Black History • Narrative Collection

Black History Heroes

Black history is presented here as continuous global history. The collection spans ancient Africa, empires, diaspora, resistance, education, science, culture, civil rights, and historical scholarship.

NARRATIVE LEARNINGRETRIEVAL PRACTICEREFLECTIONCOLLABORATIVE SENSEMAKING

The complete 141-person collection is directly below, including five developed lessons and 136 editorial drafts. Visit the Hall of Legends for interactive biographies and Bio Activities.

Examine the Past · Full Lesson Collection

All 141 Black History Heroes Lessons

141 lesson pages · 5 developed master lessons · 136 interactive editorial drafts

Every figure is listed immediately below. Search by name, historical period, or topic, or browse the full directory. The original five developed lessons appear first.

New draft lessons use the Hall illustrations and include interactive learning tools, but individual historical research and classroom editorial review are still required.

Find a lessonShowing all 141 lessons

Queen Makeda of Sheba

Wisdom, trade, diplomacy, historical memory, and the ancient Red Sea world.

Open Hero Lesson LIVE

Piye (Piankhy)

Kush, the Nile Valley, the Victory Stela, and the rise of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty.

Open Hero Lesson LIVE

Shabaka (Shabaqo)

Investigate the Shabaka Stone, its damaged inscription, religious memory and the limits of reconstruction.

Open Hero Lesson LIVE

Taharqa

Monumental building, sacred kingship, and resistance during Assyrian expansion.

Open Hero Lesson LIVE

Sundiata Keita

Oral tradition, alliance-building, leadership, and the memory of Mali’s founding.

Open Hero Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Nastasen

Ancient Courts and First Kingdoms · late 4th century BCE

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Amanirenas

Ancient Courts and First Kingdoms · late 1st century BCE

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Amanitore

Ancient Courts and First Kingdoms · 1st century CE

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Zoskales

Ancient Courts and First Kingdoms · 1st century CE (known through ancient account)

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Ezana of Aksum

Ancient Courts and First Kingdoms · c. 320s–350s CE (reign)

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Kaleb of Aksum

Ancient Courts and First Kingdoms · early 6th century CE

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Tenkamenin

Ancient Courts and First Kingdoms · Traditional account

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Moremi Ajasoro

African Kingdoms and Atlantic Crossroads · Yoruba tradition

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Mansa Musa

African Kingdoms and Atlantic Crossroads · c. 1312–1337 (reign)

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Oba Ewuare

African Kingdoms and Atlantic Crossroads · mid-15th century (reign)

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Sunni Ali Ber

African Kingdoms and Atlantic Crossroads · c. 1464–1492 (reign)

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Askia Muhammad I

African Kingdoms and Atlantic Crossroads · 1493–1528 (reign)

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Afonso I of Kongo

African Kingdoms and Atlantic Crossroads · Reigned 1506–early 1540s

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Queen Amina of Zazzau

African Kingdoms and Atlantic Crossroads · probably 16th century

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Queen Nzinga

African Kingdoms and Atlantic Crossroads · c. 1583–1663 · ruled 17th century

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Crispus Attucks

African Kingdoms and Atlantic Crossroads · c. 1723–1770

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Ayuba Suleiman Diallo

African Kingdoms and Atlantic Crossroads · c. 1701–1773

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Phillis Wheatley

African Kingdoms and Atlantic Crossroads · c. 1753–1784

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Olaudah Equiano

Revolution, Resistance and Emancipation · c. 1745–1797

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Toussaint Louverture

Revolution, Resistance and Emancipation · c. 1743–1803

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Benjamin Banneker

Revolution, Resistance and Emancipation · 1731–1806

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Paul Cuffe

Revolution, Resistance and Emancipation · 1759–1817

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Joshua Johnson

Revolution, Resistance and Emancipation · c. 1763–c. 1824

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Queen Nandi

Revolution, Resistance and Emancipation · c. 1764–1827

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Shaka Zulu

Revolution, Resistance and Emancipation · c. 1783–1828

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Elizabeth Freeman (Mum Bett)

Revolution, Resistance and Emancipation · c. 1744–1829

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Richard Allen

Revolution, Resistance and Emancipation · 1760–1831

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Nat Turner

Revolution, Resistance and Emancipation · 1800–1831

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

James Forten

Revolution, Resistance and Emancipation · 1766–1842

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Dred Scott

Revolution, Resistance and Emancipation · c. 1799–1858

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Ranavalona I

Abolition, Reconstruction and New Paths · 1828–1861 (reign)

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Henry "Box" Brown

Abolition, Reconstruction and New Paths · c. 1815–after 1880

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Henry Highland Garnet

Abolition, Reconstruction and New Paths · 1815–1882

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Sojourner Truth

Abolition, Reconstruction and New Paths · c. 1797–1883

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Cathay Williams

Abolition, Reconstruction and New Paths · Born c. 1844 · U.S. Army service 1866–1868

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Frederick Douglass

Abolition, Reconstruction and New Paths · c. 1818–1895

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Edmonia Lewis

Abolition, Reconstruction and New Paths · c. 1844–1907

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Granville T. Woods

Abolition, Reconstruction and New Paths · 1856–1910

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Harriet Tubman

Abolition, Reconstruction and New Paths · c. 1822–1913

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Robert Smalls

Abolition, Reconstruction and New Paths · 1839–1915

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Booker T. Washington

Abolition, Reconstruction and New Paths · 1856–1915

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Alice Augusta Ball

Abolition, Reconstruction and New Paths · 1892–1916

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Madam C.J. Walker

New Institutions and Early Innovation · 1867–1919

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

P. B. S. Pinchback

New Institutions and Early Innovation · 1837–1921

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Yaa Asantewaa

New Institutions and Early Innovation · 19th century–1921 · resistance in 1900

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Labotsibeni Mdluli

New Institutions and Early Innovation · c. 1858–1925 · regency 1899–1921

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Bessie Coleman

New Institutions and Early Innovation · 1892–1926

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Empress Zewditu

New Institutions and Early Innovation · 1916–1930 (reign)

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Ida B. Wells

New Institutions and Early Innovation · 1862–1931

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Henry Ossawa Tanner

New Institutions and Early Innovation · 1859–1937

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Marcus Garvey

New Institutions and Early Innovation · 1887–1940

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Ernest Everett Just

New Institutions and Early Innovation · 1883–1941

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

George Washington Carver

New Institutions and Early Innovation · c. 1864–1943

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Doris "Dorie" Miller

Arts, Discovery and Midcentury Change · 1919–1943

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Queen Muhumuza

Arts, Discovery and Midcentury Change · Active c. 1907–1911 · died 1945

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Jack Johnson

Arts, Discovery and Midcentury Change · 1878–1946

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Carter G. Woodson

Arts, Discovery and Midcentury Change · 1875–1950

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Mary Church Terrell

Arts, Discovery and Midcentury Change · 1863–1954

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Alain Locke

Arts, Discovery and Midcentury Change · 1885–1954

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Mary McLeod Bethune

Arts, Discovery and Midcentury Change · 1875–1955

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Matthew P. Henson

Arts, Discovery and Midcentury Change · 1866–1955

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Billie Holiday

Arts, Discovery and Midcentury Change · 1915–1959

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Zora Neale Hurston

Arts, Discovery and Midcentury Change · 1891–1960

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Richard Wright

Arts, Discovery and Midcentury Change · 1908–1960

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Patrice Lumumba

Arts, Discovery and Midcentury Change · 1925–1961

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

W. E. B. Du Bois

The Movement and a Changing World · 1868–1963

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Garrett Morgan

The Movement and a Changing World · 1877–1963

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Medgar Evers

The Movement and a Changing World · 1925–1963

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Roger Arliner Young

The Movement and a Changing World · 1899–1964

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Sam Cooke

The Movement and a Changing World · 1931–1964

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Nat King Cole

The Movement and a Changing World · 1919–1965

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz)

The Movement and a Changing World · 1925–1965

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Dorothy Dandridge

The Movement and a Changing World · 1922–1965

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Langston Hughes

The Movement and a Changing World · 1901–1967

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Martin Luther King Jr.

The Movement and a Changing World · 1929–1968

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Fred Hampton

The Movement and a Changing World · 1948–1969

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Louis Armstrong

The Movement and a Changing World · 1901–1971

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Jackie Robinson

New Voices and Global Horizons · 1919–1972

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Kwame Nkrumah

New Voices and Global Horizons · 1909–1972

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Duke Ellington

New Voices and Global Horizons · 1899–1974

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Haile Selassie I

New Voices and Global Horizons · 1892–1975 (reigned 1930–1974)

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Paul Robeson

New Voices and Global Horizons · 1898–1976

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Fannie Lou Hamer

New Voices and Global Horizons · 1917–1977

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Jomo Kenyatta

New Voices and Global Horizons · c. 1895–1978

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Marjorie Lee Browne

New Voices and Global Horizons · 1914–1979

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Jesse Owens

New Voices and Global Horizons · 1913–1980

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Joe Louis

New Voices and Global Horizons · 1914–1981

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Bob Marley

New Voices and Global Horizons · 1945–1981

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Satchel Paige

New Voices and Global Horizons · 1906–1982

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Marvin Gaye

Culture, Achievement and New Generations · 1939–1984

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Vivien Thomas

Culture, Achievement and New Generations · 1910–1985

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

James Baldwin

Culture, Achievement and New Generations · 1924–1987

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Bayard Rustin

Culture, Achievement and New Generations · 1912–1987

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Sugar Ray Robinson

Culture, Achievement and New Generations · 1921–1989

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Huey P. Newton

Culture, Achievement and New Generations · 1942–1989

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Marian Anderson

Culture, Achievement and New Generations · 1897–1993

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Thurgood Marshall

Culture, Achievement and New Generations · 1908–1993

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Arthur Ashe

Culture, Achievement and New Generations · 1943–1993

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Wilma Rudolph

Culture, Achievement and New Generations · 1940–1994

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Ella Fitzgerald

Culture, Achievement and New Generations · 1917–1996

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Tupac Shakur

A World in Transition · 1971–1996

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Christopher Wallace (The Notorious B.I.G.)

A World in Transition · 1972–1997

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Wilt Chamberlain

A World in Transition · 1936–1999

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Jacob Lawrence

A World in Transition · 1917–2000

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Benjamin O. Davis Jr

A World in Transition · 1912–2002

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Charity Adams Earley

A World in Transition · 1918–2002

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Althea Gibson

A World in Transition · 1927–2003

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Nina Simone

A World in Transition · 1933–2003

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Ray Charles

A World in Transition · 1930–2004

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Rosa Parks

A World in Transition · 1913–2005

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Shirley Chisholm

A World in Transition · 1924–2005

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Richard Pryor

A World in Transition · 1940–2005

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

James Brown

Legacies of the New Century · 1933–2006

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Michael Jackson

Legacies of the New Century · 1958–2009

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

David Blackwell

Legacies of the New Century · 1919–2010

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Annie Easley

Legacies of the New Century · 1933–2011

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Hazel Johnson-Brown

Legacies of the New Century · 1927–2011

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Nelson Mandela

Legacies of the New Century · 1918–2013

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Maya Angelou

Legacies of the New Century · 1928–2014

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Muhammad Ali

Legacies of the New Century · 1942–2016

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Prince

Legacies of the New Century · 1958–2016

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Aretha Franklin

Legacies of the New Century · 1942–2018

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Toni Morrison

Legacies of the New Century · 1931–2019

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Patricia Bath

Legacies of the New Century · 1942–2019

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Katherine Johnson

Living Memory and Enduring Influence · 1918–2020

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

John Lewis

Living Memory and Enduring Influence · 1940–2020

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

George Carruthers

Living Memory and Enduring Influence · 1939–2020

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Gloria Richardson

Living Memory and Enduring Influence · 1922–2021

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Cicely Tyson

Living Memory and Enduring Influence · 1924–2021

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Desmond Tutu

Living Memory and Enduring Influence · 1931–2021

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Colin Powell

Living Memory and Enduring Influence · 1937–2021

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Bill Russell

Living Memory and Enduring Influence · 1934–2022

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Pelé (Edson Arantes do Nascimento)

Living Memory and Enduring Influence · 1940–2022

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Sidney Poitier

Living Memory and Enduring Influence · 1927–2022

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

Jim Brown

Living Memory and Enduring Influence · 1936–2023

Preview Lesson EDITORIAL DRAFT

James Earl Jones

Living Memory and Enduring Influence · 1931–2024

Hall of Legends

Explore Each Person in the Hall

The Hall of Legends contains portraits, biographies and Bio Activities with links to these individual lessons.

Open the Hall of Legends