Sarah Keys Evans: Taking a Stand for Civil Rights
Sarah Keys Evans did not intend to take a stand for civil rights in 1952 when she boarded an interstate bus in Trenton, New Jersey. She was on leave from Fort Dix where she served in the Women’s Army...
View ArticleLouis Armstrong’s Childhood
Louis Armstrong was one of the finest jazz musicians in the world. His work broke ground for a new style of popular American music for which he received worldwide acclaim. A virtuoso on trumpet, Louis...
View ArticleBarbara Jordan, Congresswoman and Trailblazer
Barbara Jordan (1936-96) was a dynamic and forceful African American from Texas who made great strides for American citizens. She exhibited a positive outlook, great intelligence, a good sense of...
View ArticleMartin Luther King Jr. and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Martin Luther King, Jr. was 25 years old when he and his new wife, Coretta, moved to Montgomery, Alabama in 1954. He was to be pastor of Montgomery’s Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Less than one year...
View ArticleHorace Pippin: Gifted Painter and Harlem Hellfighter
Horace Pippin, Metropolitan Museum of Art When it became clear that the U.S. would enter World War I, Horace Pippin left his job with a moving company in Paterson, New Jersey and enlisted. He was 29...
View ArticleMary Ellen Pleasant, Entrepreneur and Abolitionist
Abolitionist and successful Gold Rush entrepreneur Mary Ellen Pleasant was a free woman of mixed-race who dedicated her life to equality for African Americans. From helping with the Underground...
View ArticleYukon King, Dog Star of “Sgt. Preston of the Yukon”
A dog named King, an Alaskan malamute, played the heroic companion to Royal Canadian Mountie Sergeant Preston on the 1955 television show, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. The TV show was based on a...
View ArticleGarrett A. Morgan: Successful Inventor of Safety Hood/Traffic Signal
Garrett A. Morgan was a prolific inventor who should be remembered for the safety devices he created. Both the safety hood (forerunner of a gas mask) he patented and the three-way traffic signal...
View ArticleAlice Dunnigan: First Black Woman Reporter to Cover White House
Alice Dunnigan broke new ground by becoming one of the first black White House correspondents; she was the first to travel with a U.S. president (but she had to pay her own way); and she was also first...
View ArticleEugene Bullard, First Black Military Pilot
Eugene Bullard was the world’s first black military pilot, but he didn’t fly for his own country. He was born in the United States–Columbus, Georgia–in 1895 and fought for France during World War I. He...
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