African American Inventors
A chef and restaurateur, is said to have unintentionally created the potato chip during the summer of 1853.
George Crum
CEO of Lowes.
Marvin Ellison
An African American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist.
Oprah Winfrey
Was an American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son in 1828, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man.
Sojourner Truth
Barbadian singer, actress, fashion designer, and businesswoman who has been declared as a National Hero of Barbados.
Robyn "RIHANNA" Fenty
She created an early version of the modern home security system more than a century later.
Marie Van Brittan Brown
Was an American entrepreneur, publisher, businessman, philanthropist, advocate of African-American businesses and the founder of Black Enterprise Magazine
Earl Graves Sr.
In 1903, Walker became both the first African American woman to charter a bank and the first African American woman to serve as a bank president.
Maggie Walker
An American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesman and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Black inventor who created the first ever cell phone in 1971.
Henry T. Sampson
She developed and manufactured her own line of non-damaging hair straighteners, special oils, and hair-stimulant products for African-American women.
Annie Turnbo Malone
Became the CEO of global retail pharmacy Walgreens Boots Alliance in March 2021 after a long-term career in consumer goods and retail companies.
Rosalind "Roz" Brewer
An American businesswoman, co-founder of BET, CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts, and the first African-American woman to attain a net worth of at least one billion dollars. She is the ONLY African American woman to have a principal shareholder stake in three professional sports teams.
Sheila Johnson
An American abolitionist and political activist. Born into slavery, escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people utilizing safe houses referred to as the "Underground Railroad."
Harriet Tubman
19-Year old that walked away with a $400K Investment Deal on Shark Tank.
Tania Speaks
The first female African American medical doctor to receive a medical patent when she invented a laser cataract treatment device called a Laserphaco Probe in 1986.
Dr. Patricia Bath
Former CEO of Potbelly Sandwiches Works.
Aylwin Lewis
An African American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. She is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Madam C.J. Walker
An American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott.
Rosa Parks
One of the First African American WNBA Players to have a Barbie Doll collaboration.
Te'a Cooper
Is a co-inventor of IBM's original personal computer and the PC color monitor, literally changing how we all interact with the internet.
Mark Dean
CEO of TIAA
Roger Ferguson
An American diplomat, political scientist, civil servant, and currently a professor at Stanford University. She served as the 66th United States secretary of state from 2005 to 2009 and as the 20th national security advisor from 2001 to 2005.
Condoleezza Rice
Was an American poet, memoirist, 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. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees.
Maya Angelou
25-Year old Black Lawyer who runs her own law firm.
Sinenhlanhla Passcara Mthembu