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Every February, people in the United States
celebrate the achievements and history of African
Americans as part of Black History Month.
Black History Month in the 1920s started
out as a week celebration. In 1976,
President Gerald Ford extended the
recognition to a month long ever since.
Other countries have joined the United
States in celebrating African Americans
and their contributions to history and
culture. They include Canada, the United
Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Fought for equal rights
for Blacks during the
1950s and 1960s.
Thurgood Marshall was the
first African-American justice
appointed to the United States
Supreme Court in 1967.
Mae Jemison became
the first female African-
American astronaut to
travel to space in 1992.
Barack Obama was elected
the first-ever African-
American president of the
United States in 2008.
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Garrett Morgan invented the traffic
light in 1923. He added the yellow
warning light to help drivers know
they needed to slow down and stop.
This helped to keep drivers safe.
He also invented a smoke hood. This was the
first form of a gas mask that firefighters wear. Garrett Morgan, Inventor
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Alma Woodsey Thomas was born in 1891
and died in 1978. She lived and worked
the majority of her life in Washington D.C.
She was the first African American to
graduate in the University of Fine Arts
Program at Howard University.
She was an art teacher for 35 years and
wasn’t known for her work until after
retirement!
She was also the first African American
woman to have a solo exhibition at NY’s
Whitney Museum of American Art and
she exhibited her paintings at the White
House 3 times!
Alma Woodsey Thomas, Artist
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As a doctor, an engineer, and
NASA astronaut, Mae Jemison has
always reached for the stars! As a
child, she was into astronomy and
dreamed of going to space one
day!
In 1992, Jemison became the 1st
African American woman to travel
to space.
Jemison worked for NASA from
1987 to 1993.
Mae Jemison, Astronaut
The space shuttle
Endeavor carried her and 6
other astronauts on 126
orbits around the Earth! It
was a joint mission
between the US and Japan.
It was an 8-day journey
where she fertilized frog
eggs and observed their
development into tadpoles.
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* Noah wants to be a doctor.
* Skylar wants to be a teacher.
* Adrian wants to be a basketball player.
* Braxton wants to be a teacher.
* Khai wants to be a chef, doctor, and superhero.
* Khali wants to be a doctor.
* Jayden wants to be a superhero and drew his whole
family as superheroes, even the dog!
* Christopher wants to be a doctor.
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Jackie Robinson was a famous
American baseball player who played
for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 to
1956. He was the 1st African American
to play in Major League Baseball.
He was 28 years old when he first
started playing for the Dodgers!
Jackie Robinson, Athlete
He played in 6 Word Series
over a period of 10 years.
He received lots of awards over
10 years including, the
National League Most Valuable
Player Award and the MLB
Rookie of the Year Award.Some of the Brooklyn
Dodgers signed a petition
against Jackie Robinson
joining the team.
He also became the 1st...
Vice President of a major
American corporation
(coffee shop).
African American Baseball
Announcer (ABC-TV Sports)
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Bessie Coleman was the 1st African
American woman and first Native
American to hold a pilot license. She
was also the 1st African American to
earn an international pilot license.
She learned to be a pilot at the
Caudron Brothers’ School of Aviation
in 1921.
She came back to the US and worked
as a barnstormer. She would fly
planes in loops and figure eights and
other patterns while people watched.
Bessie Coleman
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Stevland Hardaway Judkins, known
by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is
an American musician, signer-
songwriter, record producer and
multi-instrumentalist.
He has been blind since birth.
Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder is one of the most
successful and well-known artists on
the Motown label.
He has recorded 23 albums and has
had more than 30 U.S. Top Ten hits!
He has won 25 Grammy Awards – the
most ever awarded to a male solo artist!
Drums, guitar, synthesizers, congas, piano, harmonica, and keyboard.
