MadameNoire Featured Video

We hear so much about Black History Month icons and what they’ve done in the past around this time of year, but we were wondering, what are they up to presently? Many people don’t know that some of the people we’ve read about and watched films on are still living and thriving in different ways. Here are 10 examples of women I’ve looked up to who are still doing amazing things all these years later, and are still being honored for opening the doors for so many.

Ruby Bridges

Bridges was the first black student to attend an all-white school in the South after her parents volunteered her, through the NAACP, to participate in integrating schools in New Orleans. Now 60, Bridges still resides in New Orleans and is married with four sons. She was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Bill Clinton in 2001, and in 2006, an elementary school was dedicated to her. She continues to speak out against racism as an inspirational speaker. In 2014, a statue of Bridges was erected in her honor in front of William Frantz Elementary, the same school she was berated and threatened for integrating as a young girl in 1960.

Comment Disclaimer: Comments that contain profane or derogatory language, video links or exceed 200 words will require approval by a moderator before appearing in the comment section. XOXO-MN