Black Heritage Series

Perhaps the best known conductor of the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman was an abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the Civil War.

An American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King, Jr., is often remembered for his “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered at the 1963 March on Washington. He was assassinated in 1968.

Benjamin Banneker was an accomplished astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, almanac author, and farmer. In 1753, Banneker completed the construction of his own clock, which kept time until his death. From 1792 to 1797, Banneker published his astronomical calculations in almanacs.

Whitney Moore Young, Jr., was a civil rights leader who worked to end employment discrimination. In 1961, Young became the director of the National Urban League, and in 1969, President Johnson awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947, when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

The “King of Ragtime,” Scott Joplin was a composer and pianist famous for his unique ragtime compositions. His pieces include the Maple Leaf Rag and The Entertainer.

Born in 1875 to ex-slaves, Carter G. Woodson overcame economic and social barriers to become the leading scholar of Black History. He earned a doctorate from Harvard University and founded the Journal of Negro History, serving as its editor for 35 years.

Mary McLeod Bethune was an educator, author, and civil rights leader. She founded a school for black students (now Bethune-Cookman College) and served as an adviser to multiple Presidents including Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Born into slavery at the end of the 18th century, Sojourner Truth was an abolitionist, women’s rights activist, and preacher.

Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable was a colonist of mixed French and Haitian ancestry. Du Sable was the first nonindigenous settler in what is now Chicago, Illinois.

James Weldon Johnson was an author, lyricist, lawyer, diplomat, educator, and civil rights worker. He and his brother composed Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing for Lincoln’s birthday celebration in 1900.

A. Philip Randolph combined powerful civil rights advocacy with pioneering leadership in organized labor. He led 250,000 people in the 1963 March on Washington and founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

Born into slavery in 1862, Ida B. Wells was a journalist and newspaper editor who became a leader in the fight against lynching and racial discrimination.

Jan E. Matzeliger was born in Dutch Guiana (now Surinam) and came to the United States at the age of 20. Working as a cobbler in Lynn, MA, Matzeliger invented and patented a shoe lasting machine, which cut costs and improved working conditions in the shoe industry.

Civil rights advocate W.E.B. DuBois was the first African American to earn a graduate degree from Harvard University in 1895. One of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), DuBois also served as editor of the NAACP's journal, The Crisis.

Percy Lavon Julian was a distinguished scientist and chemical researcher. His synthesis of cortisone for arthritis, a drug for glaucoma, and synthesis of progesterone won acclaim. In 1990, Dr. Julian was inducted into the prestigious National Inventors Hall of Fame.

A social anthropologist and educator, Dr. Allison Davis received two master’s degrees from Harvard and his doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1942. He remained a faculty member at the University of Chicago until his death in 1983.

As a black woman in the early 20th century, Bessie Coleman was not allowed to attend American flying schools. After earning her pilot license at a French aviation school, “Brave Bessie” performed stunt-flying routines all around the United States.

Ernest E. Just was a marine biologist and Howard University faculty member. In 1915 he became the first recipient of the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal on the basis of his record in research and his effective efforts to improve the quality of medical training at Howard.

Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., was the U.S. armed forces’ first black general officer and a key figure in the eventual integration of the armed forces.

A hair and beauty-care pioneer, Madam C.J. Walker became the first female African-American millionaire. Orphaned at the age of 7 and a widowed laundress at the age of 20, Walker worked hard to achieve her success.

A courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, Malcolm X was a civil rights activist, public speaker and Muslim minister. He was assassinated in 1965 when speaking in New York City.

Patricia Roberts Harris was the first African-American woman to serve as ambassador and the first to be a member of a presidential Cabinet. She served as United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President Jimmy Carter.

Civil rights leader Roy Wilkins was an officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for 46 years, including 12 years as its executive director. Wilkins was awarded the Spingarn Medal in 1964 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969.

Considered one of the most important American writers of the 20th century, Langston Hughes created innovative poetry that combined jazz, blues, and the black vernacular with the traditions of poetry in English.

Thurgood Marshall worked as a civil rights lawyer before becoming the first African American to serve as solicitor general of the United States. In 1967, he became an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, the first African American to serve on the court.

A world-renowned actor, singer, activist, and athlete, Paul Robeson was a man ahead of his time. Whether performing spirituals and folk songs or interpreting Shakespeare’s Othello, Robeson infused his life and work with his principled stand against racism and his outspoken commitment to social justice.

Marian Anderson was one of the greatest classically trained singers of the 20th century and a central figure in the struggle of black Americans for racial equality. She performed internationally, singing a varied repertoire in her rich contralto.

Hattie McDaniel entertained America as a movie actress, singer, and radio and television performer. With her role in the 1939 film Gone With the Wind, she became the first African American to win an Academy Award.

Ella Fitzgerald was widely known as “the first lady of song.” Her extraordinary vocal range and flexibility, combined with her gift for pitch, rhythmic sense, and flawless diction, made her one of America’s most distinctive singers of jazz and popular tunes.

Charles W. Chesnutt is recognized today as a major innovator among turn-of-the-century literary realists. In novels such as The Marrow of Tradition and short stories such as those collected in The Conjure Woman, he probed the color line in American life.

Anna Julia Cooper was an educator, author, and activist who challenged biased notions of racial and gender inferiority. Cooper fought for social justice and civil rights for African-American women, young people, and the poor through her scholarship, community outreach, and innovative educational leadership.

Pioneering filmmaker Oscar Micheaux wrote, directed, produced, and distributed more than 40 movies during the first half of the 20th century. Micheaux thrived at a time when African-American filmmakers were rare, venues for their work were scarce, and support from the industry did not exist.

Barbara Jordan was one of the most respected and influential American politicians of the 20th century. She captured the attention and admiration of the nation with her intelligence and integrity, eloquent oratory, ardent defense of the Constitution, and staunch advocacy of equal rights for all American citizens.

The trailblazing publisher of Ebony, Jet, and other magazines. Johnson overcame poverty and racism to build a business empire embracing magazines, radio stations, cosmetics, and more. His magazines portrayed black people positively at a time when such representation was rare, and played an important role in the civil rights movement.