Abolitionists/Activists
Civil rights leader whose refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Who is:
Rosa Parks
He holds more than 80 U.S. patents, but it's his invention of the Super Soaker toy that is perhaps his most endearing claim to fame.
Who is:
Lonnie Johnson
In 1950, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace, for his work in resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict in Palestine. Born in Detroit, MI, the site of his birth was listed as a Michigan Historical Site in 1972.
Who is:
Ralph Bunche
The first African American elected mayor of a large U.S. city. (1967)
Who is:
Carl Stokes- Cleveland, Ohio
First African American to win the United States Amateur Championship in 1994.
Who is:
Tiger Woods
She formed a coalition of leaders from black organizations called the Federal Council of Negro Affairs, but which came to be known as the Black Cabinet. It served as an advisory board to the Roosevelt administration on issues facing black people in America. This was the first collective of black people working in higher positions in government.
Who is:
Mary McLeod Bethune
Some of his inventions included hair straightening cream, a hair coloring, and a hair straightening comb and traffic control device having a third "warning" position and a safety hood which was used to save many lives during the period of its use.
Who is:
Garrett Morgan
First African American to earn a doctorate degree (PH.D) from Harvard University.
Who is:
W.E.B. Dubois
A lawyer and educator who was a congresswoman from 1972 to 1978—the first African-American congresswoman to come from the deep South and the first woman ever elected to the Texas Senate (1966).
Who is:
Barbara Jordan
First African American NFL starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl in 1988
Who is:
Doug Williams
When he was around age 12, he began learning the alphabet. He continued to secret himself how to read and write. He later often said "knowledge is the pathway from slavery to freedom". He also started the newspaper called "The North Star".
Who is:
Frederick Douglass
A week after his birth, he was kidnapped along with his sister and mother from a farm by raiders from the neighboring state of Arkansas. His inventions include hundreds of products, including more than 300 from peanuts (milk, plastics, paints, dyes, cosmetics, medicinal oils, soap, ink, wood stains), 118 from sweet potatoes (molasses, postage stamp glue, flour, vinegar and synthetic rubber) and even a type of gasoline
Who is:
George Washington Carver
Became the first leader of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (later Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University). His students literally built their own school. Both men and women had to learn trades as well as academics.
Who is:
Booker T. Washington
First African American Woman elected to a U.S. state senate.
Who is:
Cora Brown (Michigan) 1952.
First black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open.
Who is:
Arthur Ashe
Born Isabella Baumfree, gave herself a new name in 1843 after she became convinced that God has called her to leave the city to go to the countryside "testifying the hope that was in her". Her best known speech became widely known by the title "Ain't I A Woman".
Who is:
Sojourner Truth
In 1883, he patented a shoe lasting machine that increased the availability of shoes and decreased the price of footwear. The lasting machine tremendously increased shoe production which resulted in employment of more unskilled workers and increased amounts of low-cost, high-quality footwear for people around the world.
Who is:
Jan Matzeliger
First African-American elected president of the Harvard Law Review in 1990
Who is:
Barack Obama
The first African-American Secretary of State (2001)
Who is:
Colin Powell
First African-American to win an MVP award in Major League Baseball (1949) and the First black player inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
Who is:
Jackie Robinson
He worked to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi, end the segregation of public facilities and expand opportunities for African Americans, which included the enforcement of voting rights.
Who is:
Medgar Evers
Research on how humans hear led to his invention of the foil electret microphone in 1960. Such devices were more sensitive, yet used less power and were smaller than other microphones at the time, and they revolutionized the field of acoustics. Today, foil electret- style mics are used in everything from telephones to computers.
Who is:
James Edward Maceo West
She was one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree, and became known as a national activist for civil rights and suffrage.
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Mary Terrell
The first African American to campaign for the United States presidency in a major political party and to win a U.S. presidential primary/caucus. (1972)
Who is:
Shirley Chisholm
First African American to play in the NHL. He played for the Buffalo Sabres in 1981.
Who is:
Val James