Women in History

As we all know February was Black History Month. This month was a time to remember the struggle for equality and freedom. What better way to follow up Black History Month than to celebrate Women in History? This month more than twenty great women will be included in the Cougar Chronicles. This historical note is our way of paying tribute to the strong women who fought for their equality and helped make the United States of America the country it is now.

--Joshua Burston, Editor

Barbara Jordan

Barbara Jordan, the first African-American elected to the Texas Senate since Reconstruction, went on to become a member of the United States House of Representatives. She mesmerized the nation during televised coverage of the House Judiciary Committee's investigation considering the impeachment of President Richard Nixon.

Maya Lin

At the tender age of 21, Maya Lin became one of the most controversial artists in the United States. Her design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., came under attack for a variety of reasons, but it eventually became the most-visited monument in the country. Lin has worked on numerous public and private projects since then. Each has been praised for her creative and expressive treatment of the subject depicted. some works have also been severely criticized and even vandalized. Lin's ability to blend sculpture and architecture has earned her a reputation as one of the most innovative artists working today.

Dorothy Dandridge

Dorothy Dandridge was the first African-American woman to receive an Academy Award nomination for best actress for her performance in the 1954 film Carmen Jones. Her glamorous image and exciting life have inspired many to compare her to another equally tragic Holly wood figure, Marilyn Monroe. One of the most strikingly beautiful and charismatic stars ever to grace Hollywood, Dorothy Dandridge blazed a number of significant trails during her short but noteworthy career as the first African-American actress to achieve leading-role status.

Virginia Woolf

One of the most prominent literary figures of the twentieth century, Virginia Woolf is chiefly renowned as an innovative novelist and in particular for her contribution to the development of the stream-of-consciousness narrative technique. Her novels are noted for their subjective exploration of character and theme and their poetic prose, while her essays are commended for their perceptive observations on nearly the entire range of English literature, as well as many social and political concerns of the early twentieth century.