Change Makers

The award-winning poet and author wrote more than 25 books. That included seven autobiographies. Angelou was also active in the civil rights movement. In 1968, she helped Martin Luther King, Jr. organize the Poor People's March in Washington, D.C., to demand rights for the poor. Angelou went on to become a college professor at Wake Forest University in North Carolina in 1981. 

In 1977, Ride was one of more than 8,000 people to apply to be a NASA astronaut. Ride was one of only 35 people who were selected—and became one of NASA’s first six female astronauts. She completed her training in 1979. On June 18, 1983, she made history as the first American woman to travel to space, on the NASA space shuttle Challenger. 

Even at a young age, Wong Liu Tsong knew she wanted to be an actress. By the time she was 11, she had come up with a stage name: Anna May Wong. She landed her first starring movie role in 1922, when she was 17. Wong went on to star in more than 60 movies and TV shows. She is considered the first major Chinese American Hollywood actress.

In 1985, Mankiller was elected the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. She became the first woman to serve as chief of a large Native American group. During her term, she focused on improving employment rates, health care, and education in her community. She was reelected in 1991, serving until 1995. To help keep Cherokee traditions alive, Mankiller created the Institute for Cherokee Literacy. 

Otero-Warren was a leader in the fight for women’s right to vote in her home state of New Mexico. To ensure that Hispanic women were well-informed, she spoke out about the importance of translating election materials into Spanish. In 1922, she became the first Hispanic woman to run for Congress. She was also the first female superintendent of public schools in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from 1917 to 1928.