The brief bio-sketches below of key figures show some of the great achievements accomplished by African Americans and the contributions they've made to the growth of America. This list is not all inclusive but is indicative of the cultural depth of the African American.

JEAN BAPTISTE POINTE DUSABLE built the first house on the site of present-day Chicago (1784).

CHARLES HAMILTON HOUSTON, Lawyer and NAACP leader, 1895-1950, the architect and dominant force of the legal program of the NAACP, was born in Washington, D.C. He is considered to have set the pattern for fundamental attacks on barriers to equal justice, though he did not live to see the fruits of his labors. He died four years before the Brown vs. Board of Education decision. Houston received his first law degree from Harvard Law School in 1922. and his law doctorate the following year. He also studied law at the University of Madrid, earning the degree of Doctor of Civil Law. As vice-dean of the Howard University School of Law, Houston served as full-time administrator from 1929-1935. In this period, he created a fully accredited, nationally known and respected law school for the University.

GEORGE BONGA of Duluth, an African American trader of considerable wealth, served as interpreter at the signing of the Chippewa Treaty of 1837.

ABSALOM JONES, Minister: Rector of the first separate Protestant Episcopal congregation for African Americans, Jones was born a slave in Sussex, Delaware. He learned to read and write, and was able to purchase his wife's freedom and later his own. He joined Richard Allen in leading the exodus from the St. George Church in 1787, but preferred to follow the Anglican tradition leaving his friend to create the AME Church. He was with Allen, however, in the formation of the Free African Society.

GEORGE F. CARRUTHERS, Physicist, one of the two naval research laboratory persons responsible for the Apollo 16 lunar surface camera/spectrograph which was placed on the lunar surface in April, 1972.

JAMES ARMISTEAD, American Spy: In 1781, Armistead, a slave, was a valuable intelligence agent during the Revolution, assisting Lafayette by gathering information concerning British forces at Portsmouth, Virginia. He performed important espionage service behind enemy lines, masquerading as an escaped slave while he obtained information about the plans and movements of the British. He continued his spying as a servant in Cornwallis’s camp during the Yorktown Campaign and relayed intelligence to Lafayette that helped bring about the American victory at Yorktown. For his work, Armistead was emancipated by an act of the Virginia Legislature in 1786.

ELMER SIMMS CAMPBELL, 1906-1974, master cartoonist of sophisticated humor for Esquire and Playboy magazines, was born in St. Louis. His art also appeared in hundreds of newspapers and magazines as a syndicated feature. He contributed cartoons and other art work to Cosmopolitan, Redbook. New Yorker, Collier's, Saturday Evening Post, College Humor and Opportunity.

Carter G. Woodson, 1875-1950, noted Black scholar and historian and son of former slaves, founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915, which was later renamed the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).He initiated Black History Week, February 12, 1926. For many years the 2nd week of February (chosen so as to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln) was celebrated by Black people in the United States. In 1976, as part of the nation's Bicentennial, it was expanded and became established as Black History Month, and is now celebrated all over North America

AMBROSE CALlVER, 1894-1962: Senior specialist in the education of African Americans in the United States Office of Education from 1930 to 1946. Caliver was born in Saltville, Virginia. He initiated and directed the FERA and WPA emergency education programs under the New Deal, and created aria directed "Freedom's People" (1941-1942), a series of nationwide radio broadcasts on the participation of African Americans in American life. Dr. Caliver published at least 18 books and more than 50 articles in leading periodicals.

ALBERT J. CASSELL, Architect, 1895-1969: Formerly head of the architecture department at Howard University, Cassell was born in Baltimore, and studied architecture at the School of Architecture, Cornell University. As an architect, he worked on the construction of five buildings at Tuskegee Institute; as a draftsman, he was responsible for designing an industrial plan for the manufacture of silk, and later, he served as the architect for Howard University's gymnasium and athletic field (1924), the College of Medicine, 1926, three women's dormitory buildings, 1931, his most outstanding project at Howard, the Founders Library, 1946. His largest project was Mayfair Mansions, a $5 million apartment complex in Washington, D.C. His work also appears elsewhere in this country and in Africa.

Whitney Young, Jr. (1921- 1971) was Executive Director of the National Urban League from 1961 until his early death in a swimming accident in 1971. He was a tireless practitioner of social activism to bring ethnic groups together He advocated for the poor and visited rural and urban communities. Young was an advisor to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and later President Nixon, helping to shape national policies. A key figure in bringing the 1963 March on Washington to fruition, he testified before Congressional committees to ask for support in creating a fair environment and new opportunities for African Americans. Read more...