Since it’s MLK day, I wanted to make a caf for some important black figures. Some of these people are more well-known for their accomplishments, but others are more unheard of. This is not everyone, but just a handful of some important African American leaders throughout history.
Surnames: [name_u]Abbott[/name_u], [name_f]Angelou[/name_f], [name_m]Bryant[/name_m], [name_m]Coleman[/name_m], DuBois, Tubman
DGM: [name_u]Shirley[/name_u], [name_f]Sojourner[/name_f], [name_u]Maria[/name_u], [name_f]Ethel[/name_f], [name_f]Minnie[/name_f], [name_f]Phyllis[/name_f]
DH: [name_u]Jesse[/name_u], [name_m]Gordon[/name_m], [name_m]Alvin[/name_m], [name_m]Muhammad[/name_m], [name_m]Frederick[/name_m], [name_m]Richard[/name_m]
DW: [name_f]Claudette[/name_f], [name_f]Alice[/name_f], [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f], [name_f]Marsha[/name_f], [name_f]Mae[/name_f], [name_f]Henrietta[/name_f]
DS: [name_m]Bayard[/name_m], [name_u]Benjamin[/name_u], [name_m]Martin[/name_m], [name_u]Jackie[/name_u], [name_m]Langston[/name_m], [name_u]Arthur[/name_u]
DD: [name_f]Annie[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u], [name_f]Gwendolyn[/name_f], [name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_u]Ruby[/name_u], [name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_u]Marie[/name_u], [name_f]Ella[/name_f]
Who they are/were
[name_f]Alice[/name_f] (Coachman) - first African American woman from any country to win an Olympic [name_m]Gold[/name_m] Medal
[name_m]Alvin[/name_m] (Ailey) - acclaimed dancer and choreographer
[name_f]Annie[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] (Cooper) - civil rights activist during the [name_f]Selma[/name_f] Voting Rights Movement
[name_u]Arthur[/name_u] (Ashe) - the only black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open
[name_m]Bayard[/name_m] (Rustin) - advocated for gay rights, nonviolence, and civil rights
[name_u]Benjamin[/name_u] (O. [name_u]Davis[/name_u] Sr) - first black general in the US military
[name_f]Claudette[/name_f] (Colvin) - at 15 years old, refused to move to the back of the bus
[name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] (Height) - civil rights and women’s rights activist
[name_f]Ella[/name_f] (Baker) - field secretary and branch director for the NAACP
[name_f]Ethel[/name_f] (Waters) - blues singer who later starred in her own TV show
[name_m]Frederick[/name_m] (Douglass) - famous abolitionist and autobiographer
[name_m]Gordon[/name_m] (Pakrs) - photographer, musician, writer, and film director
[name_f]Gwendolyn[/name_f] (Brooks) - first black author to win the Pulitzer prize
[name_f]Henrietta[/name_f] (Lacks) - her cells advanced medical research including the polio vaccine, despite her not giving consent for her cells to be used
[name_u]Jackie[/name_u] (Robinson) - first African American to play for a major league baseball team
[name_f]Jane[/name_f] (Bolin) - first black woman to attend [name_u]Yale[/name_u] law school
[name_u]Jesse[/name_u] (Owens) - track and field athlete who set a world record at the Olympics
[name_m]Langston[/name_m] (Hughes) - esteemed novelist and poet
[name_f]Mae[/name_f] (Jemison) - first black woman to orbit into space
[name_u]Maria[/name_u] (P. Williams) - first black woman to produce, write, and act in her own movie
[name_u]Marian[/name_u] (Anderson) - considered one of the greatest contralto singers in the world
[name_f]Marsha[/name_f] (P. Johnson) - black trans woman who played an influential role on drag and queer culture
[name_m]Martin[/name_m] (Luther [name_m]King[/name_m] Jr.) - famous civil rights activist who promoted nonviolence in protesting
[name_f]Minnie[/name_f] (Riperton) - known for her 5 octave vocal range
[name_m]Muhammad[/name_m] (Ali) - one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time
[name_f]Phyllis[/name_f] (Wheatley) - first black woman (and 3rd woman overall) to publish a poetry book
[name_m]Richard[/name_m] (Allen) - founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first black denomination in the United States
[name_f]Rosa[/name_f] (Parks) - refused to give up her seat on the bus and was labeled as the “Mother of the [name_u]Freedom[/name_u] Movement”
[name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_u]Marie[/name_u] (McCoy) - wrote and produced some of the biggest pop songs in the 1950s
[name_u]Ruby[/name_u] (Bridges) - at 6 years old, she was the first black student to attend an all-white school at the height of desegregation
[name_u]Shirley[/name_u] (Chisholm) - first black woman elected to congress
[name_f]Sojourner[/name_f] (Truth) - born into slavery and escaped, becoming a famous abolitionist and activist for women’s rights
(Bessie) [name_m]Coleman[/name_m] - first licensed black pilot in the world
(Harriet) Tubman - served an important role in the Underground Railroad
(Kobe) [name_m]Bryant[/name_m] - famous NBA player who started an organization to reduce homelessness in Los [name_u]Angeles[/name_u]
(Maya) [name_f]Angelou[/name_f] - one of the best known African American authors, especially known for her autobiographies
(Robert Sengstacke) [name_u]Abbott[/name_u] - started the [name_f]Chicago[/name_f] Defender newspaper
(W.E.B) [name_f]Du[/name_f] Bois - author and activist, as well as one of the founders of the NAACP
