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Watch all 26 of animated documentary shorts about UNLADYLIKE2020’s trailblazing heroines below or on the American Masters YouTube channel.

See the one-hour PBS special, American Masters – UNLADYLIKE2020: The Changemakers, here via PBS Passport (membership required). 

Grace Abbott

Social Work Pioneer & Champion of Children, Immigrant, and Women's Rights

1878-1939

Charlotta Spears Bass

Newspaper Editor, Civil Rights Crusader & First African American Woman Vice Presidential Candidate

1888-1969

Gladys Bentley

Gender-Bending Harlem Renaissance Performer and Musician

1907-1960

Zitkála-Šá/Gertrude Simmons Bonnin

Composer, Author & Indigenous Rights Activist

1876-1938

Louise Arner Boyd

First Woman to Lead Arctic Expeditions

1887-1972

Martha Hughes Cannon

First Woman State Senator & Public Health Pioneer

1857 - 1932

Sonora Webster Carver

Daredevil Equestrian & Advocate For the Blind

1904-2003

Margaret Chung

First American-Born Chinese Female Doctor

1889-1959

Bessie Coleman

First African American Woman Aviator

1892-1926

Gertrude Ederle

First Woman to Swim the English Channel

1905-2003

Williamina Fleming

Trailblazing Astronomer and Discoverer of Stars

1857-1911

Meta Warrick Fuller

Trailblazing Sculptor & First African American Woman Recipient of Federal Art Commission

1877-1968

Lillian Moller Gilbreth

Pioneering Inventor & Industrial Engineer

1878-1972

Jovita Idar

Educator, Journalist, Suffragist & Civil Rights Activist

1885-1946

Sissieretta Jones

Opera Star & First African American Woman to Headline Concert at Carnegie Hall

1868-1933

Queen Lili‘uokalani

First Sovereign Queen and Last Monarch of Hawai‘i

1838-1917

Annie Smith Peck

Record-Breaking Mountaineer, Suffragist & Educator

1850-1935

Susan La Flesche Picotte

First American Indian Physician

1865-1915

Ynés Mexía

Accomplished Latina Botanist

1870-1938

Jeannette Rankin

Suffragist, Peace Activist & First Woman Member of Congress

1880-1973

Rose Schneiderman

Pioneering Labor Organizer & Suffragist

1882-1972

Tye Leung Schulze

Advocate for Trafficked Women & First Chinese American Woman Federal Government Employee

1887-1972

Mary Church Terrell

Educator, Suffragist, Civil Rights Activist & Co-Founder of the NAACP

1863 - 1954

Maggie Lena Walker

Entrepreneur & First African American Woman Bank President

1864-1934

Lois Weber

Actor, Screenwriter & First Woman to Direct a Feature-Length Film

1879-1939

Anna May Wong

Trendsetting Movie Star and Fashion Icon

1905-1961

Learn More about Grace Abbott

Learn More about Charlotta Spears Bass

Learn More about Gladys Bentley

Learn More about Zitkála-Šá/Gertrude Simmons Bonnin

Learn More about Louise Arner Boyd

Learn More about Martha Hughes Cannon

Learn More about Sonora Webster Carver

Learn More about Margaret Chung

Learn More about Bessie Coleman

Learn More about Gertrude Ederle

Learn More about Williamina Fleming

Learn More about Meta Warrick Fuller

Learn More about Lillian Moller Gilbreth

Learn More about Jovita Idar

Learn More about Sissieretta Jones

Learn More about Queen Lili‘uokalani

Learn More about Annie Smith Peck

Learn More about Susan La Flesche Picotte

Learn More about Ynés Mexía

Learn More about Jeannette Rankin

Learn More about Rose Schneiderman

Learn More about Tye Leung Schulze

Learn More about Mary Church Terrell

Learn More about Maggie Lena Walker

Learn More about Lois Weber

Learn More about Anna May Wong

Social Media

Representative Deb Haaland @repdebhaaland has been Representative Deb Haaland @repdebhaaland has been nominated to lead the Department of the Interior. If confirmed, she would be the first Native American to lead a cabinet-level agency. 

It was an honor to feature Representative Deb Haaland in our series, and to speak with her about the state of women in national politics today, the challenges American Indians have faced fighting for citizenship and voting rights throughout American history, and the causes she’s passionate about, like addressing climate change. Check out our short film on the pioneering politician, passionate pacifist, and first woman elected to U.S. Congress, Jeannette Rankin, featuring Representative Haaland - link in our bio & on @pbsamericanmasters ! 

Photo courtesy of the office of Deb Haaland.

#womeninpolitics #debhaaland #trailblazingwomen #womenincongress #2020news #nativesmericanhistory #americanindianhistory #2020firsts #unladylike2020pbs #documentary #shortfilm #womenshistory #pbs
We are beyond honored to be awarded the 2020 Eva H We are beyond honored to be awarded the 2020 Eva Haller Women Transforming Media Award, part of the My Hero Project @myheroproject International Film Festival, established by Eva Haller, a lifelong feminist, activist and philanthropist, to support filmmakers who are transforming the media landscape and the world by telling women’s stories. 

All are invited to the special virtual awards ceremony tonight at 9:30 pm ET / 6:30 pm PT, and we’d love for you to join us in celebrating as our Series Creator, Director, and Producer Charlotte Mangin and Executive Producer Sandy Rattley accepts the award- link in our bio for more info! We want to give a huge shoutout to our whole team and to fellow women working to transform media!

Original artwork from our series by @ameliechabannes 

#myheroiff2020 #unladylike2020pbs on @pbsamericanmasters #womeninmedia #womenfilmmakers #womeninfilm #womensstories
Today is Human Rights Day. Many of the women in ou Today is Human Rights Day. Many of the women in our series devoted their lives to fighting for human rights, including: 

Rose Schneiderman, pioneering labor organizer who fought for workers rights, 

Grace Abbott, a trailblazing social worker who fought for immigrants rights and worked to end child labor, 

Mary Church Terrell, an amazing activist and educator who fought for civil rights,

Jovita Idar, a journalist who boldly fought for the rights of Latina women, 

and Zitkála-Šá, a composer and writer who fought for the citizenship, voting, and sovereignty rights of American Indians.

Each of our short films (link in our bio!) features women who are fighting for human rights today, including Ai-jen Poo @aijenp , Executive Director of the National  @domesticworkers alliance , Cristina Jimenez, former Executive Director of @unitedwedream , activist and educator Brittany Packnett Cunningham @mspackyetti , award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa @maria_la_hinojosa , and founder of the @sacredstonecamp , LaDonna Brave Bull Allard. 

Original artwork of Abbott and Idar by @ameliechabannes 
Photo of Church Terrell courtesy of Oberlin College. 
Photo of Zitkála-Šá courtesy of Smithsonian Institute. 

#unladylike2020pbs #humanrights #womensrights #laborrights #childrensrights #equalrights #nativerights #journalism #socialwork #activism #activist #americanhistory #documentary

Major funding for UNLADYLIKE2020, including the 26 documentary shorts, a broadcast hour for PBS American Masters, educational curriculum, this resource-rich website, and our impact and engagement campaign, is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding is provided by numerous private foundations and ten state humanities councils, as well as individual donors.

All UNLADYLIKE2020 original artwork by Amelie Chabannes.

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UNLADYLIKE2020 is a production of Unladylike Productions, LLC in association with THIRTEEN’s American Masters. © 2021