Biographies of Major Figures
Read profiles of influential African Americans from the colonial era to the present-day. From abolitionists to jazz musicians, discover more about the figures who shaped African-American history.
A Biography of Carter G. Woodson
A biography of historian Carter G. Woodson, who founded the field of African-American history.
A Biography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
A biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Biographies of Prominent African Americans
Biographies of prominent and influential African Americans.
A Biography of Crispus Attucks
A profile of Crispus Attucks, an African-American sailor who was the first killed in the 1770 Boston Massacre.
George Washington Carver
A description of the life of African-American inventor, George Washington Carver, from About.com guide Mary Bellis.
Frederick Douglass
Read a short biography of Frederick Douglass, famed abolitionist, from PBS.org.
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey came to the United States in the midst of the Harlem Renaissance, a flowering of African-American culture. He founded the UNIA, urging African Americans to be proud of their African heritage.
Rosa Parks
A brief biography of Rosa Parks who started the Montgomery Bus Boycott, from About.com guide Jone Johnson Lewis.
Emmett Till
A profile of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy who was killed for whistling at a white woman in Mississippi in 1955.
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman was a former slave who helped over 200 others escape from slavery to the North during the 19th century.