Great Black Heroes

Doris Miller

The story of Doris Miller has been glamorized in motion pictures, but few know the real story of the Black cook who became a hero during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. is remembered for many things: Being the first Black Air Force General, leading the Tuskegee Airmen flight squadron and standing up to the military establishment in advancing the cause of Black soldiers. More than that, he is a symbol of the ability of a Black man to preserver through obstacles on the path towards excellence.

Joe Louis

Joe Louis, as much as anyone from his era, carried the hopes and dreams of the Black race on his…
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Larry Doby

Larry Doby is forever viewed as number two, the second Black player and the second Black manager in modern Major League Baseball but this should not obscure his Hall of Fame career nor the struggles he endured.

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was one of the most celebrated and respected writers/poets of the Harlem Renaissance and was a fore bearer of great authors of the Black Experience.

Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall is known as the first Black Justice of the United States Supreme Court but he is really defined by his work as a civil rights lawyer which redefined life in the United States.

William Hastie

William Hastie had one of the most distinguished careers as an earlier Black political pioneer but today remains unknown to most Americans. As a politician, an educator and a jurist, Hastie made inroads and left a legacy that is hard to match in history.

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain is universally recognized as one of the greatest basketball players in history, but he may well be the most under-rated players in history.

Harriet Tubman

Araminta Ross was born around 1920, the daughter of slaves Harriet Green and Ben Ross, but the world would come…
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Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson is known as the man who broke the color line in baseball but his accomplishment on and off…
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Elijah McCoy

Although the name Elijah McCoy may be a mystery to most people, the scale of his ingenuity and the quality of his creations have created a level of distinction which bears his name.