Dedicated to the Women (and men) present and past that inspire greatness and contribution to the good of humanity. Send your suggestion for SHE RISE SHE ROSE to our comment page on Facebook/sisters extraordinaire.
John Lewis February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020, was born in Troy Alabama was influenced by racial injustices, was an important leader in the Civil Rights movement and served most of his political career in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia’s 5th congressional district for 17 terms. At the age of 23, Lewis served as the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from 1963 to 1966. He graduated from the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee, and was ordained as a Baptist minister; received a BA from Fisk University. He has over 34 honorary academic degrees and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom award by President Barack Obama in 2011
Bree Newsome Bass – 
Film maker and activist known for removing Confederate flag from 30 foot flag pole in front of the State House of South Carolina in 2015. “Whenever I die, please don’t allow my image to be co-opted by the power establishment. Don’t let my name & likeness be used to argue for peace in the absence of justice. I believe uncompromisingly in the liberation of the black, poor and oppressed from systems of white supremacy.”
Jessamyn Stanley – is a yoga teacher and body positivity advocate and author who gained 
recognition through her Instagram posts showing her doing yoga as a “plus-size woman of color,” and boldly self-identifies as a “fat or queer femme.” She is the author of the book: Every Body Yoga: Let Go of Fear, Get On the Mat, Love Your Body and has been featured on several magazines including Sports Today, Yoga Journal and Self.
Maya Wiley – is an American civil rights activist. She served as a board chair of the NYC Civilian 
Complaint Review Board, an independent police oversight agency. She worked for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Open Society Institute. She is founder of the Center for Social Inclusion, Wiley served as counsel to the Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio and is currently the senior vice president for Social Justice at The New School and the Henry Cohen Professor of Urban Policy and Management and currently a Legal Analyst on MSNCB news.
Bryan Stevenson, Law Professor and author of the New York Times bestseller, Just Mercy, that was adapted as a major motion picture starring Michael B. Jordan. A graduate of the Harvard Law School; Stevenson has received over 40 honorary doctoral degrees; a recipient of the Thurgood Marshall Award, named as one of the World’s Greatest Leaders, is recognized as one of the world’s 100 most influential; and responsible for launching the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.
Mary Eliza Mahoney -Civil Rights Activist, Nurse (1845–1926) was first black woman to complete nurse’s training in 1879. One of the first black members of the American Nurses Association, she was credited as one of the first women to register to vote in Boston following the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Mahoney was inducted into both the Nursing Hall of Fame and the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
Ernestine Shepherd, born in 1936 is an author and extraordinary body builder who began her journey to fitness later in life at the age of 56. She is author of ‘Disciplined to Be Fit: The Ageless Journey of Ernestine Shepherd’ and proof that it is never too late to start something new and ‘never give up’ because you never know where life will take you.
Sadie Roberts-Joseph, American community activist and founder of the Baton Rouge Odell S. Williams Now & Then Museum of African-American History in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We must, “Heal from the legacy of slavery and move forward”, she said, “We have to be educated about our history and other people’s history.”
Leah Chase – Chef of Dookie Chase, seen with President Obama at restaurant Dookie Chase. She had to ‘slap’ Obama for putting hot sauce in her gumbo. “I’m not a leader, but I’m a good follower and I can help uplift a good leader. The truth is, not everybody can be a good leader. But if your job is to help that leader you’ll go up with her and you’ll go up wit him. You treat people right and you try to make a difference, and when you work together everyone will benefit.”
Harriet Tubman – ” “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
Shirley Anita Chisolm – “We must reject not only the stereotypes that others hold of us, but also the stereotypes that we hold of ourselves.”
American politician, educator, and author born in New York November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005 Ormond Beach, FL.
First black candidate for a major party’s nomination for President of the United States, and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination 1972. First black woman elected to the United States Congress, and she represented New York’s 12th Congressional District for seven terms 1969 to 1983
Mary Jane Seacole Nurse, Business woman British Jamaican born Kingston Jamaica 1805-1881
“…and the grateful words and smile which rewarded me for binding up a wound or giving a cooling drink was a pleasure worth risking life for at any time.”
Alice Anita Walker – February 9, 1944 Eatonton, Georgia.
Best known for the Color Purple, teacher, feminists and author of more than thirty-five books that have been translated into more than two dozen languages around the world, and sold more than fifteen million copies. The color purple was published in 1982 and 1983 she
won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction and the National Book Award.
And the first to receive those awards and recognitions.
Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart, (2018) is her first bilingual work, presented in both Spanish and English. This recent book is a collection of 70 poems, she began writing in 2015, during a period that was filled with great personal sadness and feelings of loss and despair” in the world. This collection of work memorialize the lives of people past and present; from activists and persons in the artistic community who’ve given their voices to fight on behalf of those most vulnerable.
Through the controversies, but Queen Alice survived. She will be known for her many outstanding literary contributions and whose name is stamped in history along with the great literary legends. QUEEN ALICE is an extraordinary being and we celebrate Queen Alice Walker.
Ida B. Wells – July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931 Holly Springs, Mississippi
Investigative journalist, educator, and an early leader in the Civil Rights Movement who traveled the world and fought against lynching; Ms. Wells was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Although often ridiculed and ostracized by women’s suffrage organizations in the United States, she remained active the women’s rights movement.
Citing:
MLA – Norwood, Arlisha. “Ida B. Wells-Barnett.” National Women’s History Museum. National Women’s History Museum, 2017. Date accessed.
Chicago- Norwood, Arlisha. “Ida B. Wells-Barnett.” National Women’s History Museum. 2017. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ida-wells-barnett.