Women

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

—excerpt from “Phenomenal Woman” from Maya Angelou's And Still I Rise

They formed the backbones of their families and communities. They powered movements and pioneered in science, education, and technology. In each era of our nation's history, they reshaped their roles in society and reshaped society through their roles. Explore the stories of African American women as told through your national parks.

Visit the NPS Women's History site for a more complete look at women's history in the United States.

Showing results 1-10 of 13

  • Boston African American National Historic Site

    Ellen Craft

    • Type: Person
    • Locations: Boston African American National Historic Site
    Black and white portrait drawing of a woman wearing and blouse & a bonnet that goes under her chin

    Ellen Craft bravely escaped slavery by disguising herself as a sickly, White gentleman. Once free, Craft shared her story and advocated against slavery throughout New England and in England.

  • Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park

    Inclusivity & Division in the Workplace - Audio Program

    • Type: Place
    • Locations: Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park
    African American women and men dressed in business clothes are working in an office.

    This audio program is part of an introduction series to the park and the WWII Home Front.

  • Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial

    • Type: Place
    • Locations: Capitol Hill Parks, National Capital Parks-East
    A bronze statue of Mary McLeod handing a paper that represents her legacy to two young children.

    Ms. Bethune was a Civil Rights leader from the 1930s until 1955. She founded the National Council of Negro Women, a powerful organization that united a variety of African American women's groups for Civil Rights. The Mary McLeod Bethune memorial in Lincoln Park was the first memorial to an African American built on public land in Washington, DC, and it was the first portrait statue of an American woman on a public site in the city. Sculptor: Robens BerksInscriptionsfrontMar

  • Rock Creek Park

    Series: The Sarah Whitby Site and African American History

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Rock Creek Park
    Color illustration of the Sarah Whitby House with African Americans going about their day.

    Sarah Whitby was an African American woman whose family lived in Rock Creek Park between 1870 and 1900. Excavations of her house's cellar and documentary research opened a window into Washington's African American past.

  • Rock Creek Park

    Sarah Whitby Home Site

    • Type: Place
    • Locations: Rock Creek Park
    A grassy field with a picnic bench surrounded by trees changing colors in Fall

    Sarah Whitby was an African-American woman who lived with her family in what would become Rock Creek Park.

  • National Parks of New York Harbor

    My Park Story - Dorcas Meyers

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: National Parks of New York Harbor
    Headshot of a black woman smiling at the camera while holding her head in her hands

    A biography of Dorcas Meyers Secretary to the Executive Director of the National Parks of New York Harbor.

  • Appomattox Court House National Historical Park

    Series: After Appomattox: Artifacts of Slavery and Freedom

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
    Reenactor as Hannag

    On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, ending the Civil War. Use this online activity to learn about the historical events and their impacts at this small village, especially for enslaved African Americans. It draws from historical and archeological evidence to tell the story of two women, Hannah Reynolds and Margaret Abbitt, who were enslaved at Appomattox Court House before the war and emancipated by its end.

  • Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail

    Lucy Hall

    • Type: Person
    • Locations: Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail
    An engraving of nineteenth century Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Lucinda "Lucy" Hall was a Black woman who escaped slavery during the War of 1812 and resettled in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

  • Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

    Janie (Porter) Barrett

    • Type: Person
    • Locations: Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site
    Black and white photograph of woman in high-necked black dress and close-styled hair.

    Barrett graduated from Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in 1884. After graduation she taught at Hampton and industrial schools in Georgia. In 1915, she founded the "Industrial school for Wayward Colored Girls" near Hampton, Virginia.

  • Boston African American National Historic Site

    Boston's Women and the Underground Railroad

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Boston African American National Historic Site
    cropped constitution of Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society

    Serving as the heart of the free Black community on the north slope of Beacon Hill, Boston's women played an integral role in assisting freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad.

Tags: african american women woman
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Last updated: September 24, 2018

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