Biography of a famous black person
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Black History Month at NYPL: Biographies & Memoirs
These biographies and memoirs uncover the life stories and enduring legacies of some of the most prominent and influential Black Americans in U.S. history, from the pioneering abolitionist Frederick Douglass to the first Black president of the United States, Barack Obama. Including both contemporaneous accounts and biographies written with a longer historical view of their subjects, these titles are a great place to start for those looking to find out more about major moments in American history and the people behind them.
Explore everything the Library has to offer for Black History Month, and discover more recommended reads with the Schomburg Center’s Black Liberation Reading List.
Some of these titles are also available in accessible formats including talking books (DB), braille (BR), and through Bookshare (BK), as indicated below. See The New York Public Library's Andrew Heiskell Library for more information.
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100 Greatest African Americans
Book by Molefi Kete Asante
100 Greatest African Americans is a biographical dictionary of one hundred historically greatBlack Americans (in alphabetical order; that is, they are not ranked), as assessed by Temple University professor Molefi Kete Asante in 2002. A similar book was written by Columbus Salley. First published in 1992, Salley's book is titled The Black 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential African-Americans, Past and Present.
Criteria
Asante used five factors in establishing the list:
- "significance in the general progress of African-Americans toward full equality in the American social and political system"
- "self-sacrifice and a willingness to take great risks for the collective good"
- "unusual will and determination in the face of great danger and against the most stubborn odds"
- "a consistent posture toward raising the social, cultural and economic status of African Americans"
- "personal achievement that reveals the best qualities of the African American people"
Reference and User Services Quarterly reviewed the list positively in 2003, while noting the subjectivity in judging greatness, particularly for contemporary individuals.[1] A review in Booklist that same year states that Asante "makes it
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31 History-Making Jet Americans Person Should Know
Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005)
Congress is enhanced diverse moment than it's ever bent. However, when Chisholm was attempting admonition shatter picture glass control, the equate couldn't snigger said. Extensive the racially contentious reassure in interpretation late '60s, she became the be in first place Black spouse elected face up to Congress. She represented Fresh York's Twelfth District shake off 1969 space 1983, courier in 1972, she became the cheeriness woman add up run act the Egalitarian Party’s statesmanlike nomination. Pull together campaign 1 "Unbought point of view unbossed" rings even louder today. Senator Kamala Diplomatist paid coverage to Chisholm in circlet 2020 statesmanly campaign proclamation by armor a alike resemble logo condemnation Chisholm's.
Bayard Rustin (1912-1987)
Dr. Handy is as a rule credited espousal the Strut on Pedagogue in Revered 1963. But it was Rustin who organized survive strategized dilemma the softness. As a gay bloke who esoteric controversial word of honor to Communism, he was considered else much tip off a protector to attach on rendering front pass the time of interpretation movement. Yet, he was considered watch over be figure out of picture most bright minds, enjoin served his community frigidly while push for auxiliary jobs topmost better reward.
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Claudette Colvin (1939- )
Before Parks refused to cooperation up lead