Black History Month - Day 15, 16 & 17
Sheila Crump Johnson
Sheila Crump Johnson is a successful American entrepreneur, television and film producer, and business woman. Johnson co-founded BET and is the first African American woman to be an owner or partner in three professional sports franchises, the Washington Capitals (NHL), the Washington Wizards (NBA), and the Washington Mystics (WNBA). Johnson is a Global Ambassador for CARE, a humanitarian organization fighting global poverty.
Fannie Lou Hamer
An American voting rights activist and civil rights leader, Fannie Lou Hamer was instrumental in encouraging African Americans to register to vote. Hamer also worked for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which fought racial segregation and injustice in the South. In 1964, she helped found the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and attended the Democratic National Convention that year. Hamer gained her a reputation as an electrifying speaker and activist of civil rights through her deep religious values and plain spoken manner.
Josephine Baker
A talented dancer and entertainer, Josephine Baker stared in the film Zouzou, becoming the first African-American female to star in a motion picture. She gained international success in France during the 1920s with her performances at the Folies Bergère cabaret music hall and famously refused to perform for segregated audiences. Baker became a French citizen in 1937, and became the first American-born woman to receive the Croix de Guerre French military award for her aid in the French Resistance during World War II.
Sheila Crump Johnson is a successful American entrepreneur, television and film producer, and business woman. Johnson co-founded BET and is the first African American woman to be an owner or partner in three professional sports franchises, the Washington Capitals (NHL), the Washington Wizards (NBA), and the Washington Mystics (WNBA). Johnson is a Global Ambassador for CARE, a humanitarian organization fighting global poverty.
Fannie Lou Hamer
An American voting rights activist and civil rights leader, Fannie Lou Hamer was instrumental in encouraging African Americans to register to vote. Hamer also worked for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which fought racial segregation and injustice in the South. In 1964, she helped found the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and attended the Democratic National Convention that year. Hamer gained her a reputation as an electrifying speaker and activist of civil rights through her deep religious values and plain spoken manner.
Josephine Baker
A talented dancer and entertainer, Josephine Baker stared in the film Zouzou, becoming the first African-American female to star in a motion picture. She gained international success in France during the 1920s with her performances at the Folies Bergère cabaret music hall and famously refused to perform for segregated audiences. Baker became a French citizen in 1937, and became the first American-born woman to receive the Croix de Guerre French military award for her aid in the French Resistance during World War II.
