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List. The list in alphabetical order, as published Asante's 2002 book: Hank Aaron (1934–2021) Ira Aldridge (1807–1867) Muhammad Ali (1942–2016) Richard Allen (1760–1831) Marian Anderson (1897–1993) Maya Angelou (1928–2014) Arthur Ashe (1943–1993) Crispus Attucks (1723–1770) James Baldwin (1924–1987) Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806)
- Molefi Kete Asante
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- Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005) Congress is more diverse now than it's ever been. However, when Chisholm was attempting to shatter the glass ceiling, the same couldn't be said.
- Bayard Rustin (1912-1987) Dr. King is usually credited for the March on Washington in August 1963. But it was Rustin who organized and strategized in the shadows.
- Claudette Colvin (1939- ) Before Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, there was a brave 15-year-old who chose not to sit at the back of the bus.
- Annie Lee Cooper (1910-2010) The Selma, Alabama, native played a crucial part in the 1965 Selma Voting Rights Movement. But it wasn't until Oprah played her in the 2014 Oscar-nominated film Selma that people really took notice of Cooper's activism.
- Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) was a pivotal leader in the American Civil Rights Movement. He continues to be celebrated for his profound influence in advocating for nonviolent resistance and racial equality.
- Harriet Tubman (1822-1913) An abolitionist and political activist, Harriet Tubman is best known for helping enslaved people escape through the Underground Railroad.
- Barack Obama (b. 1961) ADVERTISEMENT. Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, made history as the first Black American to hold the office.
- Maya Angelou (1928-2014) Maya Angelou was an influential poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist, celebrated for her series of seven autobiographies.
- First Black Rhodes Scholar
- First Black Person to Graduate from A U.S. College
- First Black Civilian to Become A Licensed Pilot
- First Black Editor of Harvard Law Review
- First Black Women to Become A Federal Judge
- First Black Combat Pilot
- First Black NFL Coach
- First Black Author to Win Pulitzer Prize
- First Black Director of Hollywood Studio Film
- First Black Person to Win Seat in U.S. House of Representatives
Alain LeRoy Locke was an American philosopher, educator and writer. After obtaining an undergraduate degree from Harvard University, Locke became the first Black Rhodes Scholar. He later returned to the U.S. to complete his doctoral studies at Harvard where he got a PhD in philosophy in 1918. Locke later earned the title “Father of the Harlem Renai...
Alexander Twilight grew up in Corinth, Vermont during the turn of the 18th century where he worked on a neighbor's farm while learning to read and write. He was able to finally put himself through school at Randolph’s Orange County Grammar School at the age of 20. Six years later he transferred as a junior to Vermont's Middlebury College, where he ...
Bessie Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas, in 1892 and grew up in a family of 13 children. Coleman had dreams of soaring through the air, so she went to France in 1919 to find a flight school willing to teach her. When she returned to the U.S. in 1921 — as the first Black civilianto be a licensed pilot in the world — Coleman was met with press cove...
Charles Hamilton Houston went to Amherst and taught English at Howard University before attending Harvard Law School, where he would make history. Houston started law school in the fall of 1919 and in 1922 he became the first Black editor of the Harvard Law Review. As a lawyer he went on to play a role in a majority of the civil rights cases before...
When Constance Baker Motley was 15 she was turned away from a public beach because she was Black and it sparked her interest in civil rights. After obtaining her law degree from Columbia Law School, Motley went on to represent Martin Luther King Jr. as a young lawyer and become a law clerk for Thurgood Marshall. She took an interest in politics and...
Georgia native Eugene Jacques Bullard, born in 1895, was unhappy with his life in the U.S. and fled to Europe in 1912. Bullard joined the French Foreign Legion after the start of World War I and enlisted in the French flying service after betting a friend on leave he could despite being Black. In 1916, Bullard entered Aeronautique Militaire, French...
Fritz Pollard was small, but he loved football and went on to have a historic football career at Brown University. Pollard played before attending the Ivy League school, but being on the university’s team put him on the map. Many firsts were ahead of him, starting with being the first Black player to be selected for the Walter Camp All-America team...
Gwendolyn Brooks was a writer who was recognized for her work in poetry. Her poems, like those in her book “A Street in Bronzeville,” were about the black experience in America at the time. In 1950, Brooks won a Pulitzer Prize for her book of poetry “Annie Allen.” The award made her the first Black author to win the prestige prize. Brooks wrote sev...
Gordon Parks did not begin his career as a filmmaker until he was 55, after a long career as a photographer and writer. In fact, he was the first Black staff photographer at Life Magazine. Parks signed a contract to make 1969's “The Learning Tree,"earning him a place in history as the first Black director of a Hollywood studio film. Park followed t...
Joseph Rainey, a South Carolina native, was called to serve the Confederate Army during the Civil War. In 1862, he fled the United States with his wife and went to Bermuda, where the couple accumulated a notable amount of wealth. When he returned to the U.S. years later, Rainey utilized his new status to become an active participant in the Republic...
- Alamin Yohannes
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- Claudette Colvin. Nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin refused to move to the back of a bus to give up her seat to a white person.
- Robert Sengstacke Abbott. Abbott laid the foundation for what would eventually birth many Black publications including Ebony, Jet, Essence, Black Enterprise, Right On!
- Shirley Chisholm. Chisholm kicked the door in for African American women holding major roles in government. She first served as an educational consultant for New York City’s Bureau of Child Welfare and ran for New York State Assembly in 1964.
- Johnson H. Johnson. Hailed as one of the most influential Black media publishers, Johnson got his start working for Supreme Life Insurance Company collecting weekly news clippings for his manager, which sparked his idea for his first publication, Negro Digest.
The Root 100 is our annual list of the most influential African Americans, ages 25 to 45. It’s our way of honoring the innovators, the leaders, the public figures and the game changers whose work...
Jan 30, 2024 · The unsung heroes. Their stories aren’t widely told, but these Black women and men helped shape history. By Nicquel Terry Ellis, Nicole Chavez, Chandelis Duster and Faith Karimi, CNN Published...
