Fifty Influential Figures

Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931)

Editor, civil rights leader and women's rights advocate was a co-founder of the NAACP and "began the anti-lynching crusade" in America.

The Memphis Diary of Ida B. Wells White & Wells Lynching Index Religion and Politics

Ralph J. Bunche (1804-1871)

Political scientist and diplomat was the first Black to win a Nobel Prize. He received the peace prize in 1950 for negotiating an end to the first major Arab-Israeli conflict.

George Washington Carver (January 1864– January 5, 1943), was an American scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor whose studies and teaching revolutionized agriculture in the Southern United States. The day and year of his birth are unknown; he is believed to have been born before slavery was abolished in Missouri in January 1864. Much of Carver's fame is based on his research into and promotion of alternative crops to cotton, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes. He wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops both as a source of their own food and as a source of other products to improve their quality of life. The most popular of his 44 practical bulletins for farmers contained 105 food recipes that used peanuts. He also created or disseminated about 100 products made from peanuts that were useful for the house and farm, including cosmetics, dyes, paints, plastics, gasoline, and nitroglycerin. Wikipedia

Martin R. Delany (1812-1885)

Editor, physician and abolitionist published the first full-length statement on Black nationalism in America in 1852.

Charles R. Drew (1904-1950)

Surgeon was a pioneer in the development of blood plasma preservation and a major influence as a professional role model.

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)

Poet was the first Black writer to achieve national fame. Critics said he was the poet of the Negro Masses. Washerwomen Sons and Daughters

Edward Kennedy Ellington (1899-1974)

Pianist and band leader expanded vocabulary of American music and was called "greatest composer America ... has produced."

Marcus Garvey (1887-1940)

Orator and Black nationalist organized America's first real Black mass movement and articulated a new vision of African independence.

Some New Light on the Garvey Movement

Prince Hall

(1735?-1807)

Abolitionist and Masonic leader organized the first African-American lodge and the first Black interstate organization in America.

Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977)

Civil rights leader came out of a share cropper's cabin and played a major role in the Freedom Movement and the Freedom Democratic Party.

W.C. Handy (1873-1958)

Composer and bandleader published the first blues and collected and preserved the musical heritage of Southern blues singers.

Frances E.W. Harper (1825-1911)

Poet, abolitionist, novelist, lecturer and women's rights advocate was a reformer and one of the most popular poets of her day.

Charles H. Houston (1895-1950)

Lawyer and first NAACP special counsel was the architect of the legal campaign that led to the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Langston Hughes (1902-1967)

Poet, playwright, author, newspaper columnist carried poetry to the people and is often called the "Poet Laureate of Black America."

In Praise of Langston Hughes Sermon and Blues

Zora Neale Hurston (1901?-1960)

Anthropologist and writer pioneered in the study of Black folk culture and was one of the most widely published women writers of her era.

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updated 11 July 2008