In 1926 when Carter Woodson founded Negro History Week to increase awareness of the many contributions made by African Americans. February was chosen because it included the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. In 1976 the month-long celebration was implemented as a time for all Americans to recognize the history and contributions of African Americans in the United States.
How many do you recognize? (mouse over each picture to read the answer)
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I wrote Roots, the story of his family; it won a Pulitzer Prize, became a bestseller, and the miniseries in 1977 with one of the largest television audiences ever.
I attended Tennessee State University and was the first American woman runner to win3 gold medals in the Olympics.
National security adviser to President Reagan, I was the youngest Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and was G.W. Bush's 1st Secretary of State.
I was one of the most fiery and controversial people of the 20th century; Spike Lee made a movie about me which renewed interest in the meaning of his life and death.
A spy for the Union army, I freed hundreds of slaves along the Underground Railroad.
Often considered the greatest all-around player in the history of basketball, I led the Chicago Bulls to their fifth championship.
The first African American ballplayer in the International League, i was the first African American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
I was the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs for President George W Bush and then was appointed Secretary of State when he was re-elected.
Although I lost my sight at from glacoma at age six, I was a major influence on popular black music during my early years and influenced both white musicians and audiences.
Named one of American's ten favorite actors I won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the film Glory and became the fifth African American to win an Academy Award
The products that I derived from the peanut and the soybean revolutionized the economy of the South by liberating it from an excessive dependence on cotton.
In 1995 I won my seventh Emmy Award for best talk show and an Emmy as best daytime TV host.
The first African American student accepted by the University of Mississippi, I had to be escorted to classes by federal marshals sent by Attorney General Robert Kennedy.
A Grammy Award-winning poet, composer, and civil-rights activist, I read one of my poems at Clinton's inauguration.
Striking a blow to the racist views of Hitler, I was the first American track and field Olympian to win four gold medals in one day at the 1936 in Berlin.
A distinguished and highly respected woman of the 19th century, one of my greatest achievements was desegregating the streetcars of Washington, DC.
The 1960 Olympic light heavyweight boxing champion, I went on to become the three-time heavyweight boxing champion of the world.
Ranked number one in the world among female tennis pros in 2002, I am one of the sport's most exciting and closely watched young players.
Nicknamed "Prince" because of my ability to charm my way out of trouble, I started out as a rapper and have become a major motion picture actor.
I used Gandhi's approach to peace and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace, one of the greatest honors that can be given to a person.
Awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize and the Congressional Gold Medal, I one day refused to give up her bus seat to a white man.
With a win at the Masters in 2001, I became the first player in history to sweep all four major tournaments in a row, further cementing my place in the history books and my status as the best golfer in the world.
Along with his guitar Lucille, I have been called the undisputed "King of the Blues".
A prominent conservative active in Republican causes, in 1991 I was nominated to the Supreme Court by President George Bush Sr., to replace Thurgood Marshall.
Recognized as the most outstanding female athlete ever, I medaled in the heptathlon - silver at the Los Angeles Olympics and gold at the games in Seoul.
Though my face was never shown in the Star Wars films, my voice is known to millions as the deep, menacing voice of Darth Vader.
In 1982, I grew up in Chicago with a large family all living under one roof which inspire and dominate my comedy.
Nicknamed "Duke" by a classmate who admired my clothing and manners, I was an important pioneer in big-band jazz.