Women's History

April Sims and Cherika Carter will forever be connected when it comes to the history of the labor movement. Sims, who serves as President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and Carter, who was appointed as the Secretary Treasurer of the organization, are the first two African American women to hold both leadership positions at the same time.

As a leader, Peggy Joan Maxie, the first Black woman elected to the Washington House of Representatives, District 37, understood the meaning of “humaneness.”

Rosalie Reddick Miller aving earned her master’s in public health in 1972, she served as director of dental programs for Model Cities. Her efforts led to improved dental health for more than 3,000 people.

In 1953, Zola Maie Graves convinced Life magazine to feature four Northwest artists. The article brought instant notoriety to the artists, the “Northwest School,” and the Pacific Northwest region.

As a prima ballerina, on this day in 1951, Janet Collins became the first Black ballerina ever to perform on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City in "Aida!"

Lodie Maurine Biggs was born on March 1, 1895, in Little Rock, Arkansas, and raised in Seattle, Washington. She was the third Black woman to graduate from the University of Washington, earning a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1916.

Blanche Sellers was born on July 11, 1925, in Atlanta, Georgia. Among her childhood friends was the young future civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. In pursuit of a medical career, Blanche graduated from Spelman College in 1946, and from Meharry Medical College in 1950.

Sophia Danenberg was born on May 19, 1972 and grew up in Homewood, Illinois. Let’s be clear: you don’t just wake up and decide, “I think I’ll scratch Mt. Everest off my bucket list!”

Roberta Spencer was born on January 4, 1919, in Tacoma, Washington. A graduate of Lincoln High School in Tacoma, she attended Wilberforce University in Ohio.

During this Women’s History Month, the Honorable Marcia Louise Fudge announced that she will be only the second of President Biden's original cabinet members to resign from her position.