Inventors
Who is a free African-American almanac author, surveyor, landowner and farmer who had knowledge of mathematics and natural history.
Benjamin Banneker
African American teenager was murdered while visiting the South in the 1950s. His death helped to bring about the civil rights movement in the U.S.
Emmett Till
One of the greatest American heavyweight boxing champions, he was known as much for his flamboyant self-promotion and controversial political stances as for his boxing ability. His motto was “I am the greatest!” He became the first boxer to win the heavyweight title three times.
Malcolm X
A radical African American educator and activist for civil rights and other social issues.
Angela Davis
American abolitionist escaped from slavery in the South. She then helped other enslaved African Americans to flee to free states in the North and to Canada along the Underground Railroad—an elaborate secret network of safe houses organized for that purpose.
Harriet Tubman
She was the first African American woman to become a millionaire. In the early 1900s she was the president of her own company, which made beauty products.
Madam C.J. Walker
This person spent almost 30 years in prison for fighting against apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid was a government policy that separated people of different races. After being freed from prison, person became South Africa’s first black president.
Nelson Mandela
After entering the National Basketball Association (NBA) directly from high school in 2003, he quickly established himself as one of the league’s superstars. An extraordinarily versatile small forward who was capable of playing multiple positions, he was selected as the NBA’s most valuable player (MVP) in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013. He was only the 10th player in NBA history to have earned that honor in consecutive seasons. He led three teams to NBA championships: the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
LeBron James
Trained as a physician and engineer, she was the first African American woman to become an astronaut. In 1992 she spent eight days orbiting Earth as a science mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Endeavour.
Mae Jemison
American abolitionist spoke against slavery in the 19th century. The other causes she advocated included civil rights, and women’s rights. A devout Christian, she was known for injecting religious fervor into her speeches.
Sojourner Truth
This person was an African American surgeon who is credited with performing the world’s first successful heart surgery. He also founded Provident Hospital, in Chicago, Illinois, the country’s first hospital owned and run by African Americans.
Daniel Hale Williams
A Black militant championed the rights of African Americans and urged them to develop racial unity. He was known for his association first with the Nation of Islam, sometimes known as the Black Muslims, and later with the Organization of Afro-American Unity, which he founded after breaking with the Nation of Islam.
Malcolm X
United States track athlete and winner of four Olympic gold medals, she was often called “the fastest woman alive” for setting world records in the 100- and 200-meter sprints at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. She was a trendsetter, a designer of sports clothes, a businesswoman, an actress, and the first woman chosen to head the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Florence Joyner aka Flo-Jo
The first Black woman ever elected to the United States Congress, this person served her native district of Brooklyn, New York, in the House of Representatives from 1969 until 1982. This person ran in 1972 for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States.
Shirley Chisolm
This person was a U.S. novelist, playwright, poet, and essayist. His work focused on the inequality between different groups of people in the United States. He is best known for writing about the struggles of African Americans.
James Baldwin
American agricultural chemist helped to modernize the agricultural economy of the South. He developed new products derived from peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans and promoted planting them as a way of liberating the South from its dependency on cotton.
George Washington Carver
American political activist who cofounded, with Bobby Seale, of the Black Panther Party. Newton urged African Americans to know and to protect their rights by whatever means necessary.
Huey P. Newton
Both literally and figuratively, American professional basketball player soared higher than any National Basketball Association (NBA) guard before him. He was the NBA’s top scorer for a record-breaking 10 seasons. Also outstanding at defense, Jordan was one of the greatest all-around players in the history of the game. He led the Chicago Bulls to six championships in the 1990s. He was considered the most recognizable athlete in the world at the time, and his long list of product endorsements reflected his popularity
Michael Jordan
Kidnapped from her West African home in 1761 and sold into slavery, who grew up to become the first popular African American woman poet. She was also the first African American and the first slave to publish a book of poems.
Phillis (Phyllis) Wheatley
An American musician, composer, arranger, and producer was best known for his work in numerous types of popular music. He was nominated for more than 75 Grammy Awards (winning more than 25) and seven Academy Awards and received an Emmy Award for the theme music he wrote for the television miniseries Roots (1977).
Quincy Jones
The son of freed slaves, he became a notable inventor and prosperous businessman. Among his inventions was a safety hood that was a forerunner of the modern gas mask. He also patented an early traffic signal.
Garrett Morgan
American civil rights leader and politician was known for his chairmanship of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He led the 1965 march in Selma, Alabama, that was halted by police violence. The event became known in the history of the civil rights movement as “Bloody Sunday.” He later served multiple terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
John Lewis
American tennis player she was a dominant force in her sport in the early 21st century. Possessing a strong forehand, a fast, aggressive serve, and superb athleticism, she revolutionized the women’s professional game with her powerful style of play.
Serena Williams
This teenager was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person. Her brave action came nine months before Rosa Parks also refused to give up her seat. It was Parks’s action that sparked the U.S. civil rights movement.
Claudette Colvin
In only four years he made an improbable rise from the state legislature of Illinois to the highest office of the United States, the first African American to win the presidency.
Barack Obama