" On July 1 , 2014 , Michelle J . Howard made history by becoming the first female fourstar admiral in the U . S . Navy and the highest-ranking black woman in the military . She was referenced in the Tom Hanks movie ' Captain Phillips ' because Admiral Howard played a role in rescuing the actual Captain Phillips from Somali pirates . She was raised in a military family in Aurora , Colorado . In 1982 , Howard graduated from the U . S . Naval Academy . She earned a master ' s degree from Am1y ' s Command and General Staff College in 1998 . Her current ranking was not the first time she made history . She was the first black woman to take command of a U . S . Navy warship in 1999 , the USS Rushmore . Never shying from a challenge , Howard has vowed to make tackling sexual assault within the Navy an important issue to allow others to achieve their goals ."
Marc Bushelle , Lily The Heroine Project Orlando , Florida Black History 2016
" Dr . Mae Jemison was the first African-American woman to be accepted to NASA ' s astronaut training program . She was also the first to go into outer space aboard the Endeavor in 1992 . She was a Peace Corps volunteer and was working as a doctor when she was inspired by Sally Ride to change careers ."
" Shirley Chisholm was born m Brooklyn but did her early schooling with her grandmother in Barbados . She came back and attended the prestigious Girls ' High School . She excelled in politics and debating at Brooklyn College . Afterward , she became a nursery school teacher , earning her master ' s at Columbia University . Later , she was an advocate for early education . When a position became available , she stepped up to the New York State Assembly . That led to her running for Congress in 1969 with the campaign slogan ' Unbossed and Unbought .'
" Grace Jones was born in Spanish Town , Jamaica , but moved with her family to New York when she was 12 . Born into a very strict religious family , Jones would rebel and go on to become a model , musician , and muse . Her androgyny , sharp cheekbones and fearlessness caught the attention of many when she danced in the legendary Studio 54 or stalked the catwalks of New York and Paris . She inspired designers like Helmut Lang and artist like Andy Warhol and Keith Haring . She was the James Bond villain May Day in ' A View to a Kill ' and starred in ' Conan the Destroyer ' with Arnold Schwarzenegger .
" As a young girl , Josephine Baker was severely affected by the violence of the race riots she witnessed in East St . Louis . Her ability to sing and dance led her to her joining a vaudeville troupe , which brought her to New York City . Sensing limitations , she went to Paris to star in ' La Revue Negre ' and became the show ' s breakout star . She is the most famous for her risque banana dance . But as her popularity grew throughout France and the rest of Europe , she remained concerned about the plight of black people in America . She used her celebrity to demand that the U . S .
" Bessie Coleman was the first African American to hold an international pilot license and the first African-American woman to pilot a plane in the U . S . Unable to become a pilot in the U . S ., she studied French and went to Europe . When she returned , she became a sensation for her ability to do barrel rolls , wing walks , and loop-de-loop trick aviation ."
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Image by Marc Bushelle - Marc Bushelle Photography .