Fire Princess

As male dominated as policing still is in this country, firefighter is even more so.


The first known woman firefighter was Molly Williams, a slave in New York City who became a member of Oceanus Engine Company #11 in about 1815. During World War II, women volunteered and took the place of men at war. Many places had all women fire companies during that time. 


There have been volunteer women firefighters for hundreds of years in this country, but the first paid firefighter was Sandra Forcier in 1973 in Winston NC. 

With rigorous physical requirements, female job applicants and successful candidates are very limited. Most departments make requirements the same for women as they are for men, unlike police which have different physical entrance requirements for each. Of the successful applicants, less than half actually become firefighters - either they are not selected or don't finish the basic training.

According to The National Report Card on Women in Firefighting, Less than 4% of firefighters are female and only 31 fire departments have women as their top-level chief.

                                       

Ring of fire cover by Gaby Garcia

She was a King

MLK's widow, Coretta Scott King accomplished an amazing amount in her years and is considered one of the most significant advocates of civil rights.


Coretta Scott was a classically trained opera singer who married Martin Luther King Jr. in 1953. MLK was assassinated in 1968 and she took up his cause and had great success.

She has met with almost every president in her time to discuss civil rights. She worked in the USA and abroad to help end racism, including apartheid in South Africa, and also took up the fight for Gay Rights. 


In 1968, She founded The King Center which is a memorial dedicated to the advancement of the legacy and philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr.


She campaigned to make her husband's birthday a National Holiday and in 1983 she was present when President Reagan signed the bill that enacted it.


The world lost a great Leader in 2006 when Coretta Scott King passed away.


She held a graceful and unwavering determination in the fight to banish injustices.

♦ THE FIRST LADY OF CIVIL RIGHTS ♦

We Shall Overcome by Praiz

Up, Up and a Away

Dr. Sally Ride was the first American Female in Space. 

In 1977, NASA opened up their space program to women. Six women were selected for the Astronaut program and Sally Ride was one of them. 

On June 18, 1983, she was selected as part of the crew of the shuttle Challenger, mission STS-7, and became the first woman from the United States to enter Space.

Since then, 39 female NASA astronauts have followed her into space.

Dr. Mae Jemison made the mark as the first African American female with her 1992 Mission aboard the Endeavour.


Dr. Ellen Ochoa became the first hispanic female. Ochoa's first mission was in April of 1993 aboard the STS-56 ATLAS-2 Discovery.

In 2003, Ride was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. 

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These women broke through the ultimate glass ceiling by blasting through the atmosphere.  

First Class of Women Astronauts to Graduate from NASA in 1979