17 Women Who Persisted — And The BRILLIANT Things They've Taught Us
These women are the real superheroes.
In case you haven’t heard the news behind the trending #ShePersisted, the Senate told Sen. Elizabeth Warren to sit down as she was trying to read a letter written by Coretta Scott King (Martin Luther King Jr.’s widow).
To say that the Senate’s plan to silence her backfired would be a SERIOUS understatement.
Not only did Senator Warren take to Facebook to read the letter by Mrs. King as she’d planned to do but she became and inspiration, a role model, and a hero.
People everywhere took to defending yet another woman who would not back down in the face of adversity.
With #ShePersisted, we are reminded of the many, many women who went through hardships, who had to fight against injustice to do what was right.
Not because it was easy because it had to be done.
We are reminded of the women who made sacrifices for the greater good, women who we owe our world to.
Women who will not be silenced.
They are our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, friends.
They are the women who marched against injustice, helped slaves escape to freedom and who refused to get up for a white man.
They faced soldiers, Nazis, southern slave masters, parents, men — the world — and refused to let their spirit be silenced.
They are the women who weren’t afraid to be the change they wanted to see in the world.
They are the superheroes of our past and present and help us to build a bad-ass future.
They are the ones who continue to inspire us each and every day with their legacies and their inspiring words like these.
1. Anne Frank
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” -Anne Frank
2. Coretta Scott King
"It doesn't matter how strong your opinions are. If you don't use your power for positive change, you are, indeed, part of the problem." - Coretta Scott King
3. Katherine Johnson
"The women did what they were told to do. They didn’t ask questions or take the task any further. I asked questions; I wanted to know why. They got used to me asking questions and being the only woman there.” - Katherine Johnson
4. Malala Yousafzai
“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” - Malala Yousafzai
5. Patsy Mink
"We have to build things that we want to see accomplished, in life and in our country, based on our own personal experiences ... to make sure that others ... do not have to suffer the same discrimination." - Patsy Mink
6. Rosa Parks
"Each person must live their life as a model for others." - Rosa Parks
7. Dr. Ruth Westheimer
“If you’re facing a problem, don’t tell yourself that you can’t do it. Convince yourself that you have the strength to deal with almost anything because of the way you were raised."
8. Harriet Jacobs
“I resolved not to be conquered again.” -Harriet Jacobs
9. Elizabeth Warren
"What I've learned is that real change is very, very hard. But I've also learned that change is possible - if you fight for it." - Senator Elizabeth Warren
10. Edith Meyer
"Do what you feel is right for you. Don't think what other people think about you. Just do what you feel is right." - Edith Meyer
11. Justice Sonia Sotomayor
"In every position I've been in, there have always been naysayers who don't believe I'm qualified or who don't believe I can do the work. And I feel a special responsibility to prove them wrong." - Justice Sonia Sotomayor
12. Amelia Earhart
"Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail their failure must be but a challenge to others."-Amelia Earhart
13. Marie Curie
"I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy." -Marie Curie
14. Harriet Tubman
"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." - Harriet Tubman
15. Brittany “Bree” Newsom
“I see no greater moral cause than liberation, equality, and justice for all God’s people. What better reason to risk your own freedom than to fight for the freedom of others?” -Brittany “Bree” Newsom
16. Ieshia Evans
“I never really considered myself to be in the definition of brave. But sometimes, jobs are given to you that you didn't apply for.” - Ieshia Evans
17. Harriet Beecher Stowe
"Women are the real architects of society." -Harriet Beecher Stowe
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