Black History Month

2. Educator who believed reading and citizenship education were essential tools for freedom
3. Medical scientist who revolutionized blood banking and emergency medicine
5. Mechanical engineer whose inventions made trains run more smoothly and inspired a phrase meaning authenticity
7. Independent filmmaker who challenged stereotypes by telling complex Black stories on screen
8. First Black woman in the United States to earn a bachelor’s degree
9. Abolitionist whose novel revealed the realities of slavery to a broad readership
11. Physician who wrote one of the earliest medical texts by a Black author
12. NAACP leader who secretly investigated racial violence and lynchings
13. Teen activist whose refusal on public transit became part of a landmark court case
16. Civil rights lawyer whose legal strategy dismantled segregation from the courtroom outward
17. Inventor whose traffic signal and safety hood improved public safety nationwide

1. Entrepreneur who built a beauty empire and funded schools, orphanages, and community programs
3. Poet of the Harlem Renaissance known for capturing ordinary Black life with emotional honesty
4. Sculptor who broke international art barriers as a Black and Native American woman
6. Folk artist who began painting later in life, preserving rural Southern Black history
9. Inventor whose early home security system used cameras and two-way communication
10. Mathematician whose calculations helped define Earth’s shape for satellite navigation
14. Inventor whose work helped bring electric light into American homes
15. Yale-trained physicist who devoted his career to teaching when research paths were blocked