Maya Angelou was a poet, memoirist, singer, actor, and civil rights activist who inspired generations of women. Her 1969 autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was the first nonfiction bestseller by a Black woman. Angelou's work, which included poetry, essays, and spoken albums, was both beautiful and a call to action. She also wrote, produced, directed, and starred in film, television, and stage productions.
Freda Josephine Baker was an American-born French singer, dancer, actress, and civil rights advocate. Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri, she became a star in France in the 1920s for her innovative performances, beauty, and contributions to the French Resistance during World War II. Baker was the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 French silent film Siren of the Tropics. Known as the "Creole Goddess," Baker was a celebrated dancer and civil rights activist as well as a French spy during World War II. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she renounced her U.S. citizenship and became a French national after her marriage to French industrialist Jean Lion in 1937.
Tina Turner, born Anna Mae Bullock in 1939, was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the “Queen of Rock 'n' Roll”, she was celebrated for her powerful vocals, energetic stage presence, and body-baring costumes. Turner first found fame in the 1960s as the lead singer of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, known for their live shows but struggling to record hits. Turner is one of the best-selling recording
artists of all time, having sold more than 200 million records
worldwide. She is a 12-time Grammy winner and was ranked No. 17 on
"Rolling Stone" magazine’s list of the 100 greatest singers of all time. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: with Ike Turner in 1991 and as a solo artist in 2021. She was also a 2005 recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and the Women of the Year award. When Bullock was 16, her grandmother died, so she went to live with her mother in St. Louis. She graduated from Sumner High School in 1958. After high school, Bullock worked as a nurse's aide at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. On April 22, 2013, she became a citizen of Switzerland and was issued a Swiss passport. Turner signed the paperwork to relinquish her American citizenship at the US embassy in Bern on October 24, 2013.
Maxine Moore Waters is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 43rd congressional district since 1991. Waters was born in 1938 in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Remus Carr and Velma Lee. She graduated from Vashon High School in St. Louis before moving with her family to Los Angeles in 1961. The district, numbered as the 29th district from 1991 to 1993 and as the 35th district from 1993 to 2013, includes much of southern Los Angeles, as well as portions of Gardena, Inglewood and Torrance. A member of the Democratic Party, Waters is in her 18th House term. She is the most senior of the 13 black women serving in Congress, and chaired the Congressional Black Caucus from 1997 to 1999. She is the second-most senior member of the California congressional delegation, after Nancy Pelosi. She chaired the House Financial Services Committee from 2019 to 2023 and has been the ranking member since 2023. Before becoming a U.S. representative, Waters served seven terms in the California State Assembly, to which she was first elected in 1976. As an assemblywoman, she advocated divestment from South Africa's apartheid regime. In Congress, she was an outspoken opponent of the Iraq War and has sharply criticized Presidents George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. She is one of 47 African-American women who have served in Congress.
Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee is an American former track and field athlete who competed in both the heptathlon and long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals at four different Olympic Games. She was voted "Greatest Female Athlete of All-Time" by "Sports Illustrated for Women" magazine and now serves as a philanthropist in East St. Louis.
Shange was born Paulette Linda Williams in Trenton, New Jersey, to an upper-middle-class African-American family. Her father, Paul T. Williams, was a surgeon, and her mother, Eloise Williams, was an educator and a psychiatric social worker. When she was aged eight, Shange's family moved to the racially segregated city of St. Louis. As a result of the Brown v. Board of Education court decision, Shange was bused to a white school where she endured racism and racist attacks. In 1970 in San Francisco, having come to terms with her depression and alienation, Shange rejected "Williams" as a slave name and "Paulette" (after her father Paul) as patriarchal, and asked South African musicians Ndikho and Nomusa Xaba to bestow an African name. In 1971, Ndikho duly chose Ntozake and Shange, which Shange respectively glossed as Xhosa "She who comes with her own things" and Zulu "She who walks like a lion".
Dunham was a dancer, author, educator and social activist who innovated modern African-American dance. While studying anthropology at the University of Chicago, Katherine Dunham was also active as a dancer. Field trips to the West Indies allowed her to study native dances and folklore, which she incorporated into her work to form an exotic and unique repertoire. Following an acclaimed dance career in New York, she moved to East St. Louis in 1967, where she established the Performing Arts Training Center. The Katherine Dunham Museum and the Katherine Dunham Children’s Workshop continue to expose new generations to the work of this great dancer and choreographer.
Marie Frankie Muse Freeman (November 24, 1916 – January 12, 2018) was an American civil rights attorney, and the first woman to be appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights (1964–79), a federal fact-finding body that investigates complaints alleging discrimination. Freeman was instrumental in creating the Citizens' Commission on Civil Rights founded in 1982. She was a practicing attorney in State and Federal courts for nearly sixty years.
Tishaura Oneda Jones is an American politician who was sworn-in as the first Black female mayor in the City's history on April 20th, 2021. A member of the Missouri Democratic Party, Jones previously served from 2008 to 2013 in the Missouri House of Representatives, and as Treasurer of the City of St. Louis from 2013 to 2021.
Cori Anika Bush is an American politician, nurse, pastor, and Black Lives Matter activist who served as the First Black Woman of the U.S. representative for Missouri's 1st congressional district from 2021 to 2025. The district includes all of the city of St. Louis and most of northern St. Louis County.
Jenifer Jeanette Lewis is an American actress and singer who has played maternal figures throughout her career, earning the nickname "The Black Mother of Hollywood". She's known for her roles as Tina Turner's mother in What's Love Got to Do With It and Whitney Houston's character's mother in The Preacher's Wife. Lewis has also appeared in Beaches, Sister Act, Castaway, Hereafter, Madea's Family Reunion, and Meet the Browns.
Grace Melzia Bumbry was an American opera singer, considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, who also ventured to soprano roles. She belonged to a pioneering generation of African-American classical singers, led by Marian Anderson.
Annie Turnbo Malone (1877-1957) was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, inventor, and often regarded historically as the first Black woman millionaire in America. She is best known for her pioneering work in the field of hair care products for Black women, which made her one of the wealthiest women of her time.
Fontella Bass. Fontella Bass, daughter of gospel great Martha Bass, was born and raised in St. Louis. She played piano and sang with R&B stars Little Milton and Oliver Sain, and launched her solo career in 1965 with the electrifying “Rescue Me,” a #1 R&B and #4 pop hit. She also had a successful career in gospel music, touring Europe and performing at Carnegie Hall.
Faye Wattleton is an American reproductive rights activist who was the first African American and the youngest president ever elected of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the first woman since Margaret Sanger to hold the position.Shange was a playwright, poet and feminist who wrote the award-winning play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf" in 1976.
Cora Faith Walker was an American politician who served as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives for the 74th district from January 2017 to July 2019. On July 29, 2019, Walker resigned from the Missouri House of Representatives and became the policy director for St. Louis County executive Sam Page.
Robbie Montgomery is an American singer and restaurateur. She is noted for being one of the original Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the 1960s. After her tenure as an Ikette, she was a member of the Mirettes, and then became a "Night Tripper" for Dr. John. In the 1970s, Montgomery was a backing vocalist for acts such as Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, the Rolling Stones, and Joe Cocker. She later created the Sweetie Pie's franchise, and starred in the award-winning reality series Welcome to Sweetie Pie's.
Harriet Robinson Scott (c. 1820 – June 17, 1876) was an African American woman who fought for her freedom alongside her husband, Dred Scott, for eleven years. Their legal battle culminated in the infamous United States Supreme Court decision Dred Scott v. Sandford in 1857. On April 6, 1846, attorney Francis B. Murdoch had initiated Harriet v. Irene Emerson in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, making the Scotts the first and only married couple to file separate freedom suits in tandem. Born into slavery in Virginia, Harriet Robinson lived briefly in the free state of Pennsylvania before being taken to the Northwest Territory by Indian agent and slaveholder Lawrence Taliaferro.
Margaret Bush Wilson was a woman of highly exceptional stature. She accomplished much in her life; the most prominent being the first female on the N.A.A.C.P. national board of Directors. Much of her career consisted of civil rights and urban development. Before Mrs. Wilson focused on her civil rights path, she was valedictorian of her graduating high school class at Sumner High School. After completing her high school career, she began to study abroad, traveling to over six countries. These included: England, France, Ceylon, Japan, and her most extraordinary visit to India. Here Margaret met and spoke with Mahatma Gandhi which fueled her passion of the civil rights movement in the United States. Mrs. Wilson pursued a law degree at Lincoln University Law School after completing her Bachelor’s at Talladega University. Margaret possessed a strong spirit and compassion towards humanity and is a Civil Rights icon. Mrs. Wilson passed away in 2009.
Kimora Lee Simmons is an American model, fashion designer, entrepreneur, and television personality. As a teenager, she modeled for Chanel and walked the runway for Valentino and Fendi. She also appeared on the covers of Elle and Vogue. In the 1990s, she was in campaigns for Calvin Klein, Versace, and Armani. Simmons is best known for creating the billion-dollar urban lifestyle brand, Baby Phat, in 1999.
Angela Lisa Winbush is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter, musician and record producer who rose to fame first in the 1980s R&B duo René & Angela, also scoring hits as a solo artist. To date, Winbush has sold over 10 million albums and singles worldwide. Angela began singing in church. She grew up in a middle-class area of St. Louis. Angela is a graduate of Northwest High School. She did not initially aspire to a career in music, instead studying architecture at Howard University, singing only to earn extra money. She continued to sing in church while at Howard as well as with gospel legend Richard Smallwood. She also performed as a singer with a group called "Hot Tea" while she attended Howard University. They opened for various well-known performers during shows and also did background singing for recording artists.
SZA, the stage name of Solána Imani Rowe, is an American singer-songwriter who blends R&B, hip-hop, and soul into her alternative sound. Her 2017 debut album, Ctrl, propelled her to fame. SZA's lyrics are diaristic and often explore themes of heartbreak, sexuality, and self-image. She's known for influencing contemporary R&B and has collaborated with artists like Rihanna, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar. SZA has earned numerous accolades throughout her career, including five Grammy Awards, a Brit Award, an American Music Award, a Guild of Music Supervisors Award, and two Billboard Women in Music awards, including Woman of the Year. She has co-written songs for artists such as Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé, Travis Scott, Schoolboy Q, and Rihanna. In 2024, she received the Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Representing the heart and soul of the St. Louis region, Queen
Together, these three extraordinary women—each a beacon of grace, resilience, and unapologetic Black womanhood—have not only shattered a pageant glass ceiling, but also made their community proud once again by securing
The honor resonates far beyond the stage. From the paved streets of modern-day St. Louis to the memory-rich soil once walked by Black mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers, this triumph is felt deeply.
These regal torchbearers have become