This soulful gospel singer was known for her powerful voice. An active supporter of civil rights, she sang at the funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mahalia Jackson
100
Baptist minister and social activist who led the civil rights movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
100
Considered by many to be one of the greatest American professional athletes of all time. This person played for the NFL Cleveland Browns for eight years.
Jim Brown
100
The founder of Black Entertainment Television and the first African American majority owner of a major professional sports team in the US.
Robert L. Johnson
100
Former Illinois Senator the 44th and current president of the United States. Inaugurated on January 27, 2009, he is the first African-American to serve as U.S. president.
Barack Obama
200
This album recorded in 1982 is the best-selling album of all time
Michael Jackson-Thriller
200
This person helped establish the Black Panther Party, becoming a leading figure in the black power movement of the 1960s. Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y also made a song named after this person.
Huey P. Newton
200
This former professional basketball player led the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA championships and is widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time.
Michael Jordan
200
This Billionaire has hosted her own internationally popular talk show since 1986. She is also an actress, philanthropist, publisher, and producer.
Oprah Winfrey
200
This person was an agricultural chemist whose development of products derived from peanuts revolutionized the South's agricultural economy
George Washington Carver
300
This person was the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Dorothy Dandridge
300
Civil rights activist that refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger, spurring the Montgomery boycott and other efforts to end segregation.
Rosa Parks
300
One of the most famous athletes of all time Boxer, philanthropist, and social activist. Heavy weight champion, Golden Gloves champion and a gold medal Olympic boxer during the 1960s.
Muhammad Ali
300
This person was one of the first female African-American entrepreneurs. Her business was worth more than one million dollars at the time of her death.
Madam C. J. Walker
300
An African-American surgeon who pioneered methods of storing blood plasma for transfusion.
Charles R. Drew
400
This dance theater founded in 1958 was a hugely popular,multi-racial modern dance ensemble that popularized modern dance around the world
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
400
A civil rights activists who helped African Americans register to vote and who cofounded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
Fannie Lou Hamer
400
American track-and-field who set a long jump world record that stood for 25 years. He won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.
Jesse Owens
400
Co-founder of Def Jam Records. Was the force behind the hip-hop revolution, promoting stars like the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, and LL Cool J.
Russel Simmons
400
This person was a largely self-educated mathematician, astronomer, compiler of almanacs, inventor, and writer.
Benjamin Banneker
500
Commonly known as the King of Soul, this gospel, R&B, soul, pop singer and songwriter had 29 top-40 hits from 1957-1964.
Sam Cooke
500
This person was an educator and activist, founding the National Association of Colored Women and the National Council of Negro Women. She also has a college named after her.
Mary McLeod Bethune
500
One of the greatest female athletes in history. The heptathlon world record-holder and American record-holder in the long jump.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
500
The film "The Pursuit of Happyness" (2006) is a depiction of this famous black businessman’s triumphant rise to success from poverty and homelessness.
Chris Gardner
500
This engineer and Inventor created the super soaker.