is not the first Black woman to win a medal for U.S. figure skating, but she is the first one to do so in over 30 years. The first Black woman to earn this honor was Debra Janine Thomas in 1986. Since then, no Black woman placed in the competition until Starr Andrews broke the streak. At only 21 years old, Andrews has already had a remarkable career, having won the silver medal at the 2022 Skate Canada International and the silver medal at the 2019 International Challenge Cup.