Escaped slavery at the age of 20 and went on to become an internationally recognized abolitionist, writer, and famed public speaker. He even became a trusted advisor to Abraham Lincoln.
Fredrick Douglas
100
Along with her husband, this woman invented the Home Security System in 1966.
Marie Van Brittan Brown
200
First African American to play in the major leagues of baseball
Jackie Robinson
200
Lawyer and civil rights activist. This man served as Malcolm X's personal lawyer until Malcolm's assassination in 1965.
Percy Sutton
200
This man was an agricultural chemist, agronomist, and experimenter whose development of new products derived from peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans helped to revolutionize agriculture of the South.
George Washington Carver
200
This man's most famous invention was a control unit for the artificial heart pacemaker.
Otis Boykin
300
This Olympic athlete turned actor's indoor long jump record from 1984 still stands today.
Frederick Carlton "Carl" Lewis or Carl Lewis
300
First African American Secretary of Commerce who served under President Bill Clinton.
Ron Brown
300
Leader of the 1831 slave rebellion in Southhampton County, VA.
Nat Turner
300
This surgeon developed the procedures used to treat blue baby syndrome in the 1940s. He was also the first African American without a doctorate degree to perform open heart surgery on a white patient in the United States.
Vivien Thoedore Thomas
400
This man became the first heavyweight champion of Negro boxing.
Jack Johnson
400
Great leader of African American and women's right movements. President of the National Council of Negro Women from 1957 to 1997 working on issues like voting rights, poverty, and AIDS.
Dorothy Height
400
Became the second African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University.
Carter G. Woodson
400
First African American woman to earn a doctorate from MIT.
Shirley Jackson
500
First American woman to win three gold medals in track and field, was inducted into the Olympic hall of fame in the 1980s.
Wilma Rudolph
500
This man led the NAACP for 15 years and was the first African American to be appointed to the criminal court bench in his home state of TN.
Benjamin Hooks
500
This woman helped pressure the American Red Cross to integrate. She also founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935.
Mary McLeod Bethune
500
Physician, surgeon, and medical researcher who worked in the field of blood transfusions. His knowledge helped develop large scale blood banks early in World War II.