African American Inventors
This inventor patented a three-position traffic signal in 1923 and is also credited with inventing an early version of the gas mask.
Who is Garrett Morgan
In 1992, she made history aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour as the first African American woman to travel into space.
Who is Mae Jemison
On April 15, 1947, he stepped onto Ebbets Field for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era.
Who is Jackie Robinson
This Black Power leader and human rights activist was a prominent minister in the Nation of Islam and popularized the phrase "By any means necessary".
Who is Malcolm X
Known as the "Queen of Soul," she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
Who is Aretha Franklin
After struggling with hair loss, she built a massive business empire by inventing and selling a line of specialized hair care products in the early 1900s
Who is Madam C.J. Walker?
Born into slavery, this abolitionist and women's rights activist is famous for her 1851 speech, "Ain't I a Woman?"
Who is Sojourner Truth
Overcoming childhood polio and scarlet fever, she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field at a single Olympics(Rome, 1960).
Who is Wilma Rudolph
Often called "the Conductor," she was a scout and spy for the Union Army after leading dozens of enslaved people to freedom.
Who is Harriet Tubman
This jazz legend and trumpeter was nicknamed "Satchmo" and is beloved for his gravelly-voiced rendition of "What a Wonderful World."
Who is Louis Armstrong
This New York chef is credited with "accidentally" inventing the potato chip in 1853 after a customer complained their fries were too thick.
Who is George Crum
This singer and civil rights activist were the first Black person to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in 1955.
Who is Marian Anderson
In 1920, he and Bobby Marshall became the first Black players in the league that would eventually become the NFL.
Who is Fritz Pollard
Along with Bobby Seale, he co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Oakland in 1966.
Who is Huey P. Newton
This blind singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has won 25 Grammy Awards, including for hits like "Superstition" and "Isn't She Lovely."
Who is Stevie Wonder
A pioneer at IBM, he co-created the first personal computer and later led the team that developed the first one-gigahertz processor chip.
Who is Mark Dean
This investigative journalist and co-founder of the NAACP led a courageous ant-lynching crusade in the United States during the 1890s.
Who is B. Wells-Barnett
She made history at the 2016 Rio Games as the first Black female swimmer to win an individual Olympic gold medal.
Who is Simone Manuel
This lawyer founded the Equal Justice Initiative and is known for his work in exonerating innocent death row prisoners.
Who is Bryan Stevenson
In 2018, she became the first African American woman to receive a commission for an official presidential portrait, painting Michelle Obama.
Who is Amy Sherald
This 18th-century polymath and surveyor created one of the first clocks in America and published a series of popular Farmers' Almanacs.
Who is Benjamin Banneker
In 1950, this poet became the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for her book Annie Allen.
Who is Gwendolyn Brooks
This Hall of Famer, known as "The Big O," was the first NBA player to average a triple-double for an entire season.
Who is Oscar Robertson
At age 11, she launched the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign to increase diversity in children's literature.
Who is Marley Dias
Known for his vibrant paintings of Black life, this Harlem Renaissance artist created the famous mural series Aspects of Negro Life.
Who is Aaron Douglas