Hazel Scott
Pianist, singer, movie star
(1920 – 1981)

 

A Trinidadian-born musical prodigy, Hazel Scott was a pianist, singer and movie star who performed classical and jazz. In 1950 she was also the first black woman to have a TV show. She became very active with civil rights, refused to portray stereotypes on film and declined to perform for segregated audiences.
Listen to a mind-blowing video of her playing two pianos at the same time… how is this even possible?!?!?!?!
Watch her play
Wikipedia info

 

Alan Emtage

(b. 1964)
Computer Scientist

Searching the Internet? Credit the ease with which you can find information to Alan Emtage, who in 1989, while a graduate student and systems administrator at McGill University, conceived of and implemented Archie, the world’s first Internet search engine. Many people refer to Archie as the Great-Great Grandfather of Google. Emtage’s work with search engines and the Internet paved the way for many of the systems and processes we use today when exploring the Internet.
Watch Emtage accept his induction into the Internet Hall of Fame
Wikipedia info

Norma Holloway Johnson
(1932 – 2011)
Judge

Judge Norma Holloway Johnson made history as the first African American woman appointed to the federal bench in Washington, D.C., and the first woman to serve as chief judge. Known for her no-nonsense courtroom manner, she was particularly tough on those who wielded influence. In the 1998 investigation led by independent counsel Kenneth Starr into the conduct of President Bill Clinton, she ruled he could not invoke executive privilege or lawyer-client privilege in trying to block prosecutors from questioning his aides.

Read more about her on the University of the District of Columbia website

Wikipedia info

Alexander Miles
(1838-1918)
Inventor and businessman

In Alexander Miles’ time, elevator doors had to be closed manually, often by dedicated operators. If the shaft was not closed, people could fall through it leading to some horrific accidents. Miles improved this mechanism by designing a flexible belt attachment to the elevator cage and drums positioned to indicate if the elevator had reached a floor. The belt allowed for automatic opening and closing when the elevator reached the drums on the respective floors, by means of levers and rollers. Miles was granted a patent for this mechanism in 1887, thus greatly improving elevator safety and efficiency.

Read more about Miles on the MIT website

Wikipedia info

View his patent

Celia Cruz
(1940 -2020)
Cuban-American singer

The Grammy-winning Cuban singer known as the “Queen of Salsa,” Celia Cruz had a voice you couldn’t forget and a personality to match her fabulously iconic costumes. One of her outfits now lives at the Smithsonian Institute and she was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Bill Clinton in 1994.
Listen to one of her most popular songs
Wikipedia info

Harry Thaddeus Stewart Jr.
(b. 1924)
Combat Fighter Pilot

Raised in New York City near LaGuardia Airport, Harry Stewart, Jr. learned how to fly before he could drive. He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps and as part of the Tuskegee Airmen, flying bomber escorts during World War II. One of his greatest accomplishments was destroying three fighter planes in one mission. He and several other Airmen later won the first Top Gun competition, leading to the recognition of Black pilots as the equals of Whites, yet was denied a job with TWA due to his race. Stewart resumed his college education, earning an engineering degree from NYU. He joined ANR Pipeline, where he was eventually promoted to Vice President. Still active at 95, he flew a modified P-51 Mustang and co-wrote a book about the Airmen.
Read Stewart’s HistoryNet interview
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Bryan Stevenson
(b. 1959)
Lawyer, social justice activist, professor

Bryan Stevenson’s belief, “each person in our society is more than the worst thing they’ve ever done,” comes from his strong faith developed in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, where churchgoers were celebrated for “standing up after having fallen down.”
As a lawyer, social justice activist, founder/executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) and professor at New York University School of Law. he has continued to challenge bias against the poor and minorities – especially children.

Listen to his TED talk on the power of identity
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Lewis Howard Latimer
(1848–1928)
Inventor, draftsman

Lewis Howard Latimer’s inventions included an improved process for manufacturing carbon filaments for light bulbs. In 1918 he joined Edison Pioneers, limited to individuals who had worked closely with Thomas Edison, as first person of color to become a member of the group of 100 former employees.
Learn more about Latimer at the Lewis Latimer House Museum
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Jessye Norman
(b. 1945)
Opera singer and recitalist

A brilliant and powerful opera singer, Jessye Norman is known for her interpretations of Wagner’s works and her dramatic performances. She has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Medal of Arts and is a member of the British Royal Academy of Music.

Here is her blood-curdling performance of Schubert’s “Der Erlkönig,” in which Norman transforms her face and voice to portray a narrator, a father and his son who is terrified of the “Elf King,” an evil and seductive spirit who kills children. Even though it’s in German, watch to the end and you will understand what happens to the scared little boy….
Wikipedia info

Bessie Blount Griffin
(1914-2009)
Writer, nurse, physical therapist, inventor and forensic scientist

Bessie Blount Griffin was a writer, nurse, physical therapist, inventor and forensic scientist. As one of very few Black physical therapists in the late 1940’s, many of her patients were World War II amputees who had lost the ability to use their hands. Griffin incorporated interpretive dance into her therapy, teaching her clients new ways to perform everyday tasks using their teeth and feet. She also received a patent for the Portable Receptacle Support, a device which supported a feeding bowl and tube inserted into the patient’s mouth. When the person bit on it, a small portion of food was pushed into his mouth.
Read more about her at Black Past
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Wes Moore
(b. 1978)
Author, entrepreneur, television producer

Wes Moore went from troubled inner-city teen to Rhodes Scholar, led a troop of paratroopers and special ops in Afghanistan, and became an investment banker, author and TV host and commentator. He is now CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation an organization fighting systemic poverty, poorly funded schools, food insecurity and injustice in New York City and across the country.
Read more about Moore on the Princeton University website
Wikipedia info

Frederick McKinley Jones

(1893-1961)
Inventor, entrepreneur

Does your refrigerator contain any produce from your local grocery story? If so, credit African American inventor Frederick McKinley Jones. In 1940 he invented refrigerator trucks, improving the long-haul transportation of perishable goods. He is an inductee into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Read more about Jones at the Minnesota Science and Technology Hall of Fame
Wikipedia info

Lorraine Hansbberry

(1930-1965)
Playwrite, entertainer

Lorraine Hansberry was the first black female author to have a play performed on Broadway. Her best-known work, “A Raisin in the Sun,” highlights the lives of Black Americans living under racial segregation in Chicago. At the age of 29 she won New York’s Drama Critic’s Circle Award, making her the first African American dramatist, the fifth woman and the youngest playwright to do so. She believed that theater and art have a responsibility to spark discussion and change and her works reflect that intent.
Hear Hansberry speak about her belief that all art is social
Wikipedia info

Nola Hylton

(b. 1957)
Professor, researcher

Nola Hylton, PhD played an essential part in developing Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) research for the detection, diagnosis and staging of breast cancer. She earned her PhD in applied physics from Stanford University in 1985, one of just a few Black women at the time with a doctoral degree. Hylton has become an international leader in the field of breast MRI. She is currently a professor in Residence in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging as well as the Director of the Breast Imaging Research Group at the University of California in San Francisco.
Learn more about Hylton at the UCSF website
Wikipedia info

Derrick Pitts

(b. 1955)
Astronomer, science communicator

When asked in an interview to describe some of the favorite moments in his career, Philadelphia native and Franklin Institute Chief Astronomer Derrick Pitts said, “my favorite was as I sat waiting for a train home after work one day about eight years ago. A young man came over, seemingly out of nowhere, and said, ‘Mr. Pitts, you don’t know me but I’ve watched you since I was a kid and your work inspired me to become a scientist, and I love it. Thanks!”
Listen as Pitts talks about his early interest in science and music
Wikipedia info

Marie Van Brittan Brown

(1922-1999)
Nurse, innovator

Mary Van Brittan Brown devised an early security unit for her own home. She spent many nights at home alone in Queens, New York while her husband was away and felt unsafe with high rates of crime in her neighborhood. On top of that, police were unreliable and unresponsive, so she created a device that would help put her mind at ease. In 1966, Brown invented a system that used a camera that could slide into and look through four peepholes in her front door. The camera’s view would then appear on a monitor in her home so she could survey any potentially unwanted guests.
Read more about Brown on the MIT website
Wikipedia info

Etta James

(1938-2012)
Singer

Despite growing up struggling with abuse in the foster care system, Etta James developed her strong and unmistakable vocal skills and became one of the most popular performers of her day. She won six Grammys and 17 Blues Music Awards over the course of her career. She sang a famous version of the ballad “At Last” and is one of the original masters of winged eyeliner.
Listen to a gritty, soulful performance of “Something’s Got a Hold of Me,” which was sampled in Flo Rida’s song “Good Feeling” in 2012, the year of her death
Wikipedia info

Warren Washington, PhD

(b. 1936)
Atmospheric scientist

Have questions about climate change? Ask Warren Washington, PhD, a senior scientist at NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research). Considered an expert in climate research, he developed one of the first atmospheric computer models of the earth’s climate and has subsequently created multiple models showing the impact of human activities on our future climate. Washington has received several presidential appointments and in 2009 was one 10 researchers to be awarded the National Medal of Science. He has served as a mentor of scholarly programs and outreach organizations that encourage students to enter the field of atmospheric sciences.
Read more about Washington at The HistoryMakers
Wikipedia info

Jason Reynolds

(b. 1983)
Writer

Jason Reynolds writes award-winning novels and poetry for young adult and middle school readers, including the Track series. In January 2020 he was named the Library of Congress’ national ambassador for young people’s literature, a two-year position designed to increase appreciation of YA work. He is featured in the YouTube series “Write. Right Rite.” where he engages with young writers to stretch their imagination and learn to write authentically..br>
Watch one of Reynolds’ “Write. Right. Rite.” videos and you’ll want to write, too!
Wikipedia info

Mark Dean, PhD

(b. 1957)
Inventor, computer engineer

Mark Dean developed the color monitor and the first gigahertz processor. The massive chip, built in 1999, would allow for higher processing rates at faster speeds within PCs. He holds three of nine PC patents as the co-creator of the IBM personal computer and in 1995 was named the first ever African-American IBM Fellow.
Listen to an IBM interview with Dean
Wikipedia info

Marian Anderson

(1887-1993)
Singer

Standing at the Lincoln Memorial on a blustery and cloudy April day, Marian Anderson began to sing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” before a crowd of 75,000. The sun broke through as she sang. It was Easter Sunday 1939 and she was singing outside because a permit allowing her to perform at Constitution Hall had been denied by the Daughters of the American Revolution due to a “whites only” clause.
Listen to her rendition to open the concert
Wikipedia info

Vinnette Carroll

(1922-2002)
Playwrite, actress, theater director

Vinnette Carroll was the first African American woman to direct on Broadway and a three-time Tony nominee. One of her musicals, “Your Arms Too Short to Box with God,” an adaptation of the gospel according to St. Matthew, appeared on Broadway three different times in the span of six years. In the late 1960’s, Carroll founded and acted as artistic director of the Urban Arts Corps, focusing on works by writers of color and directing all of the group’s productions herself.
Watch some of Carroll’s staging of “Your Arms Too Short to Box with God”
Wikipedia info

Lyda Newman

(1865-?)
Inventor, activist

Lyda Newman was a patented inventor and activist for women’s suffrage. Just the third Black woman to receive a patent, she created a new type of brush specifically designed for African American hair. Made from synthetic bristles rather the typical animal hair, the patent described it as “simple and durable in construction” and “very effective when in use.“ As a suffragist, she canvassed neighborhoods in New York City, hosted street meetings to educate passers-by and started the Negro Suffrage Headquarters in Manhattan.
Read more about Newman at Blackpast
Wikipedia info

Garrett Morgan
(1877-1963)
Inventor, businessman, community leader

In 1914, Garrett Morgan patented a breathing device in the form of a canvas hood – a precursor to the modern gas mask. He also invented the first automatic three-way traffic signal system, which he eventually sold to General Electric.
Watch the video about Morgan at Studies Weekly
Wikipedia info

Undine Smith Moore
(1904-1989)
Composer, music professor

Known as the “Dean of Black Women Composers,” Moore was a classically trained pianist who studied at Fisk University, The Julliard School and Columbia University. She was a professor, lecturer, conductor and composer whose work based on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life, “Scenes from the Life of a Martyr,” was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Read more about Moore’s work and hear an excerpt of “Scenes from the Life of a Martyr”
Wikipedia info

Frank Greene, Jr., PhD

(1938-2009)
Scientist, venture capitalist

Frank Greene, Jr. PhD was a scientist and venture capitalist. As an Electronics Officer in the United States Air Force in the 1960s, he helped develop high performance computers for the National Security Agency. After his military service, Greene created a high-speed computer memory system, receiving a patent for the fastest memory chip (at the time). He continued to share his expertise by teaching electrical engineering and computer science classes at multiple universities. In 1993 Greene founded New Vista Capital, a venture capital firm that supports individuals from marginalized communities.
Listen as Greene talks about what he learned participating in the early sit-in movement:
Wikipedia info

Marie Maynard Daly, PhD
(1921-2003)
Biochemist

Marie Maynard Daly was the first Black woman in the United States to earn a PhD in chemistry, awarded by Columbia University in 1947. As a biochemist, much of her research contributed to today’s understanding of high cholesterol and its relation to heart disease. She taught at Columbia and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University and was dedicated to increasing the number of minority students enrolled in medical school. Daly established a scholarship for African American chemistry and physics majors at Queens College, her undergraduate alma mater, in memory of her father, who was unable to complete college due to a lack of funds.

Read more about Daly at the Science History Institute
Wikipedia info

Vivien Theodore Thomas
(1910-1985)
Cardiac surgery pioneer, teacher

With just a high school education, Vivien Thomas became a cardiac surgery pioneer who taught techniques to many of the country’s prominent surgeons. Working in labs at Vanderbilt (where he was paid a janitor’s salary) and later Johns Hopkins, he completed research on traumatic shock, saving the lives of thousands of soldiers wounded in World War II. Thomas also developed the procedure to treat blue baby syndrome (now known as cyanotic heart disease), helping infants born with a heart defect that sends blood past their lungs. He subsequently became the director of Surgical Research Laboratories at John Hopkins, which in 1976 awarded him an honorary doctorate and named him an instructor of surgery for its School of Medicine.
Read more about Thomas in the “Baltimore Sun”
Wikipedia info