Articles

This eighteenth-century scientist and almanac author wrote to Thomas Jefferson:

"Sir, how pitiable is it to reflect, that although you were so fully convinced of the benevolence of the Father of Mankind, and of his equal and impartial distribution of these rights and privileges, which he hath conferred upon them, that you should at the same time counteract his mercies, in detaining by fraud and violence so numerous a part of my brethren, under groaning captivity and cruel oppression, that you should at the same time be found guilty of that most criminal act, which you professedly detested in others, with respect to yourselves."

This singer, a native Texan, first performed the song "Ol’ Man River" in the original production of Show Boat and was among the first African Americans to appear on Broadway.

Learn more about Julius Bledsoe on Texas Originals.

This diplomat played a part in trying to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the 1949 Armistice Agreements.

This jazz musician appears in an uncredited role in Citizen Kane as the piano player in the El Rancho cabaret. He was also one of the first African Americans to host a television variety show.

Born into slavery, this Galveston political leader served on the Republican National Committee.

Learn more about Norris Wright Cuney on Texas Originals.

This co-founder of the NAACP spent his life campaigning for equal rights for African Americans but died a year before the 1964 Civil Rights Act was signed into law.

While traveling with Cabeza de Vaca in the sixteenth century, this Moroccan native became the first known person of African descent to set foot in the New World.

This civil rights leader served as president of the National Council of Negro Women and wrote a column called "A Woman’s Word" for the New York Amsterdam News, a weekly African American newspaper.

This professional boxer, known as the Galveston Giant, was the first African American World Heavyweight Champion.

Learn more about Jack Johnson on Texas Originals.

This native Houstonian was the first African American woman in Texas to be elected to the state Senate and the U.S. Congress.

Learn more about Barbara Jordan on Texas Originals.

This native Texan was a United States Congressman known for his anti-poverty advocacy. He tragically died in a plane crash in Ethiopia.

Learn more about Mickey Leland on Texas Originals.

While serving as the NAACP’s chief counsel, this lawyer successfully argued the case of Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court, to which he was later appointed.

This Waco native was a cook in the United States Navy who became the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

This athlete, nicknamed the “Buckeye Bullet” during his time at Ohio State University, explained his success by saying, "I let my feet spend as little time on the ground as possible. From the air, fast down, and from the ground, fast up."

This civil rights leader organized the 1963 March on Washington at which Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

This baseball player was the first to have his uniform number retired across all Major League teams.

This poet and Wiley College professor and debate coach inspired the Denzel Washington film The Great Debaters.

Learn more about Melvin Tolson in "Memories of Melvin B. Tolson," "Wiley College's Great Debaters," and "Dr. Melvin B. Tolson" from our February 2008 newsletter.

This Underground Railroad conductor once said, "I freed thousands of slaves. I could have freed thousands more, if they had known they were slaves."

Learn more about Harriet Tubman in our Digital Repository.