1878-1932 Major Taylor combined fortunate circumstances and incredible athletic ability to become a world record-holding competitive cyclist at the dawn of the sport. He is recognized as the first African American to earn international acclaim in organized sports. Skill and Timing Taylor was born on November 26, 1878, in Indianapolis, Indiana. One of eight children,
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1874-1922 Bert Williams was one of Broadway’s most successful performers during the first two decades of the 20th century. First with his partner George Walker, then working solo, he transcended the boundaries of the minstrel tradition in which he performed and triumphed as a comedian, dancer, singer, and songwriter. A Caribbean Childhood Williams was born
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1940-2005 Richard Pryor rose from extreme poverty to become a household name in the entertainment industry. An award-winning writer, actor, and director, Pryor is considered by many to have been one of the greatest comedians in history. Unusual Circumstances Pryor was born on December 1, 1940, in Peoria, Illinois. His father, LeRoy “Buck Carter” Pryor,
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1825-1866 John Swett Rock was a pioneer African American leader and orator in the years leading up to and during the Civil War. One of America’s first black physicians and lawyers and a dedicated advocate of civil rights and self improvement, he made history as the first African American to be admitted to practice before
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1908-1972 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., was New York City’s first black congressman. Representing the residents of Harlem in the nation’s capital for two and a half decades as a forceful advocate for African American causes, he rose steadily in power to become one of America’s most influential and effective politicians during the 1960s and the
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1961- Barack Hussein Obama rose through Illinois state politics and the U.S. Senate with unprecedented speed, deep convictions, and deft skill to be elected the first African American President of the United States. In so doing, he shattered racial barriers, altered the domestic political landscape, and electrified the world with his message of hope and
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1897-1975 Elijah Muhammad guided the Nation of Islam from its modest beginnings during the Great Depression, when a handful of African Americans met in a Detroit storefront, to its meteoric rise after World War II. Under his leadership, it became one of the most powerful religious and social institutions in the country. A Mysterious Messenger
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1859-1919 John Merrick began as a shoeshine boy, became a successful barber and barbershop owner, and ultimately built a regional financial empire in North Carolina.
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1932-1970 Sonny Liston was the heavyweight boxing champion from 1962 to 1964. He rose from poverty in the rural south to become one of the most dominant and feared professional fighters of the 20th century. Cruel Beginnings Liston was born in St. Francis County, Arkansas, around 1932. Very little is known about his birth and
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1848-1928 Lewis H. Latimer was a leading engineer in the formative years of the electric power industry at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. He was a key member of the legendary group of inventors led by Thomas Edison. Close Brush with Slavery Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts,
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