The Home Economist - Sheila Bridges, who founded her interior design firm in 1994, created “Harlem Toile de Jouy” wallpaper for her own home. She soon discovered others yearned for culturally representative interior design. As Bridges explains, “I created Harlem Toile to lampoon some of the stereotypes commonly associated with African Americans, but ultimately to celebrate our complex history and rich culture, which has often been appropriated.” Her work is part of the Cooper Hewitt collection.

The Influencer - While exploring the Smithsonian museums, Celeste Hampton—celebrity nail artist, business owner, and interior designer—was drawn to pieces that reflect her own lived experience, like “Portrait of Mnonja”. To her, art, especially nail art, is a universal language with individual and unique styles. “There’s something that is healing when you bring Black people together and you see yourself.” Click below to see her design, and other Smithsonian inspired nail sets.

The Educator - Peggy Cooper Cafritz’s visionary spirit left an indelible imprint on the creatives of the nation. Noting a void in formal arts education for Black students in Washington, DC, Cafritz and choreographer Mike Malone created Workshops for Careers in the Arts in 1968. In 1974, it grew into the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Ellington has since educated generations of young Washingtonians interested in the arts, nurturing countless artists and art educators—including Dave Chappelle.

The Entrepreneur - Teacher and journalist Lula Mae Grant—later Mae Reeves—left GA for Philadelphia in the 1930s, seeking economic independence. With a $500 loan from the Black-owned Citizens and Southern Bank, she opened Mae’s Millinery Shop on South Street—now recreated at the museum. Reeves became one of the first African American women to own a business in Philadelphia’s commercial hub. Ella Fitzgerald, Eartha Kitt, Marian Anderson, and Lena Horne all visited the shop and wore her creations.

The Organizer - Nannie Helen Burroughs—educator, church leader, and suffrage supporter—was devoted to empowering Black women. She helped establish the National Association of Colored Women in 1896 and a school that bears her name today. She was outspoken on issues important to the nation, African Americans, and disenfranchised communities. She wrote articles for leading African American newspapers and magazines, attacking injustices endured by African Americans, while encouraging self-reliance.

The Liberator - Ethel Waters was the second African American nominated for an Academy Award, the first to star in her own television show, and the first African American woman to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy. Waters was a devoted advocate for actors’ rights and served as such in her positions on the executive council of Actors Equity and the Negro Actors Guild of America. During World War II, she was part of the Hollywood Victory Committee, and sang on the radio for USO camp shows.

The Nurturer - After the assassination of her husband, Malcolm X, in 1965, Betty Shabazz continued to raise their six daughters in the orthodox (Sunni) Muslim faith—teaching them “to face reality, to accept themselves...[and] to realize that it was their spiritual and moral duty to help oppressed people.” In 1995, Shabazz, as an educator and social justice advocate, said, “I embrace the woman I am today, who is truly a ‘broader’ person with an expanded, global consciousness.”

The Healer - Mary Francis Coley, a midwife in Albany, GA, delivered over 3,000 babies using tools and training of the mostly white medical establishment to care for her most at-risk patients. In the 1953 documentary, “All My Babies,” Coley showed how a well-trained lay-midwife can deliver healthy babies even in the poorest conditions while being an intermediary for patients, nurses, physicians, and local community members. The Jamaa Birth Village features an African Indigenous Midwifery Museum.

The Laborer - Madame C. J. Walker is renowned for her beauty and haircare business. She was considered the wealthiest African American businesswoman, and wealthiest self-made woman when she passed in 1919. An activist and philanthropist for equality and civil rights, she donated to Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and founded The International League for Darker People in 1919, to bring together African Americans with other non-European people to pursue shared goals.

The Spiritualist - Considered by many to be the greatest gospel singer of all time, Mahalia Jackson was described as spirit-filled and God-inspired. Jackson’s sound captivated audiences and transported them like a force of nature into a space of holiness. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said: "A voice like hers comes along once in a millennium." She performed in the White House for President Eisenhower, sang at John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, and preceded Dr. King at the March on Washington.