AFRICAN AMERICAN ICONS
Civil Rights Movement: 1950s
Emmett Till
While visiting Money, Mississippi, 14-year old Chicagoan Emmett Till was killed by white men for speaking to a white woman.
Lisa Whittington, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
James Baldwin
James Baldwin published his first novel “Go Tell It on the Mountain”, 1953.
Allan Warren, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. was the first African American appointed as an Air Force General.
See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Ralph Bunche
Ralph Bunche won the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the Middle Eastern Conflict between the Arabs and Israelis, 1950.
Carl Van Vechten, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson was the first African American woman to win the U.S. Open championship, 1956.
New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer: Palumbo, Fred, photographer., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Alvin Ailey Dance Theater
The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater was founded in New York city.
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Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry founded Rock ‘n Roll Music in the 1950’s.
Håkan Henriksson (Narking), CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.
Dr Martin L. King Jr was elected President of the Montgomery Improvement Association. The organization lead a year long boycott against Montgomery, Alabama segregated transportation system.
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Rowland Scherman, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was arrested after refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus to a white patron, 1955.
Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Gwendolyn Brooks
Gwendolyn Brooks received the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry and was first black to receive such distinction.
Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ralph Ellison
Writer Ralph Ellison published “Invisible Man” in 1952.
United States Information Agency staff photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons