View west toward the intersection Metropolitan Avenue and Lorimer Street, prior to construction of the BMT Canarsie Line, June 16, 1916. The building at right with the large tobacco advertisement is No. 593 Metropolitan Avenue.

Women in Brooklyn have been leaders of social change on every conceivable political front, from the fight for racial justice and the right to vote, to equality around labor and reproductive rights. Women have also been at the forefront of protest efforts against the Vietnam War and for environmental justice. In this story, the Center for Brooklyn History highlights Brooklyn women with powerful activist legacies, from ordinary women joining the workforce during World War II to the formation of a barmaids union to icons like Lena Horne.