Historically, women have had to struggle to have the same rights and men. Due to the issues that all black people have had to face since coming to the United States in the 1600’s, the struggles of black women have been among the most difficult. Yet some of them have showed strength that goes beyond what most of us would have done in similar situations. Their efforts deserve to be recognized as well as an inspiration to others.

Rosa Parks is the woman in black history that most people think of immediately. She has become an icon in our society as a symbol for standing up for your personal rights. On a cold December day in 1955, Parks was on a bus to go home after a long hard day of work. She was seated at the back of the bus due to segregation laws but was still told to relinquish her seat to a white man.

Parks refused to do so and she was arrested. As a way of supporting her, black people boycotted the bus system for over a  year. This caused them to suffer from substantial economic loss. As a result the buses were no longer segregated and black people could freely sit where they wanted to aboard them.

Since many black slaves were subjected to cruel punishments and work that was too demanding on their bodies, they often tried to escape. Even after slavery was banned in some areas it still continued. As a result the Underground Railroad was formed so that they could have a decent chance at a life away from slavery. Harriet Tubman was once a slave that used the Underground Railroad to gain her freedom.

She decided to take action to help it expand so that more slaves could successfully find their way through the system. She was also a nurse and offered valuable medical assistance to other black people in need. She is believed to have assisted with more than 300 operations to get black slaves to protected areas.

While that is what Tubman is most famous for, she also served in the Civil War. She was a spy under the cover of being a nurse. She helped to plan and lead the Combahee River expedition which resulted in hundreds of slaves being freed. She wrote down the events happening so there was a record of black history. After the Civil War she became a leader or Woman’s Suffrage to help them gain rights as well.