Arts & Culture
First Black Published Author in the United States
Phyllis Wheatley
Highest Paid Athlete in 2022
Lebron James
Creator of Black History Month
Carter G. Woodson
"It's Friday You Ain't Got No Job. You Ain't Got Sxxx To Do."
FRIDAY
Woman whose cancer cells are the source of the HeLa cell line, the first immortalized human cell line and one of the most important cell lines in medical research.
Henrietta Lacks
Author of "If Beale Street Could Talk", "Go Tell it to the Mountain", "Giovanni's Room" and others
James Baldwin
Frequently identified as one of the greatest athletes of 20th century because of prowess and social impact. Refused introduction into the military for religious reasons.
Muhammad Ali
Intervened during MLK speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and shouted “Tell them about the dream, Martin.” Prompting MLK to leave prepared notes behind to improvise the entire next section of his speech—the historic section that famously begins “And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream….”
Mahalia Jackson
"I'm going up this mountain to save my marriage!"
Who was kicked out of the group in DREAM GIRLS?
Effie/ Jennifer Hudson
Graduate of Morehouse College. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut with She's Gotta Have It (1986). He has since written and directed such films as School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Malcolm X (1992), Crooklyn (1994), Clockers (1995), 25th Hour (2002), Inside Man (2006), Chi-Raq (2015), BlacKkKlansman (2018) and Da 5 Bloods (2020).
Spike Lee
First African American male to win a major tennis tournament. Known for activism related to HIV/AIDS
Arthur Ashe
Co-Founders of Black Panther Party
Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, Elbert Howard
"The call me NU NU, cause I always wear the New New"
ATL
Quincy's father from Love & Basketball played for which NBA team?
LA Clippers
A gay man, his work fused theater, modern dance, ballet, and jazz with Black vernacular, creating hope-fueled choreography that continues to spread global awareness of Black life in America. His work, "Revelations" is one of the most well recognized ballet performances in the world.
Alvin Ailey
Made history in 2016 when she became the first Black American woman to win an individual gold medal in Olympic swimming. She ended up taking home four medals in total.
Simone Manuel
Developed the winning legal for the historic 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education
Pauli Murray
"Until you do right by me, everything you think about is going to crumble."
The Color Purple
Country with the largest population of Black people outside of Africa?
Brazil
Exiled from the United States due to the political themes she explored in her art. Her legacy is one of cultural belonging and activism that provokes conversations about the role of art among continental American neighbors: the U.S. and Mexico.
Elizabeth Catlett
Won three gold medals as a sprinter at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Her achievement is even more remarkable given the obstacles that she had to overcome: infantile paralysis, segregated medical treatment, and teenaged pregnancy.
Wilma Rudolph
Founding member of Gay Liberation Front and prominent figure in Stone Wall Riot in 1969
Marsha "Pay it No Mind" Johnson
"Ain’t nobody coming to see you, Otis!"
The Temptations
First Black woman elected to Congress where she served for seven terms beginning in 1969; ran for POTUS.