Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter
March 15th, 2021
Women’s History is vast and filled with remarkable figures and incredible firsts. However, as with other areas of history, some individuals don’t get enough attention.
In honor of Women’s History Month, here are six lesser-known figures you should know.
Lifelong activist Wilma Mankiller is best known as the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
Anna May Wong is considered to be the first Chinese-American movie star. Wong found success in the United States and abroad in Europe while battling casting stereotypes and racism.
Katharine Graham was the first woman publisher of a major American newspaper and presided over 'The Washington Post' from 1963 to 1991, most notably during the newspaper's reporting on the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
Mary McLeod Bethune's remarkable life included many accomplishments. Included among those accomplishments was working closely with Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt as part of President Roosevelt's Federal Council of Negro Affairs (aka: The Black Cabinet), co-founding the United Negro College Fund and founding what would become Bethune-Cookman University.
Dolores Huerta is best known for co-founding the National Farmworkers Association with Cesar Chavez. For decades, she has been a tireless advocate for workers' rights as well as immigrants' women's and civil rights.
Jillian Mercado has been a force in fashion in recent years providing much-needing representation for persons with physical disabilities in the industry in a variety of areas including on the runway and in magazines.
