In honor of Black History Month, I sat down and compiled a list of some famous, inspiring African Americans. Of course, everyone immediately thinks about Martin Luther King, Jr, and Barak Obama. There are other famous more current members of this group that I am sure you could easily find. I wanted to go back to the earlier days and recognize some of the lesser-known people. There are plenty more, this list is just a start. These are in no particular order. I tried to list what they are famous for and a link for each of them.
*Just a note about these people…they are not particularly Christian people. If there are books or movies to go with these people, I have not reviewed them. The purpose here is to give more names of famous, inspiring black Americans.
As I tell my children, you are what you make yourself to be. God gave you what you need to be what HE wants you to be. It is up to you, whether or not you use what God gave you, and to do the work to succeed. Nothing is handed to you. You must put forth the effort. These people worked hard to achieve what they did. They learned what they needed, and sometimes had to fight to even get to learn. Then they pushed to have the right to use their talents.
Daniel “Chappie” James – fighter pilot https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/james-general-daniel-chappie-jr-1920-1978/
Harriet Tubman – Underground Railroad http://www.harriet-tubman.org/
Sojourner Truth – abolitionist and women’s rights activist https://www.sojournertruth.com/
George Washington Carver – scientist and inventor https://www.georgewashingtoncarver.org/
Booker T. Washington – educator, author, orator, and adviser to multiple presidents of the United States https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/booker-t-washington
Rosa Parks – Best known for how she refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger. The bus driver had her arrested. Also known for her role in the Montgomery bus boycott. https://www.biography.com/news/rosa-parks-timeline-facts
Claudette Colvin – for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a crowded, segregated bus. (before Rosa Parks) https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-43171799
Frederick Douglas – social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. https://www.nps.gov/frdo/learn/historyculture/frederickdouglass.htm
Muhammad Ali – professional boxer, activist, entertainer and philanthropist https://www.liveabout.com/muhammad-ali-1779853
Althea Gibson – tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/althea-gibson
Jackie Robinson – professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era https://www.jackierobinson.com/
Harriet Beecher Stowe – abolitionist, author, best known for writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/harriet-beecher-stowe/harriet-beecher-stowe-life/
Dorthy Heights – civil rights activist, joined the YWCA, began working with the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/dorothy-height
Michael Jordan – American businessman and former professional basketball player. He is the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association and of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series https://www.biography.com/athlete/michael-jordan
Jessie Owens – track and field athlete and four-time gold medalist in the 1936 Olympic Games https://www.grunge.com/230204/the-crazy-real-life-story-of-jesse-owens/
Bessie Coleman – the first African-American woman and first Native-American to hold a pilot license https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/bessie-coleman
Gwendolyn Brooks – poet, author, teacher, Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1950 https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/gwendolyn-brooks-271.php
Alice Coachman – specialized in high jump and was the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal 1948 Summer Olympics https://www.biography.com/athlete/alice-coachman
Jane Bolin – the first black woman to graduate from Yale Law School, the first to join the New York City Bar Association and the first to join the New York City Law Department
Marian Anderson – greatest contralto singer, Presidential Medial of Freedom, Lifetime Achievement Award https://www.biography.com/political-figure/jane-bolin
Philliss Wheatley – the first African-American author of a published book of poetry https://www.biography.com/writer/phillis-wheatley
Dr Rebecca Lee Crumpler – the first African-American woman to become a doctor of medicine in the United States, physician, nurse, author https://perspectivesofchange.hms.harvard.edu/node/45
Cecil Gaines – White House butler There is a movie called The Butler currently on Netflix. I have not seen it and do not know if it is recommended for children. https://time.com/2219/what-the-butler-really-saw/
George McKenna – LA High Scholl Principle who made a difference https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/george-mckenna-iii-40 and https://boe.lausd.net/mckennabio
Ben Carson – World renown neurosurgeon and politician https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ben-carson-5393.php
Madam C J Walker – the first female self-made millionaire in America in the Guinness Book of World Records https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/madame-c-j-walker
Mae C Jemison – became the first black woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour https://www.biography.com/astronaut/mae-c-jemison
Daniel Hale Williams – general surgeon, who in 1893 performed the first documented, successful pericardium surgery in the United States to repair a wound. He founded Chicago’s Provident Hospital, the first non-segregated hospital in the United States and also founded an associated nursing school for African Americans https://www.biography.com/scientist/daniel-hale-williams
Garret Morgan – inventor, businessman, and community leader. His most notable inventions were a three-position traffic signal and a smoke hood notably used in a 1916 tunnel construction disaster rescue. Morgan also discovered and developed a chemical hair-processing and straightening solution https://www.biography.com/inventor/garrett-morgan
Benjamin Banneker – African-American almanac author, surveyor, landowner and farmer who had knowledge of mathematics and natural history https://www.biography.com/scientist/benjamin-banneker
Granville woods – inventor who held more than 60 patents in the U.S. He was the first African American mechanical and electrical engineer after the Civil War https://www.biography.com/inventor/granville-t-woods
Jack Jackson – nicknamed the “Galveston Giant”, was an American boxer who became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion https://www.biography.com/athlete/jack-johnson
Katherine Goble-Johnson, Dorthy Vaughn, and Mary Jackson – female mathematicians who worked at NASA, they were the forgotten women who helped win the space race. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/forgotten-black-women-mathematicians-who-helped-win-wars-and-send-astronauts-space-180960393/
One final reminder, God wants us to do our best in everything we do. Your abilities may be different than mine. My abilities may be different from someone else’s. We do not need to have the same abilities. You excel in your area, and I can excel in my area. If we are different, we do not need to compete.
As Christians, the Bible tells us, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24