First African American woman to be elected to the House of Representatives.

Lawyer for the NAACP in Brown v Board, he went on to become the first African American Supreme Court Justice.

First African American to earn his PhD at Harvard University; Author of, "The Souls of Black Folk," he believed that African Americans should take action to end discrimination, segregation, and inequality.

He founded Tuskegee Institute to educate African Americans. His "Atlanta Compromise" speech suggested African Americans should concentrate on education - and proving their worth to society - rather than actively battling discrimination and inequality.

He was the first African American to be elected to the Senate, representing the state of Mississippi.

Her civil disobedience (She refused to follow the law and give up her seat to a white man.) helped start the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and she became a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th Century.

Founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and a life-long civil rights leader.

This organization was founded by civil rights activists at the turn of the 20th Century. It has worked towards equality on behalf of African American citizens ever since. One of its biggest victories was the Brown v Board decision in 1954.

First African American woman to win an Academy Award for her role in Gone with the Wind.

Founder of the first African American Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Abolitionist and Underground Railroad "conductor" who lived and worked in Philadelphia and New Jersey. His book, The Underground Railroad, is an important historical source of information.

African American educator credited with starting Black History Month.

The hair care and beauty products she created made her a millionaire - the first African American, female, self-made millionaire.

He is a lawyer, best-selling author, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first African American President in US History.

He was a left-handed guitarist who changed the music world. His unique sound earned him a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

She was a Mississippi share cropper who worked for Civil Rights - especially the right to vote - with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. When she tried to register to vote, she was beaten by police. Her story was shared at the Democratic National Convention in 1964.

This "Forgotten Hero" of the Civil Rights movement lived and worked in Philadelphia. He was an educator as well as Civil Rights Activist. He worked for the desegregation of Philadelphia's transit system, and the right of African Americans to vote. He was assassinated due to his efforts for Civil Rights, and a statue has been dedicated to him outside of Philadelphia's City Hall.

NJ's first African American Senator, he was once the Mayor of Newark, NJ, and he was a football player at Stanford University before studying law and getting into politics.

He was one of the "Big 6" leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, Chairman of the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), and is currently a Representative from the state of Georgia. He was one of the leaders of the "Bloody Sunday" march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama.

He was the first African American World Boxing Heavyweight Champion.

He blazed a trail for African Americans to race automobiles professionally.

The greatest US Civil Rights leader of the 20th Century, he preached civil disobedience and nonviolent protest to bring about equal rights for all. He was a leader at the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Bloody Sunday, and the March on Washington, where he delivered his famous, "I have a dream," speech.

She was born into enslavement with the last name of Bomfree, and although she never learned to read or write, she became one of the most popular public speakers of the 19th Century. She spoke out against slavery, and in favor of women's rights. Her most famous speech is titled, "Ain't I a Woman?" Her life was a journey for truth, abolition, and equality for all.

First African American to play major league baseball (for the Brooklyn Dodgers), his number, 42, is retired by all major league teams today.

His original surname was Little. He changed his name after converting to Islam, and he became a leader of the Nation of Islam. He was an outspoken leader on the subject of Civil Rights, and his message supported aggressive efforts to win equality in society , as well as before the law. After he resigned from the Nation of Islam, he was assassinated by three members of the Nation of Islam in 1965.

He was born into slavery and went on to become a botanist and one of the most prominent scientists and inventors of his time as well as a teacher at the Tuskegee Institute. He devised over 100 products using one major crop — the peanut — including dyes, plastics and gasoline.

He was born in enslavement in Maryland, but escaped from Baltimore to freedom in Massachusetts. He had learned to read and write, and became one of the greatest public speakers of the 19th Century. He opened the public's eyes to the horrors of slavery. His autobiography was widely read, and he published a newspaper called the "North Star". He helped recruit black soldiers for the Civil War. He met with President Lincoln. He continued to fight for the rights of African Americans and women.

She was an African American transgender women who was an LGBTQ rights activist and an outspoken advocate for trans people of color. She spearheaded the Stonewall uprising in 1969 and along with Sylvia Rivera, she later established the Street Transvestite (now Transgender) Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a group committed to helping homeless transgender youth in New York City. She was tragically murdered on July 6, 1992 at the age of 46

She escaped from slavery to become an abolitionist, Underground Railroad "conductor", and Union Army spy during the Civil War. She helped hundreds of enslaved people escape to freedom.

He was a World War II veteran who became the first Field Secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi. As such, he organized voter-registration efforts and economic boycotts, and investigated crimes perpetrated against blacks. He was assassinated outside of his Mississippi home in 1963.

Founded by Reverends Abernathy and King, it became the most prominent civil rights organization in the South.

He was a free black man who owned a farm outside of Baltimore, Maryland. A self-educated man, he studied astronomy and mathematics. He was asked to help survey the nation's new capital, Washington, D.C.; and he published his own almanac - which he sent to Thomas Jefferson, along with a letter asking Jefferson to do something to end the institution of slavery.

First woman of African American and Native American descent to become a licensed pilot. Denied entry to American flight schools due to sexism and racism, she had to work and save her money to go to France.

Graduated from Ohio State with an engineering degree; First African American man to complete Navy flight training; Earned the Purple Heart, Flying Cross, and was the first Black man to have a navy ship named after him (destroyer USS Jesse L. Brown); Died while flying in the Korean War

Born 1798, died 1866; Frontier explorer, Mountain Man; Found the pass through the mountains of California that bears his name; First explorer to tell his story in a book;

His parents had been enslaved; He was born in 1848; Designer and inventor, author (Incandescent Electric Lighting: A Practical Description of the Edison System); helped invent the lightbulb, air conditioner, and the telephone; worked with Thomas Edison

1st female African American Self-made millionaire from the gold rush era by establishing restaurants, laundries, and other services for prospectors; a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad; She invested her wealth into helping enslaved people escape to freedom, John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, and winning the Civil War.

An uneducated orphan who started working on ships at the age of 12; Hired by Robert E. Peary, his co-discoverer of the North Pole; one of the first human beings to set foot on the “top of the world”; Received the Hubbard Medal from the National Geographic Institute

Earned two degrees from Harvard University; President Franklin Roosevelt appointed him to his cabinet; First African American Governor of a US territory (the U.S. Virgin Islands); First African American to be a federal judge

She was the first transgender person who played a transgender woman in a mainstream movie; She hosted and won many local and national drag pageants, including Miss Georgia National, 1998; and Miss Southern States, 1998

She graduated high school at 14 and college at 18; Mathematician at NASA (National Aeronautic and Space Administration); She calculated the path for orbital space flights; She was a teacher, physicist, and computer scientist; She won the Hubbard Medal for her calculations that made space exploration possible; her story is featured in the motion picture, Hidden Figures

Great poet and writer of the Harlem Renaissance (1920’s)

Civil rights organization, founded by college students in 1960; They organized nonviolent, peaceful protests including “sit-ins”, Freedom Rides, Voter registration drives, etc.; It was awarded the Education for Liberation award

Air Force Veteran; Desegregated the University of Mississippi; Civil rights leader who organized two marches and was shot while leading one (he did recover); Author of Three Years in Mississippi

You have to "Respect" the Queen of Soul. She became the first woman to sing her way into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

A groundbreaking photographer of the 1940’s; he used his photography to document African American life and to make statements about race in America; winner of the National Medal of the Arts and the NAACP Image Award; His photographs are displayed at the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, PA

This master of jazz and swing music was one of the best big band leaders of his era. Two of his most famous songs are "Caravan" and "Take the A Train".

Award-winning American author and storyteller - her most famous work is titled Their Eyes Were Watching God; she collaborated with Langston Hughes on a play, Mule Bone; filmmaker, and anthropologist; women’s rights activist; wrote about life in the Black South; most of her work went unnoticed during her lifetime

Her given name was Gloria Jean Watkins. Her pen name honors her great-grandmother; She was an author who wrote about the need to treasure Black lives; she was an American Book Award winner and author of books titled Ain’t I a Woman, and Feminist Theory. She wrote and spoke about feminism and racism - especially toward Black women.

Writer, civil rights activist; worked for equal rights for women, African Americans, and the LGBTQ+ community through her poetry, essays, and other writings; Winner of a National Book Award and the Columbus Foundation National Book Award

A forgotten hero of the Civil Rights Movements in the 1900s. The main organizer for the March on Washington in 1963; he was a singer, humanitarian, and activist.

Pioneering medical doctor; studied blood-related medical issues - especially blood transfusions and how to store plasma, store blood and create blood banks; paved the way for future doctors from all backgrounds

Civil Rights Activist who helped develop leadership for the NAACP, and worked for the SCLC (executive secretary); Member of the National Women’s Hall of Fame (1994); She was a reporter and editor of a number of Black-owned and operated newspapers

Her cells - called He La cells, the first to reproduce infinitely in a lab - were used to create the Polio vaccine; they still use her cells to study the effects of toxins, drugs, and viruses on cancer cells

Born during the Harlem Renaissance in NYC; Award-winning author of books and articles/essays; Wrote to inspire the Civil Rights Movement and to inform Americans about life in America for African Americans; One of the best-known writers of the 20th Century; awarded the French Legion of Honor; famous works include: Go Tell it on the Mountain; Giovanni’s Room; Another Country

American track and field athlete, competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and won 4 gold medals - disproving the Nazi belief in Aryan/white supremacy

Pretty good basketball player (Greatest Ever), 6X NBA Champ (and Finals MVP); 1st Athlete Billionaire

World Heavyweight Boxing Champion; Humanitarian, Peace Advocate, Civil Rights Leader

Musician, Producer of tv, music, and movies - Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Thriller are among his most famous projects; Grammy winner (nominated for 79)

20th Century author from Ohio; Won the Nobel Prize in literature; famous works include: The Bluest Eye and Beloved; Many of her books won awards and were made into movies

This person was a dancer and choreographer who represented African American culture through dance; They welcomed people of all backgrounds to their studio.

This Civil Rights leader was a protege of Dr. King. He was a Minster and Politician who Founded “The Rainbow Coalition”. He ran for President as a Democratic Candidate in 1984 & 1988. He is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Journalist, editor of McClure's Magazine, and biographer of Lincoln and Napoleon; She became known as one of the "Muckrakers" when her book, The History of Standard Oil, exposed the unethical business practices of John D. Rockefeller and is an excellent example of investigative journalism. 

Career soldier who became the first African American General in the U.S. Army

Poet who made a significant impact on literature; author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; awarded the Presidential Medal of the Art

Journalist, author, teacher, and publisher of the Arkansas State Press; Civil Rights Activist, Arkansas NAACP President; Helped organize the integration of Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansa

Political party that represented the Black Power movement of the Civil Rights Era; The Party existed from 1966-1982; Founded by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton; The Party was willing to use violence if necessary to gain and protect Civil Rights

Motivational, Modern Artist; He created paintings, sculpture, graffiti; topics included racism, oppression and colonialism; Lived in Brooklyn, NY; One of his paintings sold for $110,000,000. Died at the age of 27 in 1988.

Teacher, President of various associations for Black women (Southeastern Federation of Colored Women); advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt; founded Bethune-Cookman College; received the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal; hers was the first statue of an African American woman in a public park;

She was a Mississippi share cropper who worked for Civil Rights - especially the right to vote - with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. When she tried to register to vote, she was beaten by police. Her story was shared at the Democratic National Convention in 1964.

Great poet and writer of the Harlem Renaissance (1920’s)