Great Beautiful Black Women by Paul Collins
The series reflects significant contributions that Black women have made throughout history. These 12 influential women, against all odds, changed the course of history for the better. Johnson Products Company, Inc commissioned the collection of portraits. The original tour was scheduled for two years but exhibited over five years due to the overwhelming response. Collins deeply understands the struggles these people and many others faced. They represent the heroes who helped to pave a more positive path for future generations. This is an expression of his gratitude.
Queen of Sheba (C. 1oth Century B.C.)
Best known for a story in the Bible’s book of Kings: at the head of a caravan of riches, she visits Israel’s King Solomon to test his legendary wisdom. After Solomon successsfully answers her riddles, the queen showers him with gifts. According to Ethiopian tradition, the queen returned to Sheba and bore a son by Solomon, Menelik I, who was the beginning of the Ethiopian royal dynasty. The Queen of Sheba is the only female character featured in the sacred writings of Judaism, Christianity and Islam alike.
Phillis Wheatley (C. 1753 - 1784)
Sojourner Truth (C. 1797 - 1883)
Harriet Tubman (C, 1820 - 1913)
Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in 1849, yet risked her freedom to become an abolitionist and conductor of the underground railroad guiding other slaves to freedom. She was a force to be reckoned with and referred to as “the Moses of her people.” The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early to the mid-19th century. It was used by African-American slaves to escape into free states and Canada with abolitionists, Quakers, church leaders, and antislavery activists who were sympathetic to their cause. It operated in the dead of night, and its route was communicated through word of mouth, songs, and symbols on stitched-on quilts.
Ida B. Wells (1862 - 1931)
Mary Church Terrell ( 1863 - 1954)
Madame C. J. Walker (1867 - 1919)
Marian Anderson (1902 - 1993)
Josephine Baker (1906 - 1975)
Rosa L. Parks ( 1913 - 2005)
Fannie Lou Hamer ( !017 - 1975)
Coretta Scott King ( 1927 - 2006)
Wilma Rudolph (1940 - 1994) She was the first female to win 3 Olympics gold medals in track and set world records. After being stricken with scarlet fever at age 4, she could not walk again until 11.