Standing Up & Speaking Out
Learning from People Who Have Made a Difference in Our World- English II
1. Jane Addams - (September 6, 1860 – May 21, 1935) - an American social worker, sociologist and reformer. Called "The mother of Social Work"
2. Arthur Ashe - (July 10, 1943–February 6, 1993) - a prominent tennis player; contracted HIV during heart surgery, and, in the last year of his life, Arthur Ashe did much to call attention to AIDS sufferers worldwide; founded the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health
3. Susan B. Anthony - (February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) - an American civil rights leader who, along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, led the effort to grant women the right to vote in the United States
4. Roger Nash Baldwin - (January 21, 1884–August 26, 1981) - a noted civil libertarian, pacifist, and social activist who was one of the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union
5. Amy Biehl - (1967 - 1993) - gave her life to ending apartheid in South Africa
6. Elizabeth Blackwell - (February 3, 1821 – May 31, 1910) - the first woman to practice medicine in the United States; active in the anti-slavery movement
7. Ralph Bunch - (August 7, 1904 - December 9, 1971) - an American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation in Palestine in the late 1940s that led to an armistice agreement between the Jews and Arabs in the region
8. Helen Caldicott - (born 1938) - an Australian physician and anti-nuclear advocate who has founded several associations dedicated to fighting nuclear weapons and nuclear power
9. Cesar Chavez - (March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) - founded the National Farm Workers Association that later became the United Farm Workers
10. Chief Joseph - (1840 - September 21, 1904) - a Nez Perce Chief, humanitarian, and peacemaker, best known for his principled resistance to the U.S. government's attempts to force the Nez Perce onto a reservation
11. Crazy Horse - (c. 1838 – September 5, 1877) - recognized among his own people as a visionary leader committed to preserving the traditions and values of the Lakota way of life and leading his people into a war against the take-over of their lands by the White Man.
12. Angela Davis - (born January 26, 1944) - an African American radical activist, primarily working for racial and gender equity and for prison abolition
13. Marian Wright Edelman - (born June 6, 1939) - the president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund
14. Medgar Evers - (July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963) - an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi
15. Betty Friedan - (born February 4, 1921) - cofounded the U.S. National Organization for Women , and was its first president from 1966-70; counted as one of the most influential feminists of the late 20th century
16. Mahatma Gandhi - (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) - a national icon who led the struggle for India's independence from British colonial rule
17. Claudia Johnson - (born December 22, 1912) - the widow of Lyndon B. Johnson, and was First Lady of the United States from 1963-1969; known for her support of the environment
18. Coretta Scott King - (born April 27, 1927 near Marion, Alabama) - the widow of the slain civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. and a noted community leader in her own right
19. Aung San Suu Kyi - born June 19, 1945 - is a nonviolent pro-democracy activist in Burma, now known as Myanmar
20. Abraham Lincoln - (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) - opposed the expansion of slavery into federal territories
21. Wangari Maathai - (born April 1, 1940) - a Kenyan environmental and political activist; the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize
22. Malcolm X - (May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) – an American spokesman for the Nation of Islam
23. Nelson Mandela - (born July 18, 1918) - the first democratically elected President of South Africa, having previously been a prominent anti-apartheid activist there. Initially committed to non-violence, he later became a guerrilla leader and was involved in the planning of underground armed resistance activities.
24. Jose Marti - (January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) - a leader of the Cuban independence movement as well as an esteemed poet and writer; often considered Cuba's greatest hero
25. Rigoberta Menchu Tum - (born January 9, 1959) - worked as an activist campaigning against human rights violations committed by the Guatemalan armed forces during the decades-long civil war; participated in the ongoing preparation by the United Nations of a declaration of the rights of indigenous people
26. Chico Mendes - (December 15, 1944-December 22, 1988) - a Brazilian rubber tapper, unionist and environmental activist; fought to stop the logging of the Amazon Rainforest
27. Mother Teresa - (August 27, 1910 – September 5, 1997) - an Albanian Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity; her work among the poor of Kolkata (Calcutta) made her one of the world's most famous people
28. Emmeline Pankhurst - (July 14, 1858 - June 14, 1928) - one of the founders of the British suffragette movement; struggled for voting rights for women in the period immediately preceding World War I
29. Rosa Parks - (born February 4, 1913) - famous for her refusal in 1955 to give up a bus seat to a white man who was getting on the bus
30. Jeannette Rankin - (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) - the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the first female member of Congress; the only member of Congress to vote against United States entry in both World War I and World War II; also led resistance to the Vietnam War
31. Eleanor Roosevelt - (October 11, 1884 – November 7, 1962) - an American human rights activist, and the wife of President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt
32. Oscar Arias Sanchez - (born September 13, 1940) - awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to end the civil wars then raging in several Central American countries
33. Albert Schweitzer - (January 14, 1875-September 4, 1965) - aware of the desperate medical needs of Africans, he decided to become a doctor and devote the rest of his life to direct service in Africa
34. Elizabeth Cady Stanton - (November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) - a social activist and a leading figure of the early women's rights movement in the United States
35. Harriet Tubman - (1820 - March 10, 1913) - an African-American freedom fighter. An escaped slave, she worked as a guerrilla, farmhand, lumberjack, laundress and cook, refugee organizer, raid leader and intelligence commander, nurse and healer, revival speaker, feminist and fundraiser, all as part of the struggle for liberation from slavery and racism
36. Desmond Mpilo Tutu - (born October 7, 1931) - a South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid
37. Simon Wiesenthal - (December 31, 1908 – September 20, 2005) - dedicated most of his life to tracking down, hunting and gathering information on fugitive Nazis so that they could be brought to justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity
Updated 1/21/10
2. Arthur Ashe - (July 10, 1943–February 6, 1993) - a prominent tennis player; contracted HIV during heart surgery, and, in the last year of his life, Arthur Ashe did much to call attention to AIDS sufferers worldwide; founded the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health
3. Susan B. Anthony - (February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) - an American civil rights leader who, along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, led the effort to grant women the right to vote in the United States
4. Roger Nash Baldwin - (January 21, 1884–August 26, 1981) - a noted civil libertarian, pacifist, and social activist who was one of the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union
5. Amy Biehl - (1967 - 1993) - gave her life to ending apartheid in South Africa
6. Elizabeth Blackwell - (February 3, 1821 – May 31, 1910) - the first woman to practice medicine in the United States; active in the anti-slavery movement
7. Ralph Bunch - (August 7, 1904 - December 9, 1971) - an American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation in Palestine in the late 1940s that led to an armistice agreement between the Jews and Arabs in the region
8. Helen Caldicott - (born 1938) - an Australian physician and anti-nuclear advocate who has founded several associations dedicated to fighting nuclear weapons and nuclear power
9. Cesar Chavez - (March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) - founded the National Farm Workers Association that later became the United Farm Workers
10. Chief Joseph - (1840 - September 21, 1904) - a Nez Perce Chief, humanitarian, and peacemaker, best known for his principled resistance to the U.S. government's attempts to force the Nez Perce onto a reservation
11. Crazy Horse - (c. 1838 – September 5, 1877) - recognized among his own people as a visionary leader committed to preserving the traditions and values of the Lakota way of life and leading his people into a war against the take-over of their lands by the White Man.
12. Angela Davis - (born January 26, 1944) - an African American radical activist, primarily working for racial and gender equity and for prison abolition
13. Marian Wright Edelman - (born June 6, 1939) - the president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund
14. Medgar Evers - (July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963) - an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi
15. Betty Friedan - (born February 4, 1921) - cofounded the U.S. National Organization for Women , and was its first president from 1966-70; counted as one of the most influential feminists of the late 20th century
16. Mahatma Gandhi - (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) - a national icon who led the struggle for India's independence from British colonial rule
17. Claudia Johnson - (born December 22, 1912) - the widow of Lyndon B. Johnson, and was First Lady of the United States from 1963-1969; known for her support of the environment
18. Coretta Scott King - (born April 27, 1927 near Marion, Alabama) - the widow of the slain civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. and a noted community leader in her own right
19. Aung San Suu Kyi - born June 19, 1945 - is a nonviolent pro-democracy activist in Burma, now known as Myanmar
20. Abraham Lincoln - (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) - opposed the expansion of slavery into federal territories
21. Wangari Maathai - (born April 1, 1940) - a Kenyan environmental and political activist; the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize
22. Malcolm X - (May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) – an American spokesman for the Nation of Islam
23. Nelson Mandela - (born July 18, 1918) - the first democratically elected President of South Africa, having previously been a prominent anti-apartheid activist there. Initially committed to non-violence, he later became a guerrilla leader and was involved in the planning of underground armed resistance activities.
24. Jose Marti - (January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) - a leader of the Cuban independence movement as well as an esteemed poet and writer; often considered Cuba's greatest hero
25. Rigoberta Menchu Tum - (born January 9, 1959) - worked as an activist campaigning against human rights violations committed by the Guatemalan armed forces during the decades-long civil war; participated in the ongoing preparation by the United Nations of a declaration of the rights of indigenous people
26. Chico Mendes - (December 15, 1944-December 22, 1988) - a Brazilian rubber tapper, unionist and environmental activist; fought to stop the logging of the Amazon Rainforest
27. Mother Teresa - (August 27, 1910 – September 5, 1997) - an Albanian Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity; her work among the poor of Kolkata (Calcutta) made her one of the world's most famous people
28. Emmeline Pankhurst - (July 14, 1858 - June 14, 1928) - one of the founders of the British suffragette movement; struggled for voting rights for women in the period immediately preceding World War I
29. Rosa Parks - (born February 4, 1913) - famous for her refusal in 1955 to give up a bus seat to a white man who was getting on the bus
30. Jeannette Rankin - (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) - the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the first female member of Congress; the only member of Congress to vote against United States entry in both World War I and World War II; also led resistance to the Vietnam War
31. Eleanor Roosevelt - (October 11, 1884 – November 7, 1962) - an American human rights activist, and the wife of President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt
32. Oscar Arias Sanchez - (born September 13, 1940) - awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to end the civil wars then raging in several Central American countries
33. Albert Schweitzer - (January 14, 1875-September 4, 1965) - aware of the desperate medical needs of Africans, he decided to become a doctor and devote the rest of his life to direct service in Africa
34. Elizabeth Cady Stanton - (November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) - a social activist and a leading figure of the early women's rights movement in the United States
35. Harriet Tubman - (1820 - March 10, 1913) - an African-American freedom fighter. An escaped slave, she worked as a guerrilla, farmhand, lumberjack, laundress and cook, refugee organizer, raid leader and intelligence commander, nurse and healer, revival speaker, feminist and fundraiser, all as part of the struggle for liberation from slavery and racism
36. Desmond Mpilo Tutu - (born October 7, 1931) - a South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid
37. Simon Wiesenthal - (December 31, 1908 – September 20, 2005) - dedicated most of his life to tracking down, hunting and gathering information on fugitive Nazis so that they could be brought to justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity
Updated 1/21/10