Simone, Nina (Eunice Kathleen Waymon)

Franklin, Aretha Louise

1942-2018

Became known as the “Queen of Soul” and, in 1987, the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, winning 18 Grammy Awards and recording enduring anthems including “Respect,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” and “Think” that became touchstones of the civil rights and women's movements

Kitt, Eartha Mae

1927-2008

Singer and actress whose career was deliberately destroyed by the CIA and blacklisted in the U.S. after she publicly denounced the Vietnam War at a 1968 White House luncheon

Anderson, Marian

1897-1993

One of the finest contraltos of the twentieth century and a landmark civil-rights figure; the first Black singer to perform with the Metropolitan Opera, whose 1939 open-air concert at the Lincoln Memorial—after she was barred from Constitution Hall because of her race—became a defining moment of the era.

Scott-Heron, Gil

1949-2011

Poet, musician, and author widely called the 'Godfather of Rap'; his socially conscious spoken-word recordings—above all 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised'—fused poetry with jazz, blues, and soul and became a foundational influence on hip-hop.