Famous Writers
Born in Joplin, Missouri, this poet, novelist, playwright and columnist is perhaps best known for being one of the earliest innovators of a then-new literary art form called “Jazz Poetry”.
He was also the leader of the Harlem Renaissance in New York City.
Langston Hughes
He was the first black Major League Baseball player.
Jackie Robinson
This basketball player holds the record for most rebounds in a game (55), but is probably better known for setting the points record for earning 100 points in single game.
Wilt Chamberlain
In 2015, this Grammy Award winning artist become the first independent artist to perform on Saturday Night Live.
Chance the Rapper or Chancelor Johnathan Bennett
This “gifted” former Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University is known for performing the only successful separation of conjoined twins joined at the back of the head.
Dr. Ben Carson
This American poet and Activist released an album called Miss Calypso in 1957.
Maya Angelou
In 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win both the U.S. Nationals and this other popular tennis competition.
She won both tournaments again the following year.
Wimbledon
This powerful vocalist holds the record for Most Consecutive Grammys won for the same category.
She won the award for “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance” every year from 1968 to 1975.
Aretha Franklin
Shirley Ann Jackson was the second African-American woman in the U.S. to earn a doctorate in physics.
However, she was the FIRST African-American woman to earn it from this prestigious school; home of the mascot “Tim the Beaver”.
MIT
African American Roy Clay, was a director of research and development at this company during the construction of their first ever computer in the 1960’s.
This company is commonly referred to by a two letter name.
HP or Hewlett-Packard
This Tennessee born, Grammy nominated poet’s early poems were inspired by the Civil Rights and Black Power movements.
Her collection “Black Feeling, Black Talk” sold over ten thousand copies in 1967. She is mentioned in the song “Hey Mama” by Kanye West.
Nikki Giovanni
In the 1996 Olympics, this athlete become the first to win both the 200 and 400 meter races.
Michael Johnson
This “lightning fast” Olympian holds the world record for both the 100 and 200 meter dash.
He also formerly held the record for the 4 x 100 meter relay until one of his teammates was found have violated anti-doping rules.
Usain Bolt
Former President Barack Obama is well known for being the first black president of the United States.
He is also the FIRST president to be born outside of the 48 contiguous states.
His birthplace being this topical state.
Hawaii
James West, a 2010 Benjamin Franklin Medal winner, was the inventor of the first practical electret microphone.
This type of microphone is commonly used in this device, and is owned by more than 80% of adults in the U.S.
Cell Phones
This writer and orator escaped slavery in Maryland and became the national leader for the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York.
Frederick Douglass
This athlete was the youngest player in NBA history to become an Allstar at age 19 and is also fluent in Italian.
Kobe Bryant
With 2 Emmys, 6 Grammys, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards, the Guinness Book of World Records crowned this artist “Most-Awarded Female Recording Artist of All Time”.
Whitney Houston
Portrayed in a 2017 film by actor Chadwick Boseman, this African American was the first black U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
Thurgood Marshall
Commonly referred to as “the black Thomas Edison’, inventor Granville T. Woods’ most significant invention, patented in 1887, significantly reduced accidents caused by this mode of transportation.
Train or Rail
This American novelist won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for “Beloved”.
A novel that was adapted for a film of the same name, starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover.
Toni Morrison
In 2002, Vonetta Flowers, became the first black athlete to win a gold medal at a winter olympics.
She won it in this team Olympic event.
Bobsledding
Aevin Dugas, a social worker from New Orleans, was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records for having the largest of this hairstyle.
A hairstyle that was largely popular around the 1970s.
Natural Afro or Afro
This American Entrepreneur and Philanthropist was labeled “the world’s most successful female entrepreneur of her time.”
She is recognized as the FIRST female self-made millionaire in America.
Madam C.J. Walker or Sarah Breedlove
Aerospace engineer, Lonnie Johnson, created a heat pump that uses water to cool down, instead of freon.
This device led to the creation this hugely successful children’s toy.
Super Soaker