Green Line

Click on each woman's name to learn more.

Harlem/Lake
Isabel Wasson (1897-1995) Petroleum geologist; first female ranger at Yellowstone National Park

Oak Park
Marion Mahony Griffin (1871-1961) One of the first licensed female architects in the world

Ridgeland
Grace Wilbur Trout (1864-1955) Suffragist; President of the Chicago Political Equality League

Austin
Malva Andre (1889-1959) Poet; advocate for the disabled

Central
Lois Weisberg (1925-2016) Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for the City of Chicago

Laramie
Mary Nelson (born ~1935) Founder of Bethel New Life faith-based community development corporation

Cicero
Roberta Karmel (born 1937) Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission

Pulaski
Marva Collins (1938-2015) American educator best known for founding Westside Preparatory School

Conservatory/Central Park
Eunita Rushing (born 1951) President, Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance

Kedzie
Edna Stewart (1938-2010) Owner of her name-sake restaurant famous for its political & civil rights clientele

California
Ella Flagg Young (1845-1918) First woman to head the school system of a major US city

Ashland
Fannie Hagen Emanuel (1871-1934) Physician and reformer; founder of the Emanuel Settlement House

Morgan
Oprah Winfrey (born 1954) Talk show host, actor, author, philanthropist, “Queen of Media”

Clinton
Mary Wallace (born ~1950) First female CTA bus driver

Roosevelt
Koko Taylor (1928-2009) “The Queen of the Blues” and Blues Hall of Fame inductee

Cermak/McCormick Place
Frances Glessner Lee (1878–1962) Mother of forensic science

35th St./Bronzeville IIT
Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) Investigative journalist, educator, and civil rights leader

Indiana
Mavis Staples (born 1939) Gospel and R&B singer; actor; civil rights activist

43rd St.
Hattie Kay Williams (1922-1990) Civil rights leader and advocate for education equality

47th St.
Melissia Ann Elam (1853-1941) Advocate for single Black women in Chicago; Elam Home founder

51st St.
Chaka Khan (born 1953) Singer, songwriter, “Queen of Funk”

Garfield
Leona Woods Marshall (1919-1986) Lone female member of the team which built the world's first nuclear reactor

King Drive
Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) Playwright and author; first Black woman to have a play performed on Broadway

63rd/Cottage Grove
Mamie Till-Mobley (1921-2003) Helped spur America’s civil rights movement after the lynching of her son

Halsted
Carol Moseley Braun (born 1947) First Black female elected to the US Senate; ambassador

63rd/Ashland
Anna Langford (1917-2008) First Black woman elected to the Chicago City Council