Black Women

Photograph of women activists with signs for voter registration

This photograph is part of a scrapbook that was compiled in 1956 and 1957 by Frances Albrier during her term as president of the San Francisco Chapter of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). The scrapbook highlights the Chapter’s efforts to register voters and educate Bay Area residents on the importance of voting as a part of the Citizenship Education Project..

Graphic with video title and an illustration of the original eight members of the Daughters of Bilitis gathered in a group.
How the Daughters of Bilitis Organized for Lesbian Rights
February 28, 2023
The front of the black-and-white program features a centrally oriented, thatched illustration of Wilma Rudolph.
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Wilma Rudolph
Madame Lillian Evanti wears a fur stole, pearls, and a flower in her carefully prepared hair.
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Madame Lillian Evanti
An Alpha Kappa Alpha metal pin with a pin back. The pin is a circular gold ring with gold ivy leaves at center. The bottom portion of the circle has "A K A" on it and a diamond, while the top half of the pin has lettering that reads "Alpha Kappa Alpha."
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Pin for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority's 75th Anniversary
Mary McLeod Bethune stands in front of a painting of a house and palm trees.
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Mary McLeod Bethune
In this black-and-white photograph, Althea Gibson poses on a stool with two tennis rackets. Both the rackets have dark colors printed with Althea Gibson in white letters.
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Althea Gibson
Painting of Henrietta Lacks standing against a background with a repeating geometric Flower of Life motif. She wears a hat and pearls and she holds a Bible.
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Henrietta Lacks (HeLa): The Mother of Modern Medicine
A tintype occupational portrait of a woman, likely a doctor or possibly a nurse or midwife, carrying a medical bag. The woman is standing tall at the center of the image, looking directly at the camera. She carries a medical bag in her proper left hand.
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Vital Midwives
An African American woman looks out of frame. Next to her the title of the play is written in cursive rainbow letters: for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf
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for colored girls Playbill Art, 1977
A skirt and blouse in a matching alphabetical print of blue, teal, and white on a black background.
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Carlotta Walls LaNier's First Day of School Dress
Pages from Poems on Various Subjects
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Phillis Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects
Off-white poster with black and red type. It reads Bring U.S. Together. Vote Chisholm 1972. Unbought and Unbossed. There is a black-and-white image of Shirley Chisholm sitting at a table , speaking and gesturing with her hands, wearing all white.
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Presidential Candidate Shirley Chisholm