Black Facts

Learn Facts About Some Unfamiliar African Americans.

•    Bessie Coleman (1893 - 1926) was the first black woman to gain a pilot's license.

•    James Armistead was an American spy.  In 1781, Armistead, a slave, was a valuable
    intelligence agent during the Revolution.  For his work, Armistead was emancipated in
    1786.  What does emancipated mean?

•    The Civil War (1861 - 1865)  The African American soldier fought bravely and won
     praise in more than 200 battles.  Twenty won the Medal of Honor, America's highest
     military honor.

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•    Alexander Dumas (1802 - 1870), literary genius, wrote novels and plays that
    dominated 17th century French literature.  Dumas was inspired by his father and was
    blessed with a vivid imagination and an enviable memory.  What famous stories did he
    write?

•    Lynette Woodard of the University of Kansas was the first woman to become a
    member of the Harlem Globetrotters.  Who are the Harlem Globetrotters?

•    Matthew Henson (1866 - 1955) was one of the first men to stand at the North Pole. 
    Henson drove the dog sleds and served as the commander's "right-hand man".  Who
    was the commander?

•    Nell Carter (1948 - 2003) was a well-rounded character actress who found success on
     stage, television, in nightclubs, and in feature films.  She won a Tony for her
     performance in the Broadway musical,  Ain't Misbehavin'.

•    The Black Flag known as the Bandera.  Red: Is for the Blood that we've shed (and will
    continue to shed).  Black: Is for the People (Strong and Beautiful). Green: Is for the
    Land  (the Mother Land, and the land that we've lost).

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•    Maggie Lena Walker (1867 - 1934) became America's first woman bank president. 
    She was very interested in helping African Americans earn more money which led her
    to start the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903.

•   Two Black men, Prince Whipple and Oliver Cromwell, served with General George
    Washington crossing the Delaware, just before the Battle of Trenton, December 25,
    1779.

Whipple

Cromwell is on the boat.

•    Althea Gibson (1927 - 2003)became the first African American tennis player to win
    at Wimbleton.  She overcame unbelievable odds to achieve international acclaim and
    success that paved the way for the likes of the Williams sisters and Tiger Woods. 
    What is Wimbleton?

•    Rosa Parks (1913 - 2005) worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Civil
    Rights Movement.  Mrs. Parks was 42 when she committed an act of defiance in 1955 that led
    to change the course of American history and earn her the title "mother of the civil rights
    movement."

•    Marshall W. "Major" Taylor (1878 - 1932), the United States' first black world
    champion cyclist.

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•    An elite group.  Find out what role and which movie they each won an award for.  Who
     won 2 Oscars?

Hattie McDaniel

Sidney Poitier

Whoopi Goldberg

Halle Berry

•   Gregory Hines (1946 - 2003), grew up as a member of "Hines, Hines, and Dad" with
    his father and brother in a tap dancing act.  He was an accomplished tap dancer and
    many of his films featured his dancing.  He also cut a song with Luther Vandross.  How
    many of you know that song?

•   Barry White (1945 - 2003), known in all circles as "The Maestro", had a soul of
   passion and this was evident in every song that he recorded.  He was an icon.

•   Fred Berry (1951 - 2003), was the bulb-shaped, squeaky-voiced actor famous for
    playing red-beret-wearing Rerun on the 1970s TV sitcom "What's Happening!".

•   Lady Ella Fitzgerald (1917 - 2003) personified jazz for more than 60 years.  She had
    amazing diversity, in both range and style.  She started as a swing singer, moved to
    bebop, perfected scat and jazz, but sang modern songs as well as classics.

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•   Carter G. Woodson (1875 - 1950) was an American historian who first opened the
    long-neglected field of black studies to scholars and also popularized the field in the
    schools and colleges of blacks.

•   Ida B. Wells (1862 - 1931) was a fearless anti-lynching crusader, suffragist, women's
    rights advocate, journalist, and speaker.  She stands as one of our nation's most
    uncompromising leaders and most ardent defenders of democracy.

•   Lionel Hampton (1908 - 2002) was one of the most extraordinary musicians of the
   20th century.  His artistic achievements symbolized the impact that jazz music has
   had on our culture in the 21st century.

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•   A. Phillip Randolph (1889 - 1979) was a labor leader.  He was active in the Socialist
   party and organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.  He was the organizer
   of the August 1963 march on Washington.

•   Lena Horne (1917 - ) is a dynamic performer, of striking appearance and elegant
    style.  She made her professional debut at the age of 16 as a singer in the chorus at
    Harlem's Cotton Club.

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•    Robert L. Woodson (1634 - 1716) is often referred to as the grandfather of the
     movement to empower neighborhood-based organizations.  Woodson's social activism
     dates back to the 1960's, when, as a young civil rights activist, he developed and
     coordinated national and local community development programs.

•    James L. Farmer (1886 - 1961) was a theologian, preacher, and educator.  He
    received his doctorate in sacred theology from Boston University in 1918, and served
    three black Methodist churches.

•    Ray Charles (1930 - 2004)  is hailed today as a top vocal star, a hit songwriter, a
    leading jazz piano player, a great arranger, and a strong influence in contemporary
    jazz development.  Due to a case of glaucoma, Ray started going blind at the age of
    five.  His ailment went untreated resulting in total blindness by the time he was seven. 

•   Paul Winfield (1941 - 2004) was known for his versatility and power in stage, film
    and television roles that included a highly praised televised portrayal of the Rev.
    Martin Luther King, Jr.

•   Rick James (1948 - 2004) was known as the king of Punk Funk and the bad boy of
   Motown. He blended the hard core funk of his predecessors James Brown, Sly Stone
   and George Clinton with the Rock and Roll theatrics of the Rolling Stones and Kiss.
   Rick James was the quintessential "Super Freak," a term he coined in the 1980's with
   the multi-platinum song he wrote, arranged, produced and performed sharing that same
   title.

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•   Reggie White (1961 - 2004) has had an illustrious career with both the Philadelphia
   Eagles and the Green Bay Packers. He helped the Packers defeat New England in
   Super Bowl XXXI in January 1997. He has been voted to a record 12th straight Pro
   Bowls, the NFL's annual all-star game. He was also an ordained minister. His no.92 has
   been retired forever.

•   Shirley Chisholm (1925 - 2005) was the first African American woman to be elected
    to the U. S. Congress, where she served from 1969 until her retirement in 1982 as a
    representative from New York.

•  Ossie Davis (1917 - 2005) was a writer, director, actor and producer who established a
   phenomenal career, remaining throughout a strong voice for artists' rights, human
   dignity and social justice.

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•   Luther Vandross (1951 - 2005) got his start in the 1970s singing jingles. His pitch-
   perfect voice got him work as a backup singer for the likes of Barbara Streisand,
   Davie Bowie, and Donna Summer.

•   John H. Johnson (1918 - 2005) was the founder, publisher, chairman and CEO of the
   Johnson Publishing Company, Inc., Chicago, Ill, the largest black owned publishing
   company in the world. Ebony is the nation's number one African American oriented
   magazine with a circulation of 1.7 million and a monthly readership of 11 million. He
   was also the first black to found and own a black-oriented cable television network,
   Black Entertainment Television (BET).  BET premiered on January 25, 1980.

•  Brock Peters (1927 - 2005) began his long film career in the 1950s with the landmark
   productions of "Carmen Jones" in 1954 and "Porgy and Bess" in 1959. He also
   appeared in numerous TV shows. His distinctive deep bass voice was often used for
   animated characters.

•   Nipsey Russell (1924 - 2005) became a fixture on popular television game & talk
   shows, where he was welcomed for his poetic delivery that earned him that moniker
   the "poet laureate of television." He also played the Tin Man alongside Diana Ross &
   Michael Jackson in "The Wiz" as part of a decade-long career in stage, television and
   film.

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•   Vivian Malone Jones (1942 - 2005) was one of two black students whose effort to
    enroll at the University of Alabama led to George Wallace's infamous "stand in the
    schoolhouse door" in 1963. She was the first black to graduate from the school.

•   C. DeLores Tucker ( 1927 - 2005) was one of this century's most renowned
    visionaries and civil rights activists. Dr. C. DeLores Tucker, former Secretary of
    State, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1971-1977), is the convening founder and
    national chair of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. (NCBW), having
    succeeded the Hon. Shirley Chisholm in 1992.

•   Richard Pryor (1940 - 2005) whose brilliant comic imagination and creative use of the   blunt cadences of street language were revelations to most Americans. He did not simply tell stories, he brought them to vivid life, revealing the entire range of black American humor, from its folksy rural origins to its raunchier urban expressions.

•   Lou Rawls (1933 - 2006) was the smooth-voiced singer and actor who traced a line from gospel to jazz and pop. Mr. Rawls was a suave entertainer who appealed to black and white audiences nearly equally. He had a wide vocal range and became known for an unmistakable, mentholated baritone, especially as heard on the hit song, "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine."

•   Wilson Pickett (1942 - 2006) was one of the popular black singers of the '60s. He helped introduce the aggressive style of rhythmic style of soul music.  Pickett scored a series of R&B and pop hits on Atlantic Records between 1963 and 1972 that included "In the Midnight Hour", "Mustang Sally", and Funky Broadway".

•   Coretta Scott King (1927 - 2006), widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. became a symbol in her own right, of her husband's struggle for peace and brotherhood, presiding with a quiet, steady, stoic presence over seminars and conferences on global issues. After her husband's assassination in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 1968, she continued his work for social justice and devoted her life to his work for social justice and devoted her life to his legacy, establishing the King Center in Atlanta and working for decades for a federal holiday in his honor.

•  Octavia Butler (1947 - 2006) was an American science fiction writer, one of very few African American women in the field. She began writing at the age of 10 "to escape loneliness and boredom". She won both Hugo and Nebula awards and was the first science fiction writer ever to be a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation "genius grant".

•  Gordon Parks (1912 - 2006) became the first photographer to receive a fellowship from the Julius Rosenwald Foundation. He pursued fashion photography and despite racism in the fashion business, he was hired at Vogue magazine. He was also an European correspondent for Life magazine.

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•  Floyd Patterson's (1935 - 2006) talent and ambition took the boxing world by storm. He appeared out of nowhere to claim the New York Golden Gloves title in both 1951 and 1952.Seventeen year old Patterson needs international headlines when he took the middleweight gold medal in Helsinki, Finland, at the 1952 Olympics.

•  Eric Gregg (1951 - 2006) former Major League Baseball (MLB) umpire called his first game in 1975, at the age of 19 and became a member of the National League staff in 1978. He worked the 1989 World Series, four championship series, two division series and one All-Star game.

•  Billy Preston (1946 - 2006) was called the Fifth Beatle because he played keyboards on Let it Be, The White Album and Abbey Road. He also played on the Rolling Stones's hit song Miss You and often played with Eric Clapton. He also did the organ work on Sly & the Family Stone's greatest hits. Preston's own hits included "Nothing from Nothing," "Will it Go Round in Circles" and "You Are So Beautiful", which Joe Cocker turned into an international hit.

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•  Rufus Harley (1936 - 2006) was an American jazz musician of mixed Cherokee and African ancestry. Although he began as a saxophonist and flutist, Harley was the first jazz musician to adopt the Scottish great highland bagpipes as his primary instrument. He became inspired to learn the instrument after seeing the Black Watch perform in John F. Kennedy's funeral procession in November 1963.

•   Ed Bradley (1941 - 2006) was an American journalist, and he was best known for his
   award-winning work on the long-running CBS News television magazine 60 Minutes. His
   introduction to news reporting came during the riots in Philadelphia in the 1960s.

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•    Gerald Levert (1966 - 2006) was the son of Eddie Levert, who was the lead singer of
    the legendary R&B group the O'Jays. During his 20 year career, Gerald Levert climbed
    to success with his songs "Casonova", "Addicted to You", "Just Coolin", and "Baby I'm
    Ready" in the late eighties and nineties.

•    James Brown (1933 - 2006) had more honorifics attached to his name than any other
    performer in music history. He was variously tagged "Soul Brother Number One," "the
    Godfather of Soul," "the Hardest Working Man in Show Business," "Mr. Dynamite" and
    even "the Original Disco Man." Brown's life history documented one triumph over
    adversity after another.

•   Yolanda Denise King (1955 - 2007) was the first-born child and daughter of Coretta
   Scott King and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She was a human rights
   worker and actress. She was also a spokesperson for the national stroke awareness
   association.

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•    Julia Carson (1938 - 2007) was a member of the U. S. House of Representatives
    for Indiana's 7th congressional district from 1997 until her death. Carson was
    the first woman and first African American to represent the 7th District. She
    was also the second African American woman elected to Congress from Indiana,
    after Katie Hall.

•   Ike Turner (1931 - 2007) was best known for discovering Anna Mae Bullock, a teenage
   singer from Nutbush, Tenn., whom he renamed Tina Turner. The Ike and Tina Turner
   Revue made a string of hits in the 1960s before the Turners broke up in 1975.

•   Oscar Peterson (1925 - 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called
    the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, and was therefore a member of
    jazz royalty. He is considered to have been one of the greatest pianists of all time.

•   Johnnie Carr (1911 - 2008) joined childhood friend Rosa Parks in the historic Montgomery bus
    boycott. Carr succeeded the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. as president of the Montgomery
    Improvement Association in 1967, a post she held at her death. It was the newly formed
    association that led the boycott of city buses in the Alabama capital in 1955 after Parks, a
    black seamstress, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to whites on a crowded bus.