Barack Obama (b. 1961)
The 44th U.S. President and the first African-American president of the United States
Kamala Harris (b. 1964)
First female, first Black American, and first Asian American to hold the office of the vice presidency in 2021.
Lloyd J. Austin III (b. 1953)
First Black American to lead the Pentagon, to serve as Biden's defense secretary in 2021. Austin has served over 40 years in the Army, heading U.S. Central Command. Austin has lead operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. He is the first Black general to serve as commander of the theater from 2013-2016.
Ketanji Brown Jackson (b.1970)
On April 7, 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed to the Supreme Court, making her the 116th justice — and the first Black woman — to serve on the top U.S. court.
Alexa Canady (b. 1950)
Surgeon and educator
Canady is the first female African-American neurosurgeon in the United States and the first female African-American to be certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery.
Marie M. Daly (1921-2003)
Chemist, researcher, and educator
The first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry in the United States.
Frederick Douglass (1818-1895)
An eminent human abolitionist, orator, and writer. The first Black citizen to hold high rank in the U.S. government.
Garrett A. Morgan (1877 –1963)
Inventor
Inventions include:
Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919)
American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist
Born Sarah Breedlove. she is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America in the Guinness Book of World Records when she launched her own line of hair products and straighteners for African American women, “Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower.”
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams (1856-1931)
Physician
A Pioneer in the field of medicine:
Michelle Alexander (b. 1967)
Civil rights lawyer, advocate, and author. Best known for writing The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.
Maya Angelou (1928-2014)
An American poet, storyteller, and activist. Some of her most famous work includes: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, His Day is Done, Down in the Delta, On the Pulse of Morning.
Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006)
An award-winning science fiction author, most known for works such as Kindred, Parable of the Sower, Dawn, and Bloodchild and Other Stories.< She was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010.
Ralph Ellison (1914-1994)
An award-winning novelist and educator, most well-known for Invisible Man.
Amanda Gorman (b. 1998)
Poet and activist. She was the first-person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate. She read "The Hill We Climb" at the 2021 presidential inauguration.
Langston Hughes (1902-1967)
An award-winning poet and playwright. Hughes' artistic contributions helped shape the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. He is known for works such as The Weary Blues, The Dream Keeper and Other Poems, and Shakespeare in Harlem, as well as nonfiction books, children's books, novels, and short stories.
Chadwick Boseman (1976-2020)
Actor and playwright, best known for his roles in Get on Up, Marvel's Black Panther, and his final role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
Laverne Cox (1972-present)
Actress and LGBTQ advocate.
Laverne Cox is an actress best known for her role as Sophie Burset in Orange is the New Black. In 2015, she was the first transgender person to win a Daytime Emmy Award for her show Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word. She is also the first transgender person to be on the cover of Time and Cosmopolitan.
LeVar Burton (b. 1957)
American actor and director, best known for his roles in Roots, Reading Rainbow, and Star Trek: The Next Generation and multiple other Star Trek productions.
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Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996)
Jazz, swing, bebop, and scat singer. She recorded over 200 albums and won national awards in both America and France. She won the first Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Performance.
Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993)
Jazz Trumpeter, singer, composer, and bandleader. Gillespie developed the music known as "bebop". Some of Gillespies's best-known songs include: Oop Bob Sh' Bam, Groovin' High, Leap Frog, Salt Peanuts, and My Melancholy Baby.
CEO and Art Director
Arthell, along with his twin brother Darnell Isom, and animator Henry Thurlow, founded D’ART Shtajio — Japan’s first black-owned anime studio.
Hattie McDaniel (1895-1952)
Award-winning actress
McDaniel was the first African-American actress/actor to be honored with an Oscar in 1940 for her role in Gone with the Wind. Before McDaniel's Oscar win, many of her roles were uncredited.She is also known for her roles in Imitation of Life, and Beulah (1950-1953).
Charley Pride (1934-2020)
Country Gospel singer and minor league baseball player. Pride was one of three African-American members of the Grand Ole Opry. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2020. His chart-topping hits include:
Oprah Winfrey (b. 1954)
Producer, talk show host, actress, author, and philanthropist. She hosted The Oprah Winfrey Show for 25 years, which was seen in more than 100 countries. She started her own production company, Harpo Production, to gain ownership of her talk show. In 2011, Winfrey started her own network, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).
In 2005, Business Week named Winfrey "the greatest Black philanthropist in American history. Oprah's Angel Network raised more than $50 million for charitable programs, including girls' education in South Africa and relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina." Winfrey started the Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. She was also awarded the Presidential Medial of Freedom in 2013 by President Barack Obama.
Sidney Poitier (1927-2022)
Actor, film director, and diplomat. Hollywood icon Sidney Poitier was the first African American to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, receiving the honor in 1964 for his performance in Lilies of the Field. He is also known for his work in A Raisin in the Sun, To Sir, With Love, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and In the Heat of the Night. In 1997, Poitier was appointed ambassador from the Bahamas to Japan. In 2002, he was also appointed the ambassador of the Bahamas to UNESCO
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Miles Davis (1926-1991)
Musician; Bandleader; Composer; Trumpeter
A jazz trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and painter, Davis played a vital role in the history of modern jazz. Davis developed an original, lyrical soloing style and emerged as a pioneering leader of several jazz idioms, including cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, jazz-rock, and jazz-funk fusion.
Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970)
Musician; Guitarist, Music Producer; Songwriter
One of the most influential rock-and-roll guitarists in history. His style, unconventional technique, showmanship, and innovation are legendary. Although his career was brief, his extensive catalog of live and studio recordings continue to inspire new generations of musicians. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
George Washington Carver (1864-1943)
Agricultural scientist and inventor
Kizzmekia Corbett (b.1986)Immunologist
Corbett heads a team of researchers within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Vaccine Research Center and is a key scientist behind the COVID-19 vaccine.
Walter Lincoln Hawkins (1911-1992)
Chemist and inventor
Best known for his invention of polymer cable sheath, which helped make universal telephone service possible.
Hawkins helped to establish the Bell Labs Summer Research Program for Minorities and Women.
Mae Carol Jemison (b. 1956)
Engineer, NASA astronaut, and a Doctorate in Medicine from Cornell.
She has been inducted into the:
Katherine Johnson (1918-2020)
Mathematician
Johnson made major contributions to the United States' aeronautics and space programs. Her work was featured in the movie Hidden Figures.
Percy Lavon Julian (1899 - 1975)
Chemist and entrepreneur
Pioneer of chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants, such as:
In 1954, Julian founded his own company, Julian Laboratories of Franklin Park, Illinois, and Mexico City. The laboratories were later sold to Smith, Kline, and French.
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868 - 1963)
Civil rights activist, sociologist, author, and co-founder of the NAACP
In 1895, Du Bois became the first African American to receive a doctorate for Harvard. He co-founded of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909, and was the founder and editor of the NAACP magazine The Crisis.
Van Jones (b. 1968)
Political commentator, author, lawyer, and co-founder of several non-profit organizations, including Rebuild the Dream.
Achievements and honors:
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
Baptist minister who became the spokesperson in the Civil Rights Movement in 1955.
Rosa Parks (1913-2005)
In 1955, Parks sat in the front seat of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. When the bus driver asked Parks to move to the back to make room for the white passengers, Parks refused. Her actions led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Bryan Stevenson (b. 1959)
Lawyer, author, and social activist.
Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization in Montgomery, Alabama.
Author of the book Just Mercy.
The subject of the HBO documentary True Justice.
Harriet Tubman (1820-1913)
An escaped slave that helped others gain their freedom as a conductor of the Underground Railroad.
Tubman is considered to be the first African American woman to serve in the military as a scout, spy, and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War.
Dr. Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950)
Distinguished author, editor, publisher, and historian. Co-founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), and helped launch the first Negro History Week.
Some of his published works include:
Karen Bass (b.1953)
1st Black Woman Elected Speaker Of The California State Assembly.
In November 2010 Karen Bass, a former speaker of the California State Assembly, was elected to her state's 33d Congressional District seat in the U.S. The first African-American woman and first female Democrat to take on this powerful role. House of Representatives.
Bass, who is perhaps most strongly identified with the issues surrounding foster care, has spent much of her adult life also working for equal rights for women, affirmative action, universal healthcare, and justice for illegal immigrants.
Erin Jackson (b.1992)
Olympic Speedskating Champion
Baseball player (1954 to 1976)
Played for the Milwaukee Braves, Atlanta Braves, and Milwaukee Brewers
He ranks among MLB's best in hits (3,771, third all-time), games played (3,298, third), and runs scored (2,174, fourth), and he has 755 career home runs. The MLB created the Hank Aaron Award, given annually to the best hitter in both the AL and NL.
Brittney Griner (b. 1990)
Basketball Center
Olympic and World Championship Gold medalist
Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)
A heavyweight boxing champion, an Olympic gold medalist, philanthropist, and social activist.
Simone Biles (b. 1997)
Gymnast
For a full listing of Simone Biles Career Highlights from USAgym.org
Lou Brock (1939-2020)
Baseball left fielder
He led the National League in steals for four consecutive seasons from 1966-69 and the Majors for another four straight from 1971-74. He was a six-time All-Star who won three NL pennant winners and two World Series champions.
Gabby Douglas (b. 1995)
Gymnast
2012 Summer Olympics - Two gold medals. She is the first African-American to win the individual all-around event
2016 Summer Olympics - Two gold medals
Rafer Johnson (1934-2020)
Athlete, gold medalist, actor, and author
Achievements include:
Acting career:
Jackie Robinson (1919 - 1972)
Joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. The first African-American player since 1889, when baseball became segregated.
Wilma Rudolph (1940-1994)
Track and field athlete
The first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field at the same Olympic game. Her performance earned her the title of "the fastest woman in the world."
Rudolph survived bouts of polio and scarlet fever, forcing her to wear a brace on her leg. Her doctor believed she would never walk again. By age 8 she was able to walk with a leg brace and at the age of 11, she was playing sports outside.
Awards:
Debi Thomas (b. 1967)
Figure skater and Orthopedic Surgeon
Awards:
