Famous Women
She was the first Black woman elected Vice President of the United States.
Shirley Chisholm Or Kamala Harris
In 1957, these nine Black students integrated Central High School under federal protection in Arkansas.
The Little Rock Nine Or The Greensboro Four
In 1996, she became the first Black woman to win Olympic gold in gymnastics.
Dominique Dawes Or Simone Biles
He invented the gas mask and a safer traffic signal in the early 1900s.
Garrett Morgan Or Adrian "Red" Autry
This civil rights leader is often called the “Father of the Civil Rights Movement.”
Martin Luther King Jr. Or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
This poet wrote “Still I Rise” and read a poem at President Bill Clinton’s 1993 inauguration.
Gwendolyn Brooks Or Maya Angelou
In 1954, this Supreme Court case ruled that school segregation was unconstitutional.
Brown v. Board of Education Or Plessy v. Ferguson
In 1974, this boxer defeated George Foreman in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle.”
Joe Frazier Or Muhammad Ali
He improved the carbon filament that made electric light bulbs last longer.
Malcolm Edison Or Lewis Latimer
This abolitionist escaped slavery and became a conductor on the Underground Railroad.
Frederick Douglass Or Harriet Tubman
She was the first Black woman to serve as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ketanji Brown Jackson or Mahalia Jackson
In 2001, Colin Powell became the first Black American to serve in this top U.S. cabinet position.
Secretary of Defense Or Secretary of State
In 1988, she became the first American woman to win four gold medals in a single Olympics.
Florence Griffith Joyner Or Jackie Joyner-Kersee
His name became a phrase meaning “the real thing” because of his important railroad inventions.
Elijah McCoy Or Thomas L. Jennings
He founded the Tuskegee Institute and was a leading Black educator in the late 1800s.
Booker T. Washington Or W.E.B. Du Bois
As a journalist, she exposed racial violence and became a leading voice for abolition and women’s rights.
Ida B. Wells or Sojourner Truth
In 1995, this event brought hundreds of thousands of Black men to Washington, D.C., for a day of unity and empowerment.
The Million Man March Or The Poor People’s Campaign
In 1986, he became the first Black driver to compete in a NASCAR Cup Series race.
Wendell Scott Or Willy T. Ribbs
This female entrepreneur invented a line of hair-care products and became one of America’s first self-made millionaires.
Annie Malone Or Madam C.J. Walker
This congressman and civil rights leader was known as the “conscience of the Congress.”
Thurgood Marshall Or John Lewis
In 2022, she became the first Black woman invited by Vogue to photograph inside the MET Gala.
Ruby Washington or Florence “Flo” Ngala
In 1965, this march from Selma to Montgomery helped lead to the Voting Rights Act.
Bloody Sunday Or Freedom Summer
Currently playing for the Phoenix Suns, this NBA player was once in the Lower Division at Horace Mann.
Anthony Davis Or Cole Anthony
He held more than 50 patents and was known as the “Black Edison” for his electrical inventions.
Granville T. Woods Or Alexander Miles
In 1976, during the U.S. Bicentennial, this president officially recognized Black History Month as a national observance.
Jimmy Carter Or Gerald Ford