Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), Abolitionist and freed slave. Hero of the Underground Railroad.
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), Abolitionist and freed slave. Hero of the Underground Railroad.
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U.S. Representative Robert Smalls, circa 1850s. He was a former slave who parlayed his freedom into a pioneering role in Congress. He would go on to build the South Carolina Republican Party, and buy the house of the man who had owned him as a slave.
U.S. Representative Robert Smalls, circa 1850s. He was a former slave who parlayed his freedom into a pioneering role in Congress. He would go on to build the South Carolina Republican Party, and buy the house of the man who had owned him as a slave.
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circa 1870: Hiram R Revels (1822 - 1901), the first African-American to sit in the United States Senate. Having served in the Union Army as a chaplain, he was elected as a Republican Party Senator from Mississippi.
circa 1870: Hiram R Revels (1822 - 1901), the first African-American to sit in the United States Senate. Having served in the Union Army as a chaplain, he was elected as a Republican Party Senator from Mississippi.
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Ida B. Wells in 1920. She was a civil rights advocate, investigative journalist and feminist.
Ida B. Wells in 1920. She was a civil rights advocate, investigative journalist and feminist.
Chicago History Museum/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Natural scientist and inventor George Washington Carver working with chemistry equipment in his laboratory at Tuskegee University.
Natural scientist and inventor George Washington Carver working with chemistry equipment in his laboratory at Tuskegee University.
Corbis Historical/Getty Images
Ralph Bunche, seen here in his office in 1944, was the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his work as a United Nations mediator in the Palestine conflict.
Ralph Bunche, seen here in his office in 1944, was the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his work as a United Nations mediator in the Palestine conflict.
Marie Hansen/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
African American explorer Matthew A. Henson (1866-1955) reached the Arctic on seven expeditions with Robert Peary from the 1890s until their final expedition in 1908-1909, when they reached the North Pole. Henson was the first African American to explore the Arctic regions.
African American explorer Matthew A. Henson (1866-1955) reached the Arctic on seven expeditions with Robert Peary from the 1890s until their final expedition in 1908-1909, when they reached the North Pole. Henson was the first African American to explore the Arctic regions.
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NAACP Chief Counsel Thurgood Marshall in front of the Supreme Court, where he made a last-ditch appeal that would permit African American children to reenter Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
NAACP Chief Counsel Thurgood Marshall in front of the Supreme Court, where he made a last-ditch appeal that would permit African American children to reenter Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
Author and a leader in the Harlem Renaissance Zora Neale Hurston, circa 1940s.
Author and a leader in the Harlem Renaissance Zora Neale Hurston, circa 1940s.
Fotosearch/Archive Photos/Getty Images
African American novelist, playwright, essayist and activist James Baldwin.
African American novelist, playwright, essayist and activist James Baldwin.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
American poet, writer and socialist Langston Hughes (1902-1967).
American poet, writer and socialist Langston Hughes (1902-1967).
Hulton Archive/Archive Photos/Getty Images
US Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, the first African American elected to the Senate.
US Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, the first African American elected to the Senate.
Pix Inc./The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Imgages
Grammy Award-winning jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker.
Grammy Award-winning jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker.
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Jazz composer and saxophonist John Coltrane performs on stage at the Half Note club, New York, 1965.
Jazz composer and saxophonist John Coltrane performs on stage at the Half Note club, New York, 1965.
Adam Ritchie/Redferns/Getty Images
Dubbed "The First Lady of Song", Ella Fitzgerald was the Grammy Award-winning, most popular jazz singer for over half a century. Seen here in 1955.
Dubbed "The First Lady of Song", Ella Fitzgerald was the Grammy Award-winning, most popular jazz singer for over half a century. Seen here in 1955.
Gilles Petard/Redferns/Getty Images
American author Ralph Ellison in New York, 1961. His novel, 'Invisible Man,' received the National Book Award in 1953.
American author Ralph Ellison in New York, 1961. His novel, 'Invisible Man,' received the National Book Award in 1953.
PhotoQuest/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer, Toni Morrison in Milan, Italy. November 1994.
Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer, Toni Morrison in Milan, Italy. November 1994.
Leonardo Cendamo/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Maya Angelou was the acclaimed award-winning writer of several memoirs, a poet and a civil rights activist. Her most famous book is the 1969 memoir "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."
Maya Angelou was the acclaimed award-winning writer of several memoirs, a poet and a civil rights activist. Her most famous book is the 1969 memoir "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."
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American civil rights activist Bayard Rustin served as a spokesman for the Citywide Committee for Integration.
American civil rights activist Bayard Rustin served as a spokesman for the Citywide Committee for Integration.
Patrick A. Burns/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Katherine Johnson was a NASA space scientist and mathematician whose calculations were instrumental for NASA to achieve putting an astronaut into orbit around Earth. Virginia, 1962.
Katherine Johnson was a NASA space scientist and mathematician whose calculations were instrumental for NASA to achieve putting an astronaut into orbit around Earth. Virginia, 1962.
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