Explore articles and videos of some of the most prominent African Americans who have made Black History what it is today. Learn about the firebrand abolitionists Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth; the political philosophies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X; the imagination and intellectualism of James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou; the trailblazing music of Chuck Berry, Louis Armstrong, Diana Ross and Tina Turner; the entertainment of Josephine Baker, Richard Pryor and media giant Oprah Winfrey; the legislative impact of Thurgood Marshall, Shirley Chisholm and President Barack Obama; the scientific contributions of George Washington Carver, Charles Drew and Henrietta Lacks; and the athletic record-breaking feats of Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph.
For Black History Month features, videos, galleries, and more visit our Black History page.
Happy 37th birthday, Beyoncé! In honor of #BeyDay, the singer's mother paid tribute to her famous daughter on Instagram: "Happy Birthday to the nicest, owner of the most beautiful, generous, loving hearts ever!!!! Brilliant too! Always thinking, planning, analyzing, strategizing, how you can make everything you touch better!"
Hall of Fame basketball center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA's all-time leading scorer. He won six NBA titles, five with the Los Angeles Lakers, over 20 years.
Ben Carson defended himself against criticism for purchasing a $31,000 dining set for his office to Congress, saying he left details to his wife and staff. Emails from the secretary of housing and urban development seem to contradict his distancing from the purchase.
Tina Turner’s oldest son, Craig Raymond Turner, has died at 59 of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, says the Los Angeles coroner. Craig was born to Tina and then-boyfriend, saxophonist Raymond Hill, and was later adopted by Tina’s abusive husband Ike.
Billionaire media giant and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey is best known for hosting her own internationally popular talk show from 1986 to 2011. From there, she launched her own television network, OWN.
Reverend James Lawson was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement who advocated for the use of nonviolent tactics to effect positive social change.
Tiger Woods is a professional golfer who set an amazing career in motion in 1997, when he became the youngest man and the first African American to win the U.S. Masters.
Tracey Norman is one of America's first African-American transgender models and an LGBTQ activist.
Susan Kelechi Watson is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of sassy-but-sweet mom Beth Pearson on NBC’s Emmy-nominated drama, 'This Is Us.'
Barack Obama was the 44th president of the United States, and the first African American to serve in the office. First elected to the presidency in 2008, he won a second term in 2012.
Deshauna Barber is best known for becoming Miss USA 2016 and the first active military officer to hold the title. She also came in as a top finalist in Miss Universe 2016.
Pro basketball player Kobe Bryant won five NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers while establishing himself as one of the game's all-time greats.
Joycelyn Elders became the first African-American United States Surgeon General in 1993 and only the second woman to hold the position.
Irene Morgan was a civil rights activist who, a decade prior to Rosa Parks' landmark case, won her own U.S. Supreme Court Case in 'Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia,' which declared interstate transport racial segregation to be unconstitutional.
Tarana Burke is a civil rights activist who was the original founder of the "Me Too" movement, which she started in 2006. It later became a global phenomenon that raised awareness about sexual harassment, abuse, and assault in society in 2017.
Alice Ball was an African-American chemist who developed the first successful treatment for those suffering from Hansen’s disease (leprosy).
Cassandra Wilson is a Grammy-Award winning American jazz artist best known for her smoky contralto voice and innovative style of incorporating blues, country, pop, folk and rap music into her prolific repertoire.
Sojourner Truth is best known for her extemporaneous speech on racial inequalities, "Ain't I a Woman?" delivered at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851.
Madam C.J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove, created specialized hair products for African-American hair and was one of the first American women to become a self-made millionaire.
Leontyne Price is widely regarded as the first African American to gain international acclaim as a professional opera singer.
Civil rights activist Ella Baker worked with the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Maya Angelou was a poet and award-winning author known for her acclaimed memoir 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' and her numerous poetry and essay collections.
Harriet Tubman escaped slavery to become a leading abolitionist. She led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom along the route of the Underground Railroad.
Coretta Scott King was an American civil rights activist and the wife of 1960s civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
