- Home
- •
- People
- •
- Groups
- •
- Famous Civil Rights Activists
- •
- Photos
- • Civil Rights Activists
Resources
-
Visit the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a leading research institute for the history and culture of people of African descent.
Black History People
-
Black History Groups
Learn more about the lives of African-Americans who have made extraordinary achievements in their fields, with our collection of Black History Groups.
Explore our curated collections of African-American figures, including:
Black History Videos
-
Black History Videos
Watch full episodes of Black History icons, record-breakers and leaders. See how famous figures like Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln and Jackie Robinson changed history. See all videos.
Black History Photos
-
Black History Photos
Flip through these photos of some of Black History's most important, controversial and inspiring figures. Check out our African-American Firsts - Athletes, Black Comedians, Million-Dollar Ideas, African-American Biopics, African-American Expats, or explore all of our Black History photos.
Classroom
-
Black History Timeline
Celebrate the historical icons of America's black community through this interactive journey.
Shop Bio
1 / 19 photos Civil Rights Activists
Journalist Daisy Bates gazes out of a broken window of her home during the Civil Rights Movement in 1958, one year after she helped the Little Rock Nine attend school during desegregation. (Photo by New York Times Co./Getty Images)
Daisy Bates
Dorothy Height, former president of the National Council of Negro Women, is regarded as a pioneer in the fight for equality for both African Americans and women. (Photo by NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
Dorothy Height
Abolitionist Frederick Douglass escaped slavery before becoming an instrumental part of the abolitionist movement through his literature and speeches during the 19th century. (Photo by MPI/Getty Images
Frederick Douglass
Legendary baseball player Hank Aaron looks up at a bright career in 1957 as he became the one of the first African-American baseball players to go into management after retirement and the first baseball player, African-American or otherwise, to hit 30 home runs in 15 season. (Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images)
Hank Aaron
Reverend Jesse Jackson speaks to a crowd during his presidential campaign in 1984. During his run for president, Jackson addressed issues of equality in the nation. (Photo by David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)
Jesse Jackson
Music producer John Hammond not only performed with some of the greatest names in jazz, such as Bessie Smith and Benny Carter, he was a staunch advocate for racial integration within the music industry. (Photo by Frank Driggs Collection/Getty Images)
John Hammond
Singer, dancer and overall entertainer Josephine Baker did more than just shake a tail feather, she also fought for racial equality by demanding that her contract contain a nondiscrimination clause and that her audiences become integrated. (Photo by Gaston Paris/Roger Viollet/Getty Images)
Josephine Baker
Known for his Islamic ideals and radical approach to equality during the Civil Rights Movement, Malcolm X speaks passionately to a crowd in 1963. (Photo by Bob Parent/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Malcolm X
One of the most recognizable faces and names of the Civil Rights Movement, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks to a crowd in New York City in 1965, as the leader of the crusade toward racial equality in America. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Martin Luther King Jr.
Educator Mary McLeod Bethune, who believed that the key to success and progression toward racial equality could be achieved through a proper education, sits at her desk and writes, possibly the curriculum for the school she founded, Bethune-Cookman College. (Photo by The Abbott Sengstacke Family Papers/Robert Abbott Sengstacke/Getty Images)
Mary McLeod Bethune
Muhammad Ali knocks out both opponents and barriers as a world heavyweight boxing champion who refused to fight in the Vietnam War because of his personal beliefs, even with the consequence of jail time and the stripping of his title. (Photo by Trevor Humphries/Getty Images)
Muhammad Ali
After spending nearly 20 years in prison for opposing the apartheid in South Africa, Nelson Mandela can't help but smile after being released in 1990, thereafter continuing his fight for equality. (Photo by WALTER DHLADHLA/AFP/Getty Images)
Nelson Mandela
A young, bright-eyed Nikki Giovanni sits on her desk in 1973, just a few years after she founded Cincinnati's first Black Arts Festival in 1967. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Nikki Giovanni
Blues singer and civil rights songstress Nina Simone looks over her shoulder as she serenades an audience with her impactful message in 1964. Active in the Civil Rights Movement, Simone wrote songs that addressed the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Medgar Evers. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Nina Simone
Author and humanitarian Pearl S. Buck influenced the progression of race relations internationally with her 1931 novel The Good Earth, which earned her a Pulitzer Prize the following year. (Photo by New York Times Co./Getty Images)
Pearl S. Buck
A key figure of the Civil Rights Movement, Rosa Parks sits near the front of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1956, just one year after she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus in the city, leading to the Montgomery bus boycott. (Photo by Underwood Archives/Getty Images)
Rosa Parks
Ruby Dee did more than just light up the silver screen. Active in the Civil Rights Movement, she is seen attending a press conference for the relatives of 21 Black Panthers that were arrested in 1969. (Photo by George Mattson/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
Ruby Dee
Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court justice, played a vital part in ending legal segregation during the Civil Rights Movement through the landmark 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education. (Photo by Stock Montage/Getty Images)
Thurgood Marshall
Prior to the Civil Rights Movement, scholar W.E.B. Du Bois fought for racial equality as a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. (Photo by MPI/Getty Images)
W.E.B. Du Bois
-
EXPLORE
PEOPLE - Best Known For
Choose One
- Academics
Best Known For Academics
- Archaeologists
- Anthropologists
- Historians
- Linguists
- Mathematicians
- Philosophers
- Scholars
- Sociologists
- Teachers
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
- Activists
Best Known For Activists
- Animal Rights Activists
- Antiwar Activists
- Children's Activists
- Civil Rights Activists
- Environmental Activists
- Suffragettes
- Women's Rights Activists
- World Record Setters
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
- Actors & Actresses
Best Known For Actors & Actresses
- Actors Turned Politicians
- Film Actors
- Film Actresses
- Screen Presidents
- Theater Actors
- Theater Actresses
- Television Actors
- Television Actresses
- TV Moms
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
- Artists
Best Known For Artists
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
- Astronauts
- Architects
- Athletes
Best Known For Athletes
- Baseball Players
- Basketball Players
- Boxers
- Coaches
- Cyclists
- Figure Skaters
- Football Players
- Golfers
- Gymnasts
- Hockey Players
- Martial Arts Experts
- Racecar Drivers
- Soccer Players
- Tennis Players
- Track and Field Athletes
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
- Chefs
- Chess Players
- Comedians
- Computer Programmers
- Criminals & Notorious
Best Known For Criminals & Notorious
- Assassins
- Cult Leaders
- Drug Lords
- Executed
- Gangsters
- Kidnappers
- Mobsters
- Serial Killers
- Spree Killers
- Terrorists
- White Collar Criminals
- Women Gone Mad
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
- Critics
Best Known For Critics
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
- Dancers
- Engineers
- Explorers
- Fashion Designers
- Filmmakers
Best Known For Filmmakers
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
- First Ladies
- Inventors
- Legal Professionals
Best Known For Legal Professionals
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
- Magicians
- Medical Professionals
Best Known For Medical Professionals
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
- Military Leaders
- Models
- Musicians
Best Known For Musicians
- Bass Players
- Conductors
- Drummers
- Guitarists
- Pianists
- Music Producers
- Rappers
- Saxophone Players
- Songwriters
- Trumpet Players
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
- Philanthropists
- Pilots
- Politicians
Best Known For Politicians
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
- Radio Personalities
Best Known For Radio Personalities
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
- Religious Figures
Best Known For Religious Figures
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
- Royalty
Best Known For Royalty
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
- Scientists
Best Known For Scientists
- Astronomers
- Biologists
- Botanists
- Chemists
- Geneticists
- Immunologists
- Neurologists
- Physicists
- Physiologists
- Zoologists
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
- Singers
- Television Personalities
Best Known For Television Personalities
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
- Writers
Best Known For Writers
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
- Academics
- Life Events
Choose One
- Awards & Honors
Life Events Awards & Honors
- Academy Award Winners
- Beauty Pageant Winners
- Emmy Winners
- Grammy Winners
- Knighted
- Military Medal Recipients
- Music Hall of Fame Inductees
- Nobel Prize Winners
- Olympic Medal Winners
- Pulitzer Prize Winners
- Sports Hall of Fame Inductees
- Tony Award Winners
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
The 27 Club
The 27 club is a group of artists who died tragically at the young age of 27. They were some of the most talented minds of their generation, and in their short lives each made an enormous impact. Sadly, many led hard-partying lifestyles, abusing drugs and alcohol. These are the musicians and artists who make up the 27 club.
- Adoption
Life Events Adoption
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
The 27 Club
The 27 club is a group of artists who died tragically at the young age of 27. They were some of the most talented minds of their generation, and in their short lives each made an enormous impact. Sadly, many led hard-partying lifestyles, abusing drugs and alcohol. These are the musicians and artists who make up the 27 club.
-
- Business Launches
Life Events Business Launches
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
The 27 Club
The 27 club is a group of artists who died tragically at the young age of 27. They were some of the most talented minds of their generation, and in their short lives each made an enormous impact. Sadly, many led hard-partying lifestyles, abusing drugs and alcohol. These are the musicians and artists who make up the 27 club.
-
- Education
Life Events Education
- Amherst College
- Arizona State University
- Barnard College
- Boston University
- Brown University
- Cambridge University
- City College of New York
- Columbia University
- Cornell University
- Dartmouth College
- Emerson College
- Fordham University
- George Washington University
- Georgetown University
- Harvard University
- Harvard Law School
- Howard University
- Hunter College
- Indiana University
- Julliard
- McGill University
- New York University
- Northwestern University
- Oberlin College
- Ohio State University
- Oxford University
- Princeton University
- Radcliffe College
- Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
- Sarah Lawrence College
- Stanford University
- Syracuse University
- Trinity College
- University of Berlin
- University of California
- University of Cambridge
- University of Chicago
- University of Edinburgh
- University of Illinois
- University of Kansas
- University of Michigan
- University of Minnesota
- University of North Carolina
- University of Oxford
- University of Paris
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Southern California
- University of Texas
- University of Toronto
- University of Washington
- University of Wisconsin
- Vanderbilt University
- Vassar College
- Wellesley College
- West Point
- Yale Law School
- Yale School of Drama
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
The 27 Club
The 27 club is a group of artists who died tragically at the young age of 27. They were some of the most talented minds of their generation, and in their short lives each made an enormous impact. Sadly, many led hard-partying lifestyles, abusing drugs and alcohol. These are the musicians and artists who make up the 27 club.
- Discoveries
Life Events Discoveries
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
The 27 Club
The 27 club is a group of artists who died tragically at the young age of 27. They were some of the most talented minds of their generation, and in their short lives each made an enormous impact. Sadly, many led hard-partying lifestyles, abusing drugs and alcohol. These are the musicians and artists who make up the 27 club.
-
- Immigration
Life Events Immigration
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
The 27 Club
The 27 club is a group of artists who died tragically at the young age of 27. They were some of the most talented minds of their generation, and in their short lives each made an enormous impact. Sadly, many led hard-partying lifestyles, abusing drugs and alcohol. These are the musicians and artists who make up the 27 club.
-
- Political Office
Life Events Political Office
- Removed from Office
- Resigned From Office
- Supreme Court Justices
- U.S. Presidents
- U.S. Vice Presidents
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
The 27 Club
The 27 club is a group of artists who died tragically at the young age of 27. They were some of the most talented minds of their generation, and in their short lives each made an enormous impact. Sadly, many led hard-partying lifestyles, abusing drugs and alcohol. These are the musicians and artists who make up the 27 club.
- Scandals
Life Events Scandals
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
The 27 Club
The 27 club is a group of artists who died tragically at the young age of 27. They were some of the most talented minds of their generation, and in their short lives each made an enormous impact. Sadly, many led hard-partying lifestyles, abusing drugs and alcohol. These are the musicians and artists who make up the 27 club.
-
- Unnatural Deaths
Life Events Unnatural Deaths
- Assassinated
- Committed Suicide
- Died in an Accident
- Died in Military Battle
- Executed
- Murdered
- Overdosed
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
The 27 Club
The 27 club is a group of artists who died tragically at the young age of 27. They were some of the most talented minds of their generation, and in their short lives each made an enormous impact. Sadly, many led hard-partying lifestyles, abusing drugs and alcohol. These are the musicians and artists who make up the 27 club.
- Wealth
Life Events Wealth
Featured Groups
-
Famous Philanthropists
Browse notable philanthropists such as John D Rockefeller Jr., Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey.
-
The 27 Club
The 27 club is a group of artists who died tragically at the young age of 27. They were some of the most talented minds of their generation, and in their short lives each made an enormous impact. Sadly, many led hard-partying lifestyles, abusing drugs and alcohol. These are the musicians and artists who make up the 27 club.
-
- Awards & Honors
- Nationality
Choose One
- Argentine
- Australian
- Austrian
- Belgian
- Brazilian
- British
- Canadian
- Chilean
- Chinese
- Colombian
- Cuban
- Czech
- Dominican
- Dutch
- Egyptian
- Filipino
- French
- German
- Ghanaian
- Greek
- Hungarian
- Indian
- Iranian
- Irish
- Israeli
- Italian
- Jamaican
- Japanese
- Mexican
- New Zealander
- Nigerian
- Norwegian
- Pakistani
- Peruvian
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Romanian
- Russian
- Scottish
- Serbian
- South African
- Spanish
- Swedish
- Swiss
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Date
*please fill in the month
- biographies a-z groups short listsphoto galleries

John F. Kennedy
Famous Military Veterans
Anthony Weiner
My Ghost Story
I Survived
Babe Ruth
Johnny Cash
Georgia O'Keefe
I Survived

