Sojourner Truth was born at the end of the 1700s and was
important as both an abolitionist and promoter of women rights
until the 1880s. slavery 1800 Frederick Douglas was a former slave
and an important abolitionist who spoke against the evils of
slavery during the mid 1800s. Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman
was 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.
presidents dominant 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. slavery
amendment President Abraham Lincoln ended slavery with the
Emancipation Proclamation and the 13 th amendment to the
Constitution.
Slide 4
pilots The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African American
pilots who fought bravely abroad during WWII, meanwhile their
country discriminated against African Americans at home.
segregation races Brown vs. Board of Education was the Supreme
Court decision that declared segregation or the separation of races
in schools and businesses to be unconstitutional. This was in 1954.
Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man, in 1955.
This led to her arrest and to the boycott and integration of the
Montgomery Alabama bus system. education Malcolm X was a leader in
the Nation of Islam. He served time in jail and realized the
importance of education. He later believed all people were equal
and should be treated with respect and dignity. Brown vs. Board of
Education was the Supreme Court decision that declared segregation
or the separation of races in schools and businesses to be
unconstitutional. This was in 1954.
Slide 5
non-violent preacher, civil Dr. Martin Luther King was a
non-violent preacher, during the 1950s 1960s. He was best known for
his role for the advancement of civil rights. Following several
marches he led, the government passed the Voting Rights Act in 1965
which banned literacy tests and poll taxes as a voting requirement.
Freedom Riders began as mostly white college students but became a
group of young and old, black and white, from the north and south,
standing together and marching for equal rights, in the early
1960s. Equal Rights President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Equal
Rights amendment which guaranteed everyone their rights, in 1965.
In 1967, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American to be
a supreme court justice. president In 1969, Shirley Chisholm became
the first female African American in Congress and later, the first
woman to seek a presidential nomination in 1972.
Slide 6
In 2008, Barack Obama was elected President of the United
States. His journey was long and difficult. It was paved by
countless other African Americans who preceded him and stood their
ground with self respect and courage few of us can imagine.
Slide 7
Slide 8
During the 1950s the 1960s, change was in the air. The Little
Rock Nine shown above, tested the constitutionality of Brown Vs.
Board of Education. In 1960, college students in Greensboro, North
Carolina wanted nothing more than to sit at a lunch counter. In
June of 1963, 3 blacks with perfect credentials could not be denied
entry to the University of Alabama. However, Governor Wallace tried
to do that. The states National Guard came to remove him.
Slide 9
Above are students known as Freedom Riders, who along with
other groups like SNCC and C.O.R.E. worked to bring people
together. Music took to promoting unity.
Slide 10
Benjamin Banneker Dr. Charles Drew
Slide 11
Washington DC Benjamin Banneker was 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. electric light
Lewis Latimer was an African American inventor who greatly helped
improve the use of electric light along with many important
inventions. trains transcontinental Elijah McCoys 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! Edison
amusement 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.
Slide 12
transfusions blood During the early/mid-1900s, Dr. Charles Drew
was famous for his life saving lives for his work with blood
transfusions and setting up blood banks. traffic light gas Garrett
Morgan was an African American inventor famous for inventing the
traffic light and gas mask among his many inventions botanist
George Washington Carver lived from the 1860s through the 1940s. He
was famous as an inventor, scientist, botanist and educator. hair-
care Madam C. J. Walker was 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. Where there is no vision,
there is no hope. George Washington Carver
Slide 13
Slide 14
Lincoln radio. 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. Rutgersfootball 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. jazz Duke Ellington was famous for
over 50 years in the 1900s as composer, musician and orchestra
leader. His work and effort helped make jazz Americas classical
music. Satchmo goodwill This singer and jazz musician was known as
Pops or Satchmo. Louis Armstrong was Americas goodwill ambassador
performing world leaders around the world for decades, in the mid
1900s through his death in the early 1970s.
Slide 15
Hitler gold Jessie Owens competed in 1936 Olympics in Germany
and helped prove Hitlers theories on superior races to be false, by
winning a gold medal in four Olympic events that year. color In
1916, it happened briefly for two games, but it is Jackie Robinson
who will be remembered for breaking baseballs color barrier on a
continuous basis beginning in 1947. principle Muhammad Ali, an
Americanboxer, generally considered among the greatest heavyweights
in the sport's historyAli 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 brace Olympic As a young child Wilma
Rudolph wore 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.
Slide 16
movie Dinner Sidney Poitier is 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. One of his more famous roles was for the
ground breaking topic of interracial marriage in Guess Whos Coming
to Dinner in 1968. realistic maid Bill Cosby is famous comedian
brought a realistic view of the black family and the non
stereotypical butler, maid, car-lot character into American homes
with his television shows. philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, a baby
boomer who is remembered as a self made entrepreneur, celebrity,
talk- show host and philanthropist. Her talk show of 25 years took
on all topics with candor and respect.