Shirley Chisholm

born 1924

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In 1968, "Fighting Shirley Chisholm," a former educator and member of the New York State Assembly, became the first black woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress. She won this race against the odds of both her race and sex, and went on to make a name for herself as a fighter for human rights and dignity during her two terms in office. In 1972, she again made history by seriously campaigning for the Democratic Party nomination for President, the first black woman to seek the nation's highest office. Since her retirement from politics in 1982, she has continued to promote her ideals by writing, teaching, and lecturing, changing minds and attitudes around the nation as she travels.

Harriet Tubman
Born into slavery on a farm in Maryland, Harriet Tubman made her way to freedom, then returned to the south nineteen times in order to lead more than 300 more people to freedom on what came to be known as the Underground Railroad.

Rosa Parks
Find out how Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her seat to a white male passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus earned her the title of Mother of the Modern Day Civil Rights Movement.

Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I A Woman?
Read an inspirational excerpt from Sojourner Truth's electrifying speech to the Ohio Women's Rights convention of 1851.

LESSON PLAN	Inventors & Trailblazers Students learn about 10 African Americans whose innovations directly impacted culture and society.
UNIT PLAN	Black History in America Students learn about the African-American experience through interviews, historical sketches, interactives, and lessons.
ONLINE ACTIVITY	Culture & Change: Black History in America Learn about African-American history with our collection of online activities that explore the lives of Rosa Parks, Melba Beals Pattillo, and...