American Heroes

Alice Paul was one of the most prominent activists of the 20th-century women's rights movement. An outspoken suffragist and feminist, she tirelessly led the charge for women's suffrage and equal rights in the United States.

In his journey from captive slave to internationally renowned activist, Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) has been a source of inspiration and hope for millions. His brilliant words and brave actions continue to shape the ways that we think about race, democracy, and the meaning of freedom.

Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree in 1797 in Ulster County, New York, the daughter of James and Elizabeth Baumfree. Born enslaved, she remained the property of others until she freed herself in 1826. After a religious epiphany in 1843, she changed her name to Sojourner Truth and traveled the country advocating for African American and women's rights.

Septima Clark was a civil rights activist and the founder of Citizenship Schools. She began her career as a teacher and was inspired by the power of activism to bring about positive change. Fired from her teaching job due to her affiliation with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Clark went on to create educational programs to teach African American community members how to read and write.

Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin (Metis/Turtle Mountain Chippewa) was born in Pembina, North Dakota. Her father, J.B. Bottineau, was a lawyer who worked as an advocate for the Ojibwa/Chippewa Nation in Minnesota and North Dakota. She and her father moved to Washington, DC in the early 1890s to defend the treaty rights of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Nation. There, they became part of an established community of professional Native Americans who lived and worked in the capital.

Charlotta Amanda Spears Bass (1874-1969) is an American Hero. She was likely the first African American woman to own and operate a newspaper in the United States. In 1952, she became the first African American woman nominated for Vice President.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) was a journalist, civil rights advocate, suffragist.

Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first Black woman to earn a medical degree in the United States. A true pioneer, she battled deep-seated prejudice against women and African Americans in medicine.

Edward (Ed) Verne Roberts is considered the father of the independent living movement. As a hero in the United States’ disability rights movement, Roberts paved the way for people with physical disabilities to access higher education.

Mary Golda Ross was the first Native American woman to be a professional engineer. In 1952, she was one of the 40 founding members of Lockheed's secret Advanced Development Program, known as the Skunk Works. Much of the work she did there remains classified.