Part Six

Mathias De Sousa (1600’s) First African American legislator

Andre Cailloux (1825 – 1863) Civil War hero.

Mary Elizabeth Bowser (1822? –?) Confederate White House Spy.

Cathay Williams (1842 – 1924) Female Buffalo Soldier.

Benjamin Montgomery (1819 –?) Early inventor.

Early Black Women Inventors (Late 1800’s)

Patterson-Greenfield Motorcar (1860’s – 1939) First African American built automobile.

Dr. Patricia Bath (1949 –) Contemporary inventor.

Edward M. Bannister (1828 – 1901) Landscape painter.

Minnie Evans (1892 – 1987) Folk artist.

James VanDerZee (1886 – 1983) Harlem photographer.

The California Eagle (1879 – 1964) California’s first African American newspaper.

Edwin C. Berry (1854 – 1931) Hotel owner.

John H. Johnson (1918 –) Publisher.

Jubilee Singers (1871 – present) Fisk University choir.

Cheney State University (1837 – present) First African American university.

George Washington Williams (1849 – 1891) Wrote first African American history book.

James Weldon Johnson (1871 – 1938) Composed the African American national anthem.

Carter G. Woodson and Black History Month (1926 – present) Why we celebrate.

Schomburg Center (1926 – present) Largest collection of African American memorabilia.

Dorothy Porter Wesley (1905 – 1995) Bibliophile and librarian.

Fannie Lou Hamer (1917 – 1977) Civil rights activist.

Harry “Bucky” Lew (1884 – 1963) First to play basketball in a white league.

Alice Coachman (1923) First African American woman Olympic gold medal winner.

Hattie McDaniel (1895 – 1952) First African American Oscar winner.

Black Female Oscar Winners (1939 – 2001)

Bessie Smith (1894 – 1937) “Queen of the Blues”.

Arthur Mitchell (1934 –) First male principal dancer.

Ntozake Shange (1948 –) Poet and author.

Quincy Jones (1933 –) Musician, producer, arranger.