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Black History Month gives us an opportunity to focus on the contributions of Black Americans. Here are five Black women you might have missed. I’ve highlighted a picture book biography that features each woman. dson, was very instrumental in the creation of Black History Week. Congress ratified the law designating February as Black History Month in 1986.

Shirley Chisholm is a Verb! by Veronica Chambers, illustrated by Rachelle Saker
Did you know that Kamala Harris was not the first Black woman to campaign for President of the United States? Back in 1972, Shirley Chisolm ran for the Democratic ticket nomination. (She did not win it, but she later served in Congress for seven consecutive terms.)
A famous quote: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”
What I love about this book: it highlights all the “verbs” of Chisholm. I also loved the author’s note.

Ida B. Wells Marches for the Vote by Dinah Johnson ; illustrated by Jerry Jordan.
Ida Barnett-Wells was a journalist, activist, suffragette, and she marched side by side with two white women at the 1913 Women’s March.
A famous quote: "The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them."
What I love about this book: It’s a first introduction to Wells, highlighting her part in the Women’s March of 1913.

Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford ; illustrated by Ekua Holmes.
Fannie Lou Hamer, a Civil Rights activist, was awarded a Presidential Award of Freedom posthumously in 2025.
A famous quote: “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”
What I love about this book: The paper collage illustrations are phenomenal and the book is a collection of poems about phases in Hamer’s life.

Call me Miss Hamilton: One Woman’s Case for Equality and Respect by Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrations by Jeffery Boston Weatherford
Mary Hamilton was a civil rights activist. As a girl, she thought she might want to be a nun. Though she was light-skinned, she adamantly identified as Black. Through her work, she was arrested many many times. Her court case about being addressed as “Miss Hamilton" went to the Supreme Court and changed language toward Black women (and men) in this country.
A famous quote: “I will not speak until I am addressed correctly.”
What I love about this book: Written and illustrated by a mother and son team, the words leap off the page and so do the pictures, which are collages of photographs and scratchboard art.

Love is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement by Sandra Neil Wallace ; illustrated by Bryan Collier
I would like to first point out that Diane Nash is still living, today, in 2025. She is 86. Nash worked alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis. Remember all those stories about integrating lunch counters? Nash was at one first one of those, in Nashville, as a college student. One of the things that stood out to me as I researched Nash was how many sit-ins for things besides lunch counters there were before anything happened.
Sidebar: one of my favorite songs about activism is an old Utah Phillips song, “Ship going to sail,” which talks about how many people have built this boat we call Civil Rights, knowing that we might not sail in the boat. I recommend listening to the long version where Utah Phillips explains the song, if you have six minutes.
Back to Diane Nash, though. She, like Miss Mary Hamilton, originally wanted to be a nun, while attending Catholic schools. She was also a runner-up in a Miss Illinois contest.
A famous Quote: "Freedom, by definition, is people realizing that they are their own leaders."
What I love about this book: It is written in second person, which means the book starts with the word you. “You arrive in the spring of 1938 on the South Side, when Chicago’s leaves unfurl, emerald green like your baby-girl eyes.”
About the Author

Suzi W. is a Children’s Services Librarian at the Palisades Neighborhood Library.
When I’m not at the library: I am taking pictures on walks in my neighborhood, talking on the phone with my friends, or having coffee in a nearby cafe. I’m also brushing up on my Spanish.
Currently reading: A Christmas Duet by Debbie Macomber.