Thurgood Marshall was the first Black
Supreme Court Justice. His work helped civil rights, especially
the landmark case which ended which ended legal school segregation
in the U.S.
Shirley
Chisholm
Claim
to fame:
Shirley Chisholm was the first Black congresswoman and, in 1972,
became the first Black woman to run for president.
Rosa
Parks
Claim
to fame:
Rosa Parks became the "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement" when
she refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in 1955. Her
courageous act set off the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the end to
segregated buses in the South.
Malcolm
X
Claim
to fame:
Malcolm X turned his own life around and became a great speaker
and leader.
Nelson Mandela
Claim
to fame:
Nelson Mandela spent many years in prison because he fought against
South Africa's apartheid. He became the first Black president of
South Africa in 1994.
Jesse
Jackson
Claim
to fame:
Jesse Jackson heads the Rainbow Coalition against unfair laws and
practices. He was the first Black man to run for president.
Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.
Claim
to fame:
Dr. King used peaceful protest and
nonviolent civil disobedience to become a civil rights leader who
helped win equal rights in housing, jobs and voting. He was assassinated
in 1968.
Minister Louis
Farrakhan
Claim
to fame:
National head of the Nation of Islam. Planned the successful Million
Man March on Washington, D.C., in 1995.
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