14 Black Female Activists You Must Know

These women fought for equal rights and civil justice.

Maya Angelou - The poet/author worked with both Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She helped Malcolm X build the Organization of African American Unity, which ended after his assassination, and then served as the Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference at Dr. King's request. (Photo: Jack Sotomayor/New York Times Co./Getty Images)
Daisy Bates - She was a journalist who also fought for civil rights and social reform. In 1952, she headed the Arkansas branch of the NAACP and helped in the desegregation of schools in Little Rock. (Photo: New York Times Co./Getty Images)
Mary McLeod Bethune - Mary McLeod Bethune was a racial justice activist who sought to improve educational opportunities for African-Americans. She served as both president of the National Association of Colored Women and founder of the National Council of Negro Women. (Photo:  Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Ruby Dee - Actress Ruby Dee and her husband, the late Ossie Davis, are known for fighting for equal opportunities for African-Americans in the performing arts. (Photo: David Fenton/Getty Images)Marian Wright Edelman - Marian Wright Edelman became the first African American woman to pass the bar exam in Mississippi. She's taken on civil rights cases, has written numerous works on racial inequality, and founded the Children's Defense Fund. (Photo: Evan Agostini/Getty Images)

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Daisy Bates - She was a journalist who also fought for civil rights and social reform. In 1952, she headed the Arkansas branch of the NAACP and helped in the desegregation of schools in Little Rock. (Photo: New York Times Co./Getty Images)

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