Women in the Arts

Toshiko Akiyoshi and her family were forced out of Manchuria after World War II. Akiyoshi and her family struggled with postwar life, so she began playing piano in order to find a job. In 1951, Akiyoshi started playing piano professionally and began leading her own jazz band. In 1952, Akiyoshi received her first professional music opportunity through Verve label by pianist Oscar Peterson. In 1965, Akiyoshi immigrated to the United States where she attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston. She was the first Japanese student at the school. Akiyoshi moved to New York City in 1959 where she gained a reputation for her jazz playing, however she was still discriminated against for her gender and ethnicity. In 1973, Akiyoshi formed the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra that experienced a wide success. They won the DownBeat Critic's Poll and best jazz album of the year (Long Yellow Road by Stereo Review) in 1976.  Today, Akiyoshi continues to make music.

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Toni Morrison grew up in Lorain, Ohio in 1931. She attended Howard University, a historically Black university (HBCU). At Howard, Morrison learned how the racial hierarchy functioned on the basis of skin color. After graduating from Howard, Morrison got her master's degree from Cornell University in English. She began working in publishing in New York where she was inspired to write her own book. At 39 years old, Morrison published her first novel The Bluest Eye. She then published Sula that was nominated for the National Book Award. One of her most popular pieces, Song of Solomon, won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her novel Beloved was best-selling for 25 weeks straight and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In 1993, Morrison made history in becoming the first Black woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Morrison opened the door for Black authors and wasn't afraid to express Black issues and identities in literature. Morrison passed away in 2019 due to complications from pneumonia.

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Surrounded by a songwriter mother and a grandmother and aunt who were artists, Joy Harjo naturally followed their creative footsteps. After Harjo graduated from high school, she attended the University of New Mexico where she started as a Pre-Med student. After working with iconic Native American poets (Simon J. Ortiz and Lesile Marmon Silko), Harjo switched her major to creative writing. In 1980, she published her first poetry novel What Moon Drove Me to This? Her most popular poetry novel She Had Some Horses was published in 1982. Harjo has won the Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the Poetry Foundation, The Poets & Writers Jackson Poetry Prize, Native American Music Award (NAMMY) for Best Female Artist of the Year (2009), and many more. Harjo has been inducted into both the National Women's Hall of Fame and National Native American Hall of Fame. She also served as the first Native American Poet Laureate of the United States. Today, Harjo continues to create art, poetry and music, at the Bob Dylan Center.

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Janet Mock attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa where she graduated with a degree in Fashion Merchandising. Mock moved to New York where she attended New York University for journalism. She soon began working for People Magazine's website where she advocated for trans youth. In 2014, she published her first book titled Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More and it became a New York Times Bestseller. In 2017, Mock became the first transgender woman of color to write and direct a television episode, this episode being from the TV series Pose. Soon after, Mock signed a deal with Netflix to create content for their website. This made Mock the first openly transgender women of color to sign with Netflix. Today, Mock is an executive producer for the Netflix series Hollywood.

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