| A | B |
|---|
| Barbara Jordan | Second African-American elected to the U.S. House of Rep. First African American in the Texas State Senate since Reconstruction |
| Shirley Chisolm | First African-American Women elected to Congress. (US House) In 1972 first major party African-American candidate seeking the office of President (Dem) |
| Crispus Attuks | Killed in the Boston Massacre, 1770 |
| Carol Mosely Braun | 1993-1999, Senator from Illinois. First African-American women elected to the US Senate. Also served as ambassador to New Zealand. Most recently ran for mayor of Chicago. |
| Robert Smalls | Elected to the U.S. House from South Carolina. Freed himself and his family by taking over a Confederate Transport ship in 1862. Authored legislation establishing the firts free and public school system in the US |
| P.B.S. Pinchback | First African-American Governor, 1872-1873 in Louisiana |
| Hiram Revels | First African-American in the US Senate, 1870-1871 in Mississippi |
| Ralph Abernathy | Contemporary of Martin Luther King. Led the 1968 March on Washington D.C. |
| Julian Bond | Helped to found the Student NonViolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). First president of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Also served as chairperson of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) |
| Edward Brooke | First popularly elected African American Senator, Massachusetts 1966-1978 |
| Al Sharpton | Baptist Minister and Civil Rights Activist, 2004 candidate for the Dem. nomination for Pres. Has a Radio Show called Keepin it Real. Host of MSNBC's PoliticsNation |
| Jesse Jackson Sr. | Founder of Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. Ran for the Dem. nomination for President 1984 and 1988. |
| Jesse Jackson Jr. | Son of Jesse Jackson Sr. Elected to US House of Rep., Illinois 2nd district. Recently resigned his seat citing health reasons. Also under investigation for misuse of campaign funds. |
| Frederick Douglas | Abolitionist leader. Also supported voting rights for Women. Ran for VP under the Equal Rights Party |
| W.E.B. Dubois | Sociologist and civil rights advocate. Born in Great Barrington, MA. First African-American to earn a doctorate from Harvard. Led the Niagara Movement for equal rights for African-Americans. Wrote The Souls of Black Folk. Served as editor of The Crisis (The NAACP journal). Argument of the Talented Tenth people needed to maximize the education and resources of the most talented African-Americans |
| Booker T. Washington | Led the Tuskegee Institute. Believed in African-Americans developing skills in trade. Wanted more across the board learning |
| Malcolm X | Born Malcolm Little in Omaha Nebraska. Member of the Nation of Islam. Founded the Muslim Mosque Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Assassinated in NYC |
| Condelezza Rice | Provost of Stanford University. National Security Advisor and Secretary of State |
| Colin Powell | National Security Advisor and Secretary of State. First African American to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Also was Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |
| Benjamin O. Davis Sr. | First African-American Army General |
| Benjamin O. Davis Jr. | First African-American Air Force General |
| Andrew Young | Helped start the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC) and friend of Martin Luther King. Served in the US House of Rep. Mayor of Atlanta and also former UN ambassador under President Carter |
| Maynard Jackson | First African American Mayor of Atlanta |
| Coleman Young | First African-American Mayor of Detroit |
| Dave Bing | Hall of Fame Basketball player and current mayor of Detroit |
| James Farmer | Founder of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Organizer of the Freedom Rides |
| Henry Flipper | First African-American to graduate West Point, 1877 |
| Deval Patrick | Second elected African-American governor of a state. Currently the Gov. of Massachusetts |
| L. Douglas Wilder | First African-American elected as a state Governor, Virginia |
| Susan Rice | Current US ambassador to the UN. Was considered for Secretary of State but withdrew from consideration due to the 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi Libya |
| A. Philip Randolph | Head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Advocated desegregation in the defense industry and armed services. Degregation of the armed services was signed as an executive order by Harry Truman in 1948. |
| Bayard Rustin | Pacifist, Chief Organizer of the 1963 March of Washington. This featured M.L.K Jr. "I have a Dream" Speech |
| Michael Steele | Former Lt. Gov. of Maryland and former Republican National Committee Chair |
| Benjamin Banneker | Inventor and surveyor, provided the initial designs for Washington D.C. |
| Tim Scott | Senator from South Carolina, elected in 2012. |
