Famous Women in History Under 30 – Group #2

by Mom It Forward on March 18th, 2011 | No Comments »

There are so many ways in which our societies and our governments need to progress, but such change is often slow and hard-fought. It is possible, though, even if only in baby steps. These women, young themselves, have made some of those baby steps for us. Let's remember their example and strive to make our own contributions, in whatever way we can. They are just a few of the "30 Women Under 30" being featured on AmericaComesAlive.com.

Young and Inspirational Women

Annie Oakley

Born Phoebe Ann Mosey, she was America’s first female superstar. Her father died when she was quite young. To help provide the family with food, Phoebe set traps in the woods, and one day when she was 6, she reportedly took her father’s gun and killed a squirrel. Because of the family situation, Annie never attended school regularly and hunted to help the family. She killed enough game that she could sell it to local hotels and restaurants, helping to pay off the mortgage on her mother’s farm.

Over time, Annie’s shooting ability became well known. When marksman and traveling showman Francis E. Butler brought his act to Cincinnati, he placed a one hundred dollar bet with a Cincinnati hotel owner that he could out shoot any of the local people. Phoebe was 21 at that time, and the hotelier, who knew Annie because he bought game from her, helped arrange for the two to compete at a shoot-out in Greenville, Ohio. Annie won, and Butler was smitten. The two were married in June of the following year.

Nancy Lieberman

Nancy Lieberman was the first high school student, male or female, to make a U.S. Olympic basketball team. She was part of the USA Women’s National Basketball team that brought home several medals, and she was the first woman ever to play in a men’s professional league (1986, the Springfield Fame and 1987 the Long Island Knights, both in the US Basketball League). She is also the first woman to tour with the Washington Generals, an exhibition basketball team created in 1952 to primarily serve as a foil for the Harlem Globetrotters.

Sheyann Webb

When Sheyann was nine, she participated in her first protest, a 54-mile march to Alabama's state capital in Montgomery from her hometown of Selma. She had heard a talk given by Dr. Martin Luther King's about African American voting rights. After hearing it, she soon began skipping school to go to voting rights demonstrations. One night a young black man was killed at a demonstration, so the African-American citizens organized a protest on March 7, 1965, the march that Sheyann participated in. Though the marchers were ordered to turn back and attacked by police, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law later that year, and “bloody Sunday,” as the day of the march became known, was a turning point.

For more information and examples, go to the 30 Women Under 30 in 30 Days link at America Comes Alive. To see the first group of "Famous Women in History Under 30" who were featured on Mom It Forward, be sure to stop by this post.