Jack JohnsonNicknamed the “Galveston Giant,” Johnson was the first black heavyweight champion of the world. In his documentary on Johnson’s life documentary filmmaker Ken Burns said “For more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous, and the most notorious African-American on Earth.”

Paul RobesonAn American singer and actor, Robeson spent his life advocating equality amongst all citizens of the world. Though his views often caused difficulties in his life, Robeson continued to fight for his views.

Daniel Hale WilliamsA surgeon, Williams is famous for performing the first successful open heart surgery operation on July 9, 1893. In 1891 Williams founded the Provident Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago, the oldest free-standing black owned hospital in the United States.

Sojourner TruthBorn into slavery in about 1797, Sojourner Truth was one of the most outspoken advocates of abolition of slavery, as well as women’s suffrage. Her book ,The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, along with those of others like Fredrick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, helped to illuminate the problem of slavery in America.

Marcus GarveyConsidered a National Hero of Jamaica, Marcus Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, an organization that pledged itself to the redemption of Africa and the uplift of black people everywhere.