Toni Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford on February 18, 1931) is a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, editor, and professor. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed black characters. Among her best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of...

Alvin Ailey, Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York. Ailey is credited with popularizing modern dance and revolutionizing African-American participation in 20th century concert dance. His company...

Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) was an American civil rights activist, important largely behind the scenes in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and earlier, and the main organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He counseled Martin Luther King, Jr. on the...

E. Denise Simmons was the mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts during the 2008-2009 term, and she was the first openly lesbian African-American mayor in the United States. A Justice of the Peace and Notary Public, Simmons came to public office with 12 years of experience with the city-funded citizen rights...

Simone Bell is a community organizer and politician from Atlanta, GA, and the first African-American out lesbian elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in December 2009 from the state’s 58th district in DeKalb and Fulton counties. The seat had been held by Rep. Robbin Shipp (D-Atlanta)...

Daniel Hale Williams (January 18, 1858 – August 4, 1931) was an American surgeon. He was the first African-American cardiologist, and is sometimes attributed with performing the first successful surgery on the heart. He also founded Provident Hospital, the first non-segregated hospital in the United...

The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with African-American performers. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is the home of Showtime at the Apollo, a nationally syndicated...

Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American model, singer, songwriter and actress. In 1984, she became the first woman of African American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal caused her to relinquish her title. Williams rebounded by launching a career as an entertainer, earning...

John Arthur Johnson (March 31, 1878 – June 10, 1946), better known as Jack Johnson and nicknamed the “Galveston Giant”, was an American boxer, the best heavyweight of his generation and the first black world heavyweight boxing champion (1908-1915). He was born in Galveston, TX to former slaves...

The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II as the 332nd Fighter Group of the US Army Air Corps. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces. During World War II, African Americans...