Historical Achievements and Contributions of African Americans

These flashcards cover notable achievements and contributions of influential African Americans throughout history.

Langston Hughes

Influential Harlem Renaissance poet born in Joplin, MO, 1902.

Oprah Winfrey

First African American woman to host a nationally syndicated TV show in 1986.

Ray Charles

Finished recording his soul and country album, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, in 1962.

Wilt Chamberlain

Scored 100 points in a single basketball game, setting a new NBA record in 1962.

Dr. Bernard Harris Jr.

First African American to walk in space in 1995.

Black Panther

Record-breaking movie directed by Ryan Coogler, released in 2018.

Dr. John Henrik Clarke

Founded the Department of Black and Puerto Rican Studies in 1969.

Issa Rae

Author of the memoir The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, published in 2015.

Jim Brown

Football player, civil rights activist, and actor born in St. Simons, GA, 1936.

Rosa Parks

Born in Alabama in 1913, commemorated with a postal stamp in 2013.

Nelson Mandela

Released from prison after serving over two and a half decades as a political prisoner in 1990.

Toni Morrison

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer born in Lorain, OH, 1931.

Clifton Wharton

Named as the first African American head of the U.S. Embassy in Romania, 1958.

Bob Marley

Jamaica's most recognized musician, born in Nine Mile in 1945.

Amy Sherald

Artist known for her portrait of Michelle Obama unveiled in 2018.

Kehinde Wiley

Artist known for his portrait of Barack Obama unveiled in 2018.

The Fugees

Released The Score, which has sold more than 22 million copies in 1996.

John Robinson

Known as the "Father of the Tuskegee Airmen," had a garden dedicated to him at the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia in 2015.

Katherine Johnson

NASA mathematician who calculated the first American orbital spaceflight in 1962.