Famous Black Americans

Carter G. Woodson

• He was Founder of Black History Month• February was the month chosen by him in which to honor black

history because Frederick Douglass was born in this month.• He organized “Associate Publisher” which is one of the first black

publishing companies in our country.

Mary McLeod Bethune

• Mary was a teacher and a very special lady.• Mary opened her own school which later became a college.• In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt wanted Mary to work with him

to help black children stay in school. Mary’s college was very important in this task.

• The college is located in Florida. It is called the Bethune-Cookman

college.

Barbara Jordan

• Barbara was the first African American to win a seat in the Texas Senate.

• In 1971 she later won a seat in the United States Senate in Washington ,D.C.

• She was a great teacher.• She helped to make the laws of our land.

Richard Allen

• Richard was born a slave and bought his own freedom.• Founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church denomination in

1816• The A.M.E. church is the largest organized Black Institution in

America.• Allen was also a freedom fighter and operated a station on the

Underground Railroad.

Thurgood Marshall

• He was a famous lawyer and judge• He helped to make many new laws which gave new freedoms to

many Americans.• He was a champion for justice and equality.• He was the first black to be appointed to the Supreme Court of the

United States of America.

George Washington Carver

• Young George was born a slave in Missouri.• He was a scientist who discovered many uses for such products as

sweet potatoes and peanuts. • He invented peanut butter.• He was a teacher. • He loved to study and learn new things.• He was a musician and an artist.

William Cosby

• Young Bill was very funny as a child. He liked making people laugh.• He also liked to learn and later became an educator.• He could do many things . He could teach, art, or tell funny stories

on stage.• He wanted to do a television show about a family. He called them

the Huxtables. “The Cosby Show” became very popular.

Langston Hughes

• He was a Writer.• He became famous for writing poems. His poems are about

people’s joys and sorrows.• He has also written novels, operas, and plays. His writings have

been translated into many different languages such as French, Japanese, and Chinese.

Stevie Wonder

• Young Stevie was born blind. So Stevie used his ears.• Stevie enjoyed music and wanted to be a singer like Ray Charles.• Stevie made his first hit record at the age of 13. H is songs are loved around

the world.• Stevie does good things for many people like raising money for poor people

and helping in the fight against drivers who drink.• He wrote a famous song for Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday called

“Happy Birthday to Ya”

Jackie Robinson

• Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player in the major leagues.• Jackie wanted to go to college to be a P.E. teacher.• Jackie had to leave college to help support his family.• Jackie was very good at stealing bases in baseball.• Jackie was born in Cairo, Georgia.• Jackie played baseball, football, basketball, and ran track when he was

in school.

Rosa Parks

• Rosa Parks became famous when she refused to give her seat to a white man on a bus in Alabama.

• Rosa parks lived in Detroit, Michigan when she was older.• “Rosa Parks Boulevard” in Detroit was named after Rosa.• Time Magazine named Parks one of the 20 most influential people of

the 1900’s.

Michael Jordan

• Michael was born in New York, but moved to North Carolina when he was little.

• Michael Jordan started playing basketball in the N.B.A. for the Chicago Bulls.

• Michael stuck out his tongue every time he made a basket.• Michael has a special type of shoe named after him, Air Jordans by

Nike. • Michael is thought to be the greatest basketball player of all time.

Maya Angelou

• Maya Angelou was born in Missouri.• She is a poet and actress.• She wrote a famous book called, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”• In the early 2000’s Maya gave up flying on airplanes.• Maya met Oprah Winfrey in 1980 in Maryland.

Oprah Winfrey

• Oprah Winfrey was born in Mississippi.• Oprah won a scholarship to go to Tennessee State University.• The Oprah Winfrey show first came on T.V. in 1986.• Oprah Winfrey recently visited Central Georgia when she filmed her

T.V. show in Macon.

The End

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