South Carolina

Mines (1958) is a former Naval officer who was the first Black woman to graduate from the United States Naval Academy. She earned her Masters of Business Administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is and is a member of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.

Kitt (1927-2008) rose from poverty in South Carolina, where she lived with relatives, to attend the High School of Performing Arts in New York before launching her career with Katherine Dunham's dance company. She became an international star renowned for her distinctive purring voice, feline grace, and multilingual performances, establishing herself as a symbol of seduction and sophistication with hits like "Santa Baby" (1953) and "C'est Si Bon." Her diverse career spanned Broadway, film, and television, including her memorable role as Catwoman in the 1960s Batman series. Kitt's career faced a significant setback in 1968 when her anti-Vietnam War statements at a White House luncheon led to CIA surveillance and an effective blacklisting in the U.S., though she later triumphantly returned to Broadway and television.

Bass (1874-1969), is known as the first African American woman to own and operate a newspaper (The California Eagle) in the United States.

Hayden (1927-1967) was a chemist who specialized in spectrophotometry and chromatography. She's believed to be the first Black scientist to work for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). ⁣ She graduated from South Carolina State College (an HBCU) and earned a Master's degree in Chemistry from Howard University (an HBCU).⁣ In the 1950s she joined the National Institutes of Health, and in 1956 she joined the FDA as an analytical chemist. In 1963, she was named director of the Spectrophotometer Research Branch in the Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry.⁣

Spelman College and Yale Law School graduate, the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar (1964), founder of the Children's Defense Fund, and the first woman alum elected to the Yale University Corporation, Marian Wright Edelman has dedicated her life to advocating for children's rights and serving her community.

Referred to as the First Lady of Negro America, Bethune (1875-1955) was an impassioned Educator and founder of Bethune-Cookman College and the The National Council of Negro Women, Inc.

Tennis and golf pro, Gibson was the first black woman to compete in the U.S. National Championships (now known as the U.S. Open) in 1950. In 1951, she became the first Black player to compete at Wimbledon and she was the first Black woman to compete professionally on the LPGA Tour.