Posts by Abigail Rockwood

Bessie Coleman was the first woman of African American and Native American descent to earn a pilot’s license in the U.S. Born in 1892, Coleman lived in Atlanta and Waxahachie, Texas. After World War I, her brothers came back with stories of pilots, and they teased her as women in France could fly but Coleman…

Houston-born Barbara Jordan was a lawyer, politician, scholar, and civil rights advocate. In 1964, she became the first African American women to be elected to the Texas Senate and the first African American state senator since Reconstruction ended in 1883. As a state senator, Jordan worked tirelessly to establish a minimum wage, antidiscrimination in business,…

Emma Tenayuca was a Latina labor activist and born in San Antonio. From a young age, Tenayuca noticed the inequalities in her community and family, specifically along the lines of colorism, heritage, and economic status. She witnessed the differences between her Spanish descended mother and her Mexican descended father and how their world views differed.…