Mary McCleod Bethune

(1875-1955)

Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955), an African American teacher, was one of the great educators of the United States. She was a leader of women, a distinguished adviser to American presidents, and a powerful champion of racial equality.

Shirley Chisholm:  

Un-bought & Un-bossed!

Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm (November 30, 1924 -- January 1, 2005) was a West Indian-American politician, educator and author.

In 1968, she became the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress. She represented New York's 12th Congressional District for seven terms, from 1969 to 1983.

 Angelika Paul is an Activist Network member in Stoneham, MA

I declared my pregnancy in April of 2007. In December of that year, I went on maternity leave. When I got back from that medical leave I was told that my performance had deteriorated and that I would be put on a performance improvement plan. I had been permanently removed from all projects and my direct reports had been re-assigned.

As a child, I was lucky enough to have at least one parent at home until I was 10 years old.  When I was sick, my parents did not need to use sick days and therefore choose between sending me to school sick, leaving me at home alone, or losing their job so they could care for me.  I always knew that, when I was sick, one of my parents could be at home with me until I had recovered.  Likewise, when my mother or father was sick, they had at least a few sick days to choose from to recover.  They did not need to go to work sick – and potentially infect coworkers – or lose a job because they could not work.