Josie Carter led Wisconsin’s first known LGBTQ+ uprising, eight years before the Stonewall riots.

Marcia Anderson was the first Black woman to earn the rank of major general in the US Army.

Velma Bell Hamilton was the first Black teacher hired in Dane County and the first president of the Madison Chapter of the NAACP.

Gloria Ladson-Billings is an influential professor of education who has worked to make education more equitable for students of color.

Gwen T. Jackson dedicated her life to serving others and volunteered for the American Red Cross for more than half a century.

Lucinda Gordon was a civil rights activist who founded an alternative school for teen mothers and advocated for Black art in Milwaukee.

Angela Lang is a community organizer in Milwaukee and the founder and executive director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities.

Milele Chikasa Anana was the first Black school board member in Wisconsin and the longtime editor and publisher of the magazine UMOJA.

Nellie Y. McKay was one of the first scholars to bring attention to the writing of African American women authors.

Trained as a lawyer and committed to equity, Danae Davis is passionate about “success for every child, in every school, from cradle to career.”