Motown records was formed by Berry Gordy in Detroit. Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Supremes and many others were among the most popular artists then and now, 1960’S.

Stokely Carmichael coined the term “Black Power”. He was a proponent of militancy during the civil rights movement.

Muhammad Ali won a Gold Medal for boxing at the 1960 Olympic four years later. He became heavyweight champion of the world. He joined the Nation of Islam following the victory and took the Ismaic name. When he refused to be drafted into the army, he lost his championship belt. He regained it in 1971.

Edward Brooke was a lawyer in Boston, Massachusetts. He was elected first black US Senator since Reconstruction.

W.E. Dubois was a founder of the NAACP. For a quarter of a century, he was its outspoken leader in the fight for the rights of blacks.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death on April 4, 1968, pressured President Johnson to push for more civil rights laws in an emotionally charged country.

James Farmer, Civil Rights Leader and principal founder of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). In 1961 CORE organized the Freedom Rides to desegregate bus travel. Farmer, with 12 other activists, both black & white-faced violence and jail time as they rode from Washington D.C. to New Orleans.

Bobby Seale and Huey Nueton founded Black Panther Party after the assassination of Malcolm X, 1965. It’s members confronted politicians, challenged the police, and protected black citizens from brutality. The party’s community service programs called for survival programs, food, clothing, transportation rather then integrating into society.

Malcolm X preached defending oneself “by any means necessary”, just the opposite of Dr King’s championing of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience.

John Lewis was called “Mr. Civil Rights” because of the numerous times he was jailed and beaten during the Civil Rights Movement.

Thurgood Marshall won the Brown vs Topeka, Kansas Supreme Court Case that ended Legal Segregation in the United States in 1954. He later became the first black ever to become a member of the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Coming out of Syracuse University, I played fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the NFL from 1957-1965.  In all but one of my nine years in pro football, I led the NFL in yards rushing.  My career total of 12,312 yards still stands as the all-time record.(as of the time of this quote)  I was one of the greatest football players of all time". – Jim Brown