Collection: Africans >

Nana Miriam
When a firebreathing shapeshifting hippo menaced her people, this shaman faced it down in a magic battle - and then hurled it into space.
Hatshepsut
One of the greatest pharaohs to ever live, she built up Egypt so much that a generations-long sustained effort to erase her from history couldn't do the trick.
Taytu Betul
This stubborn empress led her native Ethiopia to do the unthinkable - defeat one of the major European powers in war.Collection: Journalists >

Ida B. Wells
One of the first anti-lynching advocates, she risked her life for decades to report on the truth when nobody would believe her.
Isabelle Eberhardt
This undefinable adventurer's life burnt bright but short: a wildcard of the Algerian revolution, she survived an assassination attempt by sabre, and died in a freak desert flood.
Elizabeth Bisland
Rose from poverty to become a respected journalist who raced Nellie Bly around the world.Collection: Survivors >

Marsha P. Johnson
This cheery godmother of trans civil rights masked a dark past of abuse.
Micaela Almonester
After decades of gaslighting and emotional abuse at the hands of her in-laws, this iron-willed woman survived being shot four times point blank, won a separation from her husband, and became one of the most respected business icons in New Orleans.