Sojourner Truth was born at the end of the 1700s and was important as both an abolitionist and promoter of women right

1. Sojourner Truthwas born at the end of the 1700s and was important as both an abolitionist and promoter of women rights until the 1880s. Harriet Tubmanwas an abolitionist in the early/mid 1800s, and a key leader in the Underground Railroad. After gaining her own freedom, she returned to the south 17 times to help over 300 slaves escape to freedom. Frederick Douglaswas a former slave and an important abolitionist who spoke against the evils of slavery during the mid 1800s. Booker T. Washington lived from the mid 1800s – 1915 and was famous as an educator, public speaker and advisor to presidents of the United States. During his time, he was the “dominant leader of the African American community.” The Tuskegee Airmenwere a group of African American pilots who fought bravely abroad during WWII, meanwhile their country discriminated against African Americans at home. Brown vs. Board of Educationwas the Supreme Court decision that declared segregation or the separation of races in schools and businesses to be unconstitutional. This was in 1954. Rosa Parksrefused to give up her bus seat to a white man, in 1955. This led to her arrest and eventually led to the boycott and integration of the Montgomery Alabama bus system.

2. Malcolm Xwas a leader in the Nation of Islam. While serving time in jail he realized the importance of education. He later believed all people are equal and should be treated with respect and dignity. Dr. Martin Luther King was a non-violent preacher, during the 1950s – 1960s best known for his role for the advancement of civil rights. Later, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela was inspired by Dr. King’s philosophy of non-violent civil disobedience. John Lewiswas a congressman who marched with Dr. King to get the voting rights passed. Following several marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the federal government passed the Voting Rights Act in 1965 which banned literacy tests and poll taxes as Freedom Riders were mostly white college students and young adults from the north and south, standing together and marching for equal rights. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Equal Rights amendment which guaranteed everyone their rights. In 1967, Thurgood Marshallbecame the first African American to be a supreme court justice. In 1969, Shirley Chisholm became the first female African American in Congress and later, the first woman to seek a presidential nomination in 1972.

3. As we continue our look at important African Americans, this week we will look at just a few of the many scientists and inventors. Benjamin Bannekerwas a free black man in Baltimore in the mid 1700s. He is remembered as an author, scientist, mathematician, astronomer, publisher and urban planner. As an urban planner he assisted Andrew Ellicott in surveying the Potomac River, for what would become Washington DC. Lewis Latimerwas an African American inventor who greatly helped improve the use of electric light along with many important inventions. Elijah McCoy’s work on lubrication for trains helped lead to safer trains and at the time led to the transcontinental railroad. His work was so reliable and successful that customers would ask for the real McCoy! Granville T. Woods was called the Black Edison and created many inventions which helped with telephones, railway telegraphs, furnaces, amusement parks, and other many other important inventions. Madam C. J. Walkerwas an entrepreneur and philanthropist and a self-made millionaire as she built an empire with hair-care products at the turn of the 20th century. George Washington Carverlived from the 1860s through the 1940s. He was famous as an inventor, scientist, botanist and educator.

4. Garrett Morganwas an African American inventor famous for inventing the traffic light and gas mask amongst his many inventions. During the early/mid-1900s, Dr. Charles Drewwas famous for his life saving lives for his work with blood transfusions and setting up blood banks. Duke Ellingtonwas famous for over 50 years in the 1900s as composer, musician and orchestra leader. He and Louie Armstrong introduced jazz as an American art form to the world. Jessie Owenscompeted in 1936 Olympics in Germany and helped prove Hitler’s theories on superior races to be false, by winning a gold medal in four Olympic events that year. Paul Robeson was a Rutgers football star in the early 1900s. He later became well known as both a singer and actor, but is remembered more for standing his ground against racial injustice. Marian Anderson was a celebrated opera singer in the early/mid 1900s. In 1939, she was refused the right to sing in Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution. President Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor intervened. On Easter Sunday, Ms. Anderson gave a concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, before a crowd of more than 75,000 people with millions more on the radio.

5. This singer and jazz musician was known as Pops or Satchmo. Louis Armstrong was America’s goodwill ambassador performing world leaders around the world for decades, in the mid 1900s through his death in the early 1970s. In 1916, it happened briefly for two games, but it was Jackie Robinsonwho will be remembered for breaking baseball’s color barrier on a continuous basis beginning in 1947. As a young child Wilma Rudolphwore a brace on her left leg and foot, until she was nine, as a result of infantile paralysis. Eventually she would be considered the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s, winning 3 gold medals at a single Olympic game. Bill Cosbyis famous comedian brought a realistic view of the black family into American homes with his television shows. Sidney Poitieris a famous actor and was the first African American to win an Oscar as a leading actor in 1963 for the movie Lilies of the Field. Our final person of interest is the former heavyweight champion of the world. Muhammad Ali, “an American…boxer, generally considered among the greatest heavyweights in the sport's history…Ali is today widely regarded for not only the skills he displayed in the ring but also the values he exemplified outside of it: religious freedom, racial justice and the triumph of principle over expedience…”