Inventors
I created a peanut farm’s delight,
From crops to oils, my work took flight.
A scientist with nature’s plan,
Who am I, a brilliant man?
George Washington Carver
(George Washington Carver was a prominent scientist, inventor, educator, and botanist who revolutionized agriculture in the Southern United States. Carver's research on peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans helped poor farmers improve their diets and diversify their crops.)
I penned words of strength and voice,
My poems lift hearts, inspire choice.
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” I write,
Who am I shining bright?
Maya Angelou
( An American memoirist, essayist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years.)
I was the first Black president in history,
Leading a nation with hope and mystery.
Who am I making history true?
Barack Obama
“I Have a Dream” echoed in the land,
Uniting all with a hopeful hand.
Who am I inspiring change?
Martin Luther King Jr
("I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist and Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In the speech, King called for civil and economic rights and an end to legalized racism in the United States. )
I mark the path of freedom’s fight,
Where brave souls journeyed day and night.
What am I preserving history?
Freedom Trail
(Boston's 2.5-mile Freedom Trail features key Black history sites, often complemented by the1.4-mile Black Heritage Trail, highlighting 17th-19th century African American contributions to abolition, education, and the Revolutionary War.)
I helped astronauts to space navigate,
With math and skill, I calculated fate.
My work was vital, precise, and true,
Who am I helping NASA too?
Katherine Johnson
(A mathematician and aerospace technologist who made critical contributions to NASA's early spaceflights. As a "human computer", she performed complex calculations for aircraft flight tests and orbital mechanics. Her work was essential to the success of John Glenn's 1962 orbital flight and the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing.)
I wrote of dreams and Harlem nights,
With jazz and words, I reached new heights.
Who am I painting visions bold?
Langston Hughes
(Langston Hughes was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, the flowering of black intellectual, literary, and artistic life that took place in the 1920s. A major poet, Hughes also wrote novels, short stories, essays, and plays.)
I turned hair care into wealth and pride,
A beauty empire far and wide.
I showed the world what could be done,
Who am I, second to none?
Madam C.J. Walker
( Is widely recognized as the first female self-made millionaire in America, building an empire with her hair care line, the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company between 1867–1919. )
I gave words of hope to the nation,
Encouraging change through education.
Who am I standing tall?
Booker T. Washington
(Booker T. Washington’s most famous speech is the “Atlanta Compromise,” delivered on September 18, 1895, at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta.)
I stand tall where a dream was shared,
A mountain of stone for a soul who cared.
Cut from the rock of hope, they say,
I face the water where thousands once prayed.
What am I?
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
( Located in downtown Washington, DC, the memorial honors Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy and the struggle for freedom, equality, and justice. )
I made a mask to save lives in a flash,
And traffic signals to avoid a crash.
I invented to help, not for fame,
Who am I, can you name?
Garrett Morgan
(He invented the first gas mask and the traffic signal. He received a patent for the first gas mask invention in 1914. )
I am a creator of "faction"—part truth, part tale,
I found the story of a slave within a hidden tale.
Though I am a writer, I am known for finding "Roots,"
And I documented the life of a leader named Malcolm.
What did I write?
Alex Haley
(Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book Roots)
I was the first Black woman to travel the skies,
A pilot whose courage defies.
Who am I reaching high?
Bessie Coleman
(She was the first African-American woman to obtain an international pilot’s license in 1920s, she faced many obstacles because of her race and gender. She would say that “the air is the only place free from prejudice.” )
I left my home in Alabama to fight with peaceful might,
I was the youngest speaker to champion civil rights.
A Freedom Rider, a congressman, a man of nonviolent grace,
I told you to get in trouble to change this nation's face.
I said to "speak up, speak out" and walk with the wind,
Who am I?
John Lewis
(John Lewis’s 1963 March on Washington speech, delivered as chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), was a fiery call for immediate civil rights action, criticizing the federal government for failing to protect Black citizens from police brutality. He argued that the proposed civil rights bill was too weak and urged a "revolution" of nonviolent, mass mobilization to "burn Jim Crow to the ground".)
I am not just one building, but many a trail, Helping the weary and bound to prevail. I have no tracks and I have no steam, But I carried the passengers of a freedom dream. What am I?
The Underground Railroad
(Often honored at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. It was a secret, decentralized network of safe houses, routes, and abolitionists—both Black and white—that helped an estimated 40,000 to 100,000 enslaved people escape from Southern states to the North and Canada between the late 1700s and the Civil War. )
I made blood safe for all to receive,
My research helped lives to achieve.
A medical pioneer, respected and grand,
Who am I lending a hand?
Charles Drew
(Revolutionized medicine by developing techniques for efficient, large-scale processing and long-term storage of blood plasma. Known as the "Father of the Blood Bank,")
I was born in Georgia, the youngest of eight,
A BB gun accident sealed my early fate.
I wrote of Celie, her life, and her pain,
Deep tones of "Purple", top honors I gained.
Who am I?
Alice Walker
(Known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple.)
I orbited the Earth 127 times,
In a vessel named after a great endeavor.
I proved that barriers can be broken,
With intelligence and ambition, now and forever.
Who am I?
Mae Jemison
( First African American Woman in Space - On Sept. 12, 1992, aboard the space shuttle Endeavor, Mae Jemison and six other astronauts completed 126 orbits around the Earth. )
I was the first to wear a Harvard Ph.D. among my race,
Analyzing the "Philadelphia Negro" in that place.
I wrote of "Souls" and the color line,
The problem of the 20th century was mine to define.
Who am I?
W.E.B. Du Bois
(W.E.B. Du Bois’s most famous, foundational address is the 1905 Niagara Movement Speech, which demanded full civil, political, and social rights for African Americans, declaring, "We will not be satisfied to take one jot or tittle less than our full manhood rights". Other critical speeches include "Behold the Land" (1946) and his critique of the "color line". )
I am a church where a Sunday began in prayer,
Four young girls were lost to a hateful crime,
Spurring a movement that changed our time.
What am I?
16th Street Baptist Church
( The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, established in 1873 as the city's first Black Baptist church, served as a crucial hub for the Civil Rights Movement. )