Sometimes I write about games, and sometimes I write about the quiet things that shape who we are. Today I want to share something that sits on my desk more often than any deck of cards meant for play. Women Who Dare Knowledge Cards, Volume I. These cards remind me that rights we take for granted were once radical ideas. They remind me that progress is not automatic. It is built, life by life, by women who dared to push beyond what was considered acceptable.

This collection holds forty eight remarkable women, each honored with a striking black and white portrait on one side and a concise profile on the other. The cards are simple and elegant, slightly larger than the size of a pack of playing cards, yet they carry entire lifetimes of courage, resistance, brilliance, and resolve. I often shuffle through them the way others might flip through a photo album. In this month of reflection, I find myself pausing longer on each face, remembering how different life would have been just a century ago, and how much we owe to the women who refused to accept the limits placed on them. I wanted to give information about these important historical women. Here are a few cards I want to share.

Edith Spurlock Sampson was a pioneering attorney and judge who broke racial and gender barriers, becoming the first African American woman to represent the United States at the United Nations. Bessie Coleman, determined to fly when no American flight school would admit her, learned French, traveled to France, and became the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license.

Harriet Tubman risked her life again and again to lead enslaved people to freedom through the Underground Railroad, later serving as a nurse and scout during the Civil War. Ida Wells Barnett was a fearless investigative journalist who documented and condemned the horrors of lynching, refusing to be silenced in the face of threats and violence.

Jane Goodall transformed our understanding of chimpanzees and redefined how we view the relationship between humans and animals through patient, compassionate observation. Susan B Anthony devoted her life to the fight for women’s suffrage, laying crucial groundwork for the eventual passage of the Nineteenth Amendment.

Margaret Sanger advocated for birth control and reproductive rights, sparking difficult national conversations that reshaped women’s health. The deck also honors powerful voices in literature and social thought. Eleanor Roosevelt redefined the role of First Lady and became a global advocate for human rights, helping shape the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Helen Keller overcame the loss of her sight and hearing to become a powerful author and advocate for people with disabilities, proving that communication and education can transform a life. Grace Hopper, in the photo below, was a pioneering computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral who helped develop early programming languages and made computers more accessible through her work on COBOL.

When I flip through this deck, I see foundations. I see the shaping of our present. And I feel a quiet gratitude for the women who came before us and widened the path so that we could walk it a little more freely. Please consider using the affiliate link if purchasing a newer edition of these cards: https://amzn.to/4bQu9NT