Edward W. Brooke
Edward William Brooke III (October 26, 1919 – January 3, 2015) was an American Republican politician. In 1966, he became the first African American popularly elected to the United States…
Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez
Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez (born January 29, 1942) is a Cuban military officer, legislator, and former cosmonaut and the first person of African heritage in space. In 1980, as a member…
Guion Bluford
Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. (born November 22, 1942) is an American aerospace engineer, retired U.S. Air Force officer and fighter pilot, and former NASA astronaut, who is the first African…
Benjamin Banneker
Benjamin Banneker (November 9, 1731 – October 19, 1806) was a free African-American almanac author, surveyor, landowner and farmer who had knowledge of mathematics and natural history. Born in Baltimore…
James Baldwin
James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American novelist, playwright, essayist, poet, and activist. His essays, collected in Notes of a Native Son (1955), explore…
Crispus Attucks
Crispus Attucks (c.1723 – March 5, 1770) was an American whaler, sailor, and stevedore of African and Native American descent, generally regarded as the first person killed in the Boston…
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou (/ˈændʒəloʊ/ (About this soundlisten) AN-jə-loh; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven…
Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897 – April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in…
Richard Allen AME Church Founder
Richard Allen (February 14, 1760 – March 26, 1831) was a minister, educator, writer, and one of America’s most active and influential Black leaders. In 1794, he founded the African…