One of the best things I’ve ever done art-wise was a series called Trailblazing Women that I embarked on in February of 2021. I spent the entire month of February drawing and learning about inspiring Black women throughout history. It was enlightening, inspiring, and downright powerful to learn more about each person on the list.
Over the years, I’ve wanted to add to the list of inspiring women but haven’t been able to give it my all. This year, with all of the political bullshit swirling around DEI and the basic lack of humanity surrounding BIPOC, the LGBTQIA+ community, Trans rights, and women’s rights, I want to double down and create new portraits of trailblazing Black women.
Resistance through creative expression, learning, and joy.
The inspiring Black women on this year’s list are from a variety of backgrounds and industries — the arts, politics and civil rights, science and technology, and more — and include both current and historical figures. I tried to choose a mixture of more well known individuals alongside names that are unfamiliar to me.

The inspiring Black Women featured for 2025’s Trailblazing Women:
- Maya Angelou
- Ma Rainey
- Kamala Harris
- Sister Rosetta Thorpe
- Harriet Tubman
- Lori Lightfoot
- Misty Copeland
- Angela Davis
- Barbara Conrad
- Mother George
- Wangari Maathai
- Vernice Armour
- Laverne Cox
- Nina Simone
- Andrea Jenkins
- Ketanji Brown Jackson
- Sojourner Truth
- Septima Poinsette Clark
- Pauli Murray
- Miss Major Griffin-Gracy
- Katherine Johnson
- Barbara Smith
- Michelle Obama
- Marie Maynard Daly
- Aretha Franklin
- Stormé DeLarverie
- Lorraine Hansberry
- Ernestine Eckstein
If there’s someone you’d like to see added to the list, please let me know! I’m always looking for more inspiring women to draw and learn from.
Want to join in on the fun? Great!! I’d love to have company in the learning and creating. Not an artist? That’s quite alright. Feel free to take this project in whatever direction you want, even if it’s just learning more about the inspiring Black women on the list.
I’ll be posting the work and stories to Instagram, so make sure to follow me there @xomadewithlev.
Want to see the past posts? Here is the initial announcement and list of women featured. And here is the very first post featuring Bessie Coleman, the first African American and Native American woman to hold a pilot’s license.