Famous African Americans - PowerPoint Presentation

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Famous African AmericansSlide2

Garret Augustus Morgan

Garrett Morgan

opened up a sewing machine and shoe repair shop in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1907. An innovative mind, he kept busy creating prototypes to solve many everyday

problems. One of his first creations was a liquid that straightened fabric—which he later sold as a product for hair straightening. In 1911, after hearing about the tragic deaths in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, Morgan invented a safety hood and smoke protector for firefighters. The hood, which contained a wet sponge to filter out smoke and cool the air, became the precursor to the gas mask. To sell his safety hood, Morgan had to hire a white actor to pretend to be the inventor. In 1923, Morgan patented another useful invention: A hand-cranked mechanical signal machine for traffic crossing. It would eventually lead to the creation of the traffic light. Slide3

Charles Drew

African-American surgeon

Charles Drew

felt called to the study of medicine after his sister, Elsie, died of Influenza. He excelled in medical school, and became a doctor around the beginning of World War II. Drew was recruited to set up a program for blood storage in Britain, which laid the foundation for the American Red Cross Blood Bank. In 1943, Drew was chosen as the first African-American surgeon to serve as examiner on the American Board of Surgery. Slide4

Lewis Howard Latimer

Though

Thomas Edison

is recognized as the inventor of the light bulb, African-American inventor Lewis Latimer played an important role in its development. In 1881, Latimer patented a method for making carbon filaments, allowing light bulbs to burn for hours instead of minutes. Latimer also drafted the drawings that helped Alexander Graham Bell receive a patent for the telephone.Slide5

Barack Obama

The 44th and current president of the United States, Barack Obama was born August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was a civil rights lawyer before pursuing a political career, first as Illinois State Senator, and later as the first African-American president of the United States. President Obama continues to enact policy changes in response to the issues of health care and economic crisis.Slide6

Maya Angelou

Writer and African American activist Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Maya Angelou's five autobiographical novels were met with critical and popular success. Her volume of poetry,

Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. In 1993, Angelou wrote a poem for Clinton's inauguration. In 2008, she earned a NAACP Award.Slide7

Beyoncé Knowles

Beyoncé

Knowles (b. September 4, 1981) is an American Pop and R&B singer. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child. Knowles is the only artist in history to have all her studio albums win the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album. In February 2010, the RIAA listed her as the top certified artist of the decade.Slide8

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Born Jan. 15, 1929, Atlanta, Ga., U.S.—died April 4, 1968, Memphis, Tenn.) Baptist minister and social activist who led the civil rights movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. His leadership was fundamental to that movement's success in ending the legal segregation of African Americans in the South and other parts of the United States. King rose to national prominence as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Slide9

Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood

Marshall was an American jurist and the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Before becoming a judge, he was a lawyer who was best remembered for his high success rate in arguing before the Supreme Court and for the victory in Brown v. Board of Education. He was nominated to the court by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967. Slide10

Michael Jackson

Dubbed the King of Pop, singer-song writer Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana on August 29, 1958. As a child, he was lead singer of the Jackson family's popular Motown group, The

Jackson 5

. Michael Jackson went on to become one of the most internationally famous award-winning solo pop sensations to date. . He made the charts in 1971 with "Got to Be There" from the album of the same name. His 1972 album, Ben, featured the eponymous ballad about a rat. The song became Jackson's first solo No. 1 single.Slide11

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. He published his first poem in 1921. He left Columbia University after one year, traveling and supporting himself with odd jobs. His poetry was later promoted by

Vachel

Lindsay, and Hughes published his first book in 1926. He wrote poetry, stories, and plays, as well as a popular column for the Chicago Defender. He died May 22, 1967.Slide12

Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby was born July 12, 1937, Philadelphia, Pa. During his sophomore year, he left college to entertain as a stand-up comedian. Cosby's first acting assignment, in the espionage series

I Spy

(1965-1968), made him the first black actor to perform in a starring dramatic role on network television. Cosby's most successful work, The Cosby Show, appeared on NBC from 1984 to 1992.Slide13

Jesse Owens

Jesse Owens was born September 12, 1913, in Oakville, Alabama. In high school, he won three track and field events at the 1933 National Interscholastic Championships. In 1935, while competing for Ohio State University, he equaled one world record broke three others. In 1936 he won four gold medals at the Olympic Games in Berlin. In 1976 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.Slide14

Jackie Robinson

Born January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play major league baseball. Throughout his decade-long career with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he made advancements in the cause of civil rights for black athletes. In 1955, he helped the Dodgers win the World Series. He retired in 1957, with a career batting average of .311.Slide15

Jesse Jackson

Jesse Jackson was born October 8, 1941, Greenville, South Carolina. While an undergraduate, Jackson became involved in the civil rights movement. In 1965 he went to Selma, Alabama, to march with

Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the 1980s he became a leading national spokesman for African Americans. After being appointed special envoy to Africa, he was awarded the 2000 Presidential Medal of Freedom. Quotes"We must not measure greatness from the mansion down, but from the manger up."– Jesse JacksonSlide16

Whitney Houston

Born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey, Whitney Houston released her debut album at age 22 and scored three number one singles.

Whitney

(1987) delivered four more number ones and earned Houston her first Grammy. With her marriage to singer Bobby Brown in 1992, Houston's career got off track. She made a comeback with 2009's I Look to You. Houston died on February 11, 2012.Slide17

Shirley Chisholm

Born in New York City in 1924, Shirley Chisholm became the first black congresswoman and for seven terms represented New York State in the House. She ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 1972. Throughout her political career Chisholm fought for education opportunities and social justice. She left congress in 1983 to teach and lecture. She died in 2005.Slide18

Oprah Winfrey

Media giant Oprah Winfrey was born in the poor rural town of Kosciusko, Mississippi on January 29, 1954. In 1976, Winfrey moved to Baltimore, where she hosted a hit TV chat show, People Are Talking, after which she was recruited by a Chicago TV station to host her own morning show. Later she went on to pursue her two-and-a-half decade stint as host of the wildly popular Oprah Winfrey show.Slide19

Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Hudson is an American actress and singer. In 2004, she auditioned for FOX's

American Idol

, gaining exposure and a fan base . In 2006, she was chosen to play a Motown singer in the film Dreamgirls. She won numerous awards for her performance, including an Oscar. She won a Grammy in 2008 for her debut, self-titled album.Slide20

Rosa Parks

Civil rights activist Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus spurred a city-wide boycott. The city of Montgomery had no choice but to lift the law requiring segregation on public buses. Rosa Parks received many accolades during her lifetime, including the NAACP's highest award.Slide21

Marian Anderson

Born February 27, 1897, in Philadelphia, Marian Anderson displayed vocal talent as a child, but her family could not afford to pay for formal training. Members of her church congregation raised funds for her to attend a music school for a year, and in 1955 she became the first African American singer to perform as a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.Slide22

Bessie Coleman

In a time of both gender and racial discrimination, Bessie Coleman broke barriers and became the first black woman in the world to earn a pilot's license. Because flying schools in the United States denied her entry, she took it upon herself to learn French and move to France to achieve her goal. After only seven months, Coleman earned her license from France's well known

Caudron

Brother's School of Aviation.  Though she wanted to start a flying school for African Americans when she returned to the U.S., Coleman specialized in stunt flying and parachuting and earned a living barnstorming and performing aerial tricks.  In 1922, hers was the first public flight by an African American woman in America. Tragically, Bessie Coleman's life ended at the age of 33 when she was killed in an accident during a rehearsal for an aerial show. She remains a pioneer of women in the field of aviation.Slide23

Pearl Bailey

Pearl Bailey was an American entertainer remembered for her sultry stage voice. Bailey started off signing in nightclubs, later taking secondary roles in many films. She played the title role in the all-black Broadway production of

Hello, Dolly!

in 1968. She wrote several books, including Hurry Up America and Spit. She earned her bachelor's degree in theology from Georgetown University at age 67.Slide24

Maggie Lena Walker

In 1902, Maggie Lena Walker founded the

St. Luke Herald

to carry news of the Independent Order of St. Luke to local chapters and to help in its educational work. In 1903, she opened the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, of which she was president. By 1924, the bank served a membership of more than 50,000 in 1,500 local chapters. She also helped found the Richmond Council of Colored Women in 1912.