Black History Month Project
Option 1 – Do a 4 page paper (double spaced) on your topic
person or event. Paper must have citations!
Option 2 – Create a piece of artwork or another visual
representation of your topic person that represents who they are
and why they matter.
Have a 2 page paper and citations(double spaced) explaining
your work or your topic person.
* Projects will be presented in front of the class and the
presentation will factor into the grade! *
If you want to change your topic person, do not just do it on your own.
Clear it with us first.
Due Feb 15th!!!
Maya Angelou
Hiram Revels
Langston Hughes
Muhammad Ali
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jimi Hendrix
Grant Fuhr
Billie Holiday
Josh Gibson
Harriet Tubman
Fredrick Douglas
Quincy Jones
Jessie Owens
Muddy Waters
Jack Johnson
Motown
Jackie Robinson
Louis Armstrong
Althea Gibson
Sojourner Truth
W.E.B. Du bios
Ida B. Wells
Martin Luther King Jr.
Booker T Washington
Dred Scott/ Dred Scott decision
Colin Powell
Brown V. Board of education
Condoleezza Rice
Thurgood Marshall
Carol Mosely Braun
Oprah Winfrey
Sammy Davis Jr.
Josephine Baker
Spike Lee
Deacon Jones
Ray Charles
Satchel Paige
Langston Hughes
- One of the key writers and figures
during the Harlem Renaissance
- Wrote over 20 volumes of poetry
in his life one his best known called
“Montage of a Dream Deferred”
- Wrote plays, one of which
named Mulatto appeared on
Broadway in 1935
Maya Angelou
- Won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in
1971
- First African American Female to
direct a major Hollywood film
(Down in the Delta in 1998)
- 3 time Grammy Award winner
for the spoken word (1993, 1995
& 2002)
Jean-Michel Basquiat
- Worked with such artists as Andy
Warhol and David Bowie
- One of the first African American
artists to receive acclaim from the
international art community
- Rose from obscurity after
selling graffiti postcards on the
street
Jimi Hendrix
- Thought of as one of, if not THE
best electric guitar player in music
history
- Performed a legendary rendition
of the “Star Spangled Banner”
during the Woodstock festival in
1970.
- In 1992 won the Grammy
lifetime achievement award. 22
years after his death.
Billie Holiday
- One of the most Influential Jazz
Musicians of all time
- Her life was made into a movie in
1972 (Lady Sings the Blues staring
Diana Ross)
- In 2000 was inducted into the
Rock and Roll hall of fame
Quincy Jones
- As a musician her performed with
Dizzie Gillespie touring the middle
east and south america in 1956
- In 1964 was named VP of
Mercury Records – the first African
American to hold an executive
position in a white owned company
- Is most famous for being a
record producer and writer to
such artists as Michael
Jackson’s Off The Wall and
Thriller Album to Frank Sinatra
and his famous song Fly Me to
the Moon
Muddy Waters
- Of the grandfather of Blues Music
- He has influenced everyone from
Elvis and Bob Dylan to the Rolling
Stones.
- Winner of 6 Grammy awards
and was inducted into the Blues
and Rock and Roll hall of fame.
Sojourner Truth
- Escaped Slavery with her infant
daughter in 1826
- Wrote “Ain’t I a Women?” speech
for the Ohio reformers convention
of 1851, A legendary speech.
- Helped Recruit Black Soldiers
to the Union Army during the
civil war.
Motown
- Founded by Berry Gordy in Detroit
in 1960.
- Had a stable of artists like Marvin
Gaye, the Jackson 5, The
Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Smokey
Robinson and The Temptations; to
more modern acts like Public
Enemy, Boyz II Men and India.Arie
- The Music and sound helped
to bring social change.
Louis Armstrong
- Considered one of the best Jazz
Trumpeter’s in history.
- One of the few African American’s
who were able to reach white
America and be successful
- Inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in 1990
W.E.B. Dubios
- First African American to earn a
PHD from Harvard.
- Was one of the founding members
of the NAACP
- Prolific writer and intellectual
who wrote 22 books in his life
one of the most famous of which
called “The Souls of Black Folk”
Ida B. Wells
- Fought for Racial Equality as early
as 1884 refusing to give her seat up
to a white train passenger.
- Ran the Memphis paper called
Free Speech and Headlight which
brought to the masses the lynching
going on in the south
- Was Also one of the founding
members of the NAACP
Martin Luther King Jr.
- The most Influential civil rights
leader probably in American History.
- Gave his Legendary I have a
Dream speech in 1963 in
Washington.
- The Youngest Man to win the
Nobel Peace prize (which he
won in 1964)
Booker T. Washington
- Founded Tuskegee University
- Was more aggressive in his calls
to end racial segregation than
many of his peers in the late 1800’s
earl 1900’s
- Wrote his Autobiography Up
From Slavery which is his most
read work.
Jessie Owens
- Won 4 Gold Medals in the 1936
Olympic in Berlin, Germany
- This was all done in front of Hitler
who said the Aryan German was
the “Master Race”
- Hitler refused to shake his
hand or award him his medals.
Althea Gibson
- One of the greatest tennis players
of all time
- First African American Women to
win a Major Tennis Title.
- Won 5 “Grand Slam” Titles in
her career - US Open (Twice),
Wimbledon (Twice) and the
French Open
Dred Scott/Dred Scott Decision
- Lived in free land in the United
States and sued to gain his freedom
- Supreme Court Ruled against him
in what history calls the Dred Scott
Decision
- He was “freed” in 1857 but
died in 1858
Thurgood Marshall
- At the age of 32 was appointed
Chief Counsel to the NAACP after
winning his very first supreme court
case
- John F Kennedy Appointed him to
the US court of Appeals in 1961.
- The first African American to
serve on the Supreme Court in
1967
Jack Johnson
- First African American
Heavyweight Boxing Champion
- Was Married 3 times, all to white
women which caused many in the
south to call for his lynching
- Lost his title in 1915 after being
KO’d in the 26th round by Jess
Willard.
Grant Fuhr
- Was the Goaltender for the
legendary Edmonton Oilier teams
that won 5 Stanley Cups
- 6 time all star, won the best
Goaltender award (the Vezina
trophy) in 1988.
- Elected to the Hockey Hall of
Fame in 2003.
Fredrick Douglas
- Leader of the Abolitionist
Movement
- Also one of the first men to be in
favor of Women’s Rights
- Worked wit the Underground
Railroad to get slaves to free
land.
Condoleezza Rice
- Was named National Security
Advisor in 2000 until 2005
- First African American women
to be Secretary of State in 2005
until 2009
- Was a key Member of George
W Bush’s Cabinet during his 2
terms in office
Muhammed Ali
- One of the “Greatest of all time” in
the sport of boxing.
- Was stripped of his title and
convicted of “draft dodging” during
the Vietnam war. The supreme
court later overturned this
conviction.
- He crossed over into
mainstream pop culture, even
scoring a cover of his boxing
Superman
Brown V Board of Education
- Law that established Segregated
school unconstitutional
- 1957 Little Rock Arkansas called
the National Guard to block
admittance to Little Rock High
School of African American
Students
- The 101st airborne has to be
called in for the students to get
into the school.
Jackie Robinson
- Broke the color barrier in Major
League Baseball
- Inducted into the MLB hall of fame
in 1962
- His #42 has since been retired
throughout major league
baseball (only those who wore it
before the retirement can
continue to wear it)
Colin Powell
- National Security Advisor to
Ronald Reagan in the late 1980’s
- Was instrumental in the success
of the first Gulf War in 1991
- First African American
appointed Secretary of State in
2001.
Josh Gibson
- One of the greatest power hitters
in baseball history. Was said to have
hit 75 HR’s in 1931 in the Negro
league
- Rumored to have hit a ball clear
out of the Old Yankee Stadium
some 600 feet away (the only ball
ever hit out of the stadium)
- Never played in the Major
leagues but was elected to the
hall of fame in 1972
Carol Mosely Braun
- First African American Women
elected to the Senate
- Ambassador to New Zealand from
1999-2001
- Ran for president in 2004 as a
Democrat, losing the nomination
to John Kerry
Harriet Tubman
- One of the most important people
of the Underground Railroad.
- Escaped from Slavery in 1849
- Later in life supported the
cause of Women’s Sufferage.
Hiram Revels
- First African American Senator
- He represented Mississippi in
1870
- His election was met with
opposition from people in the
south who thought him not a
citizan
Oprah Winfrey
- One of the greatest African
American business person in the
history of the United States
- Her highly rated Television show
which began in 1984 will end in
2011 – a run of 27 years on TV
- Owner of O magazine and co
founder of the Oxygen network
Sammy Davis Jr.
- Known for his singing and dancing,
he was a member of the “Rat Pack”
- Starred in Numerous films,
including the original Oceans
Eleven
- Won a lifetime achievement
Grammy award in 2001
Josephine Baker
- The First African American female
to star in a major movie
- Notable Civil Rights activists who
was offered the leadership position
after Martin Luther King was
assassinated
- One of the leading figures of
the French Revolution
Resistance during WW II
Spike Lee
- Influential film maker who made
such movies as “Do the Right Thing”
and “Malcolm X”
- His production company – 40
acres and a mule have produced
over 35 movies.
- Lifetime Knick fan who often
sits courtside!!
Deacon Jones
- The most feared pass rusher of his
era. The term QB sack was named
so in his honor.
- In 1967 he had 26 sacks in 14
games (before sacks were kept as
an official record). In 1968 he had
24 in 14 games.
- The “Secretary of Defense” as
he was nicknamed was elected
to the football hall of fame in
1980
Ray Charles
- A prolific writer and singer during
the 1950’s. He sand Gospel, R&B
and Soul music
- Lost his eyesight at the age of 7
due to Glaucoma
- Won the lifetime achievement
Grammy award in 1987 and the
2005 show was done in his
honor.
Satchel Paige.
- Legendary baseball pitcher who
played in the Negro leagues and in
Major League Baseball.
- He was called up to the Cleveland
Indians at the age of 42. The oldest
“rookie” in baseball history
- He played Semi Pro ball till the
age of 62 and was the first
negro league player elected into
The Baseball Hall of Fame in
1971