Langston Hughes Feb 1 1902 May 22 1967

• Langston Hughes • Feb. 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967 • American Poet, Social Activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri • Best known as the leader of the Harlem Renaissance- cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem, New York, spanning the 1920 s. The Negro Speaks of Rivers

• Frederick Douglass • Feb. 18, 1818 – Feb. 20, 1895 • African- America social reformer, orator, writer, and statesman. • Escaped slavery to become a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York. • Firm believer in the equality of all peoples, whether black, female, Native American, or recent immigrant.

• Jesse Owens • Sept. 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980 • • Won 4 gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. • He was the most successful athlete at the games and, as a Black man, was credited with "single-handedly crushing Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy. ” • Ranked 6 th greatest North American athlete of the 20 th century.

• Nina Simone • Feb. 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003 • American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist. • Recorded more than 40 albums • A civil rights message became standard in her recorded music. • Advocated for a violent revolution during the civil rights movement.

• Doris Miller • Oct 12, 1919 – Nov 24, 1943 • Messman Third Class in the United States Navy on the USS West Virginia • 1 st African American to be awarded the Navy Cross (3 rd highest honor at that time) for bravery during the attack on Pearl Harbor • Became iconic emblem of the war for black Americas

• General Benjamin O. Davis Jr • Dec 18, 1912 -July 4, 2002 • 1 st African American general officer in the US Air Force. • Became a four-star general in 1998. • Commander of the WWII Tuskegee Airmen. • Flew more 60 missions during WWII. • Helped draft the Air Force plan for racial integration in 1948 - Air Force 1 st to integrate.

• Thurgood Marshall • July 2, 1908 -Jan 24, 1993 • 1 st African-American Supreme Court Justice • Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1967 -1991 • Lawyer for Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka- ended segregation in public schools • As a lawyer- won 29 out of 32 cases he argued in front of the Supreme Court

• Madam C. J. Walker • Dec 23, 1867 -May 25, 1919 • Born Sarah Breedlove • 1 st in her family to be born into freedom • African- American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and a political & social activist • 1 st female self-made millionaire; became one of the wealthiest African-Americans in the country • Developed and marketed the first line of beauty and hair products for black women.

• Katherine Johnson (Hidden Figures) • Aug 26, 1918 • African-American physicist & mathematician • Calculated the trajectories, launch windows, & back-up return paths for NASA including the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the moon. • Labeled a “computer” for NASA • Graduated high school @ 14, college @ 18 with degrees in French and math. • Forced to work, eat, and use bathrooms in office labled “Colored Computers”.

• Diane Nash • May 15, 1938 • African-American civil rights activist • Leader and strategist of the student wing of the Civil Rights Movement • Co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee: independent student -led groups began direct-action protests against segregation in dozens of southern communities.

• Daisy Bates • Nov 11, 1914 -Nov 4, 1999 • American civil rights activist, newspaper publisher, journalist, and lecturer who played a leading role in the Little Rock Integration Crisis in 1957 • “Little Rock Nine”- 9 children who attempted to enroll in Little Rock Central High School. National Guard was called to the school to keep them out • Bates planned for ministers to escort the students • President Eisenhower intervened by federalizing

• Ruby Bridges • Sept 8, 1954 • Activist, philanthropist, and author • 1 st black child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana • Escorted to school by 4 federal marshals the entire 1 st year • White children pulled out; all teachers refused to teach. • Barbara Henry- the only person willing to teach a black student, for over a year Henry taught Ruby alone

• Mae Jemison • Oct 17, 1956 • American engineer, physician, and NASA astronaut • Attended both Cornell and Stanford University • 1 st African American women to travel to space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on Sept 12, 1992 • Spent 190 h 30 min 23 s in space • Honored by Lego yesterday- ‘Women of NASA’

• Ella Fitzgerald • April 25, 1917 -June 15, 1996 • American jazz singer often referred to as the First Lady of Song and Queen of jazz • Especially known for scat singing or the singing of nonsense words that became a part of African American jazz singers. • Appeared in film and TV. • • It Don’t Mean a Thing Dream a Little Dream of Me

• Louis Armstrong • Aug 4, 1901 - July 6, 1971 • African-American trumpeter, composer, singer, and actor • One of the most influential figures in jazz; skilled at scat • 1 st truly popular African-American entertainers to "cross over“- whose skin color was secondary to his music in a racially divided America • What a Wonderful World Mack the Knife