Celebrate The ABC’s of Black History Month A is for Angelou The wit, wisdom, and power of Maya Angelou's work have made her one of the most beloved contemporary American writers. Her writings have brought her numerous awards, and she has been nominated for a Tony, an Emmy, and a Pulitzer prize. B is for Beckwourth In 1850, James Beckwourth found a passageway through the Sierra Nevada mountain range near Reno Nevada which helped future settlers to reach California. That pass is called Beckwourth Pass. Ex-Slave and Early Pioneer Western Frontiersman C is for Chisholm Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress and an outspoken advocate for women and minorities during seven terms in the House “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth.” D is for Drew Charles R. Drew was a renowned surgeon, teacher, and researcher. He was responsible for founding two of the world's largest blood banks. Renowned Surgeon and Blood researcher E is for Ellington The man who made "Take the 'A' Train" his signature song was none other than the musical giant Edward Kennedy Ellington, better known as Duke Ellington. Ellington (1899-1974) was born in Washington, D.C., and by the time he was 15, he was composing. F is for Fitzgerald Discovered as a teenager at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, Ella Fitzgerald and her swing style of vocal jazz transcend the times. Recognized as the best female jazz vocalist of the century as well as a pioneer in the area of jazz, Fitzgerald was respected worldwide by musicians and audiences alike. G is for Gibson Althea Gibson, a sports pioneer who broke tennis' color barrier in the 1950s as the first black entrant and champion at Wimbledon and the U.S. national tournament. "Who could have imagined? Who could have thought?" Gibson said in 1988 as she presented her Wimbledon trophies to the Smithsonian Institution. "Here stands before you a Negro woman, raised in Harlem, who went on to become a tennis player ... in fact, the first black woman champion of this world,". H is for Hastie William Henry Hastie On May 7, 1946, Hastie was inaugurated as the first African-American governor of the Virgin Islands. On October 15, 1949, he was nominated judge of the Third United States Circuit Court of Appeals by President Harry S. Truman. It was the highest judicial position attained by an African American. I is for Ishmael Ishmael Scott Reed is an American poet, essayist and novelist. Reed is one of the best-known African American writers of his generation Reed currently lives in Oakland, California. In 1998, he received a MacArthur Fellowship and has recently retired from teaching at the University of California, Berkeley. J is for Jemison On September 12, 1992, when the space shuttle Endeavor lifted off, Mae Jemison was aboard and became the first African American woman in space. She served aboard the Endeavor as a science specialist. K is for King Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist minister, was a driving force in the push for racial equality in the 1950's and the 1960's. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal” L is for Louis The "Brown Bomber" kept his title of heavyweight champion for 25 fights in a row. Joe Louis stayed the heavyweight champ for 12 years. Joe Louis - Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World M is for Marshall Thurgood Marshall represented and won more cases before the United States Supreme Court than any other American. Thurgood Marshall was appointed to the United States Supreme Court by President Lyndon B. Johnson, becoming the first African American appointed to the high court as an Associate Justice. N is for Nichols One of the first African American women to be featured in a major television series. During the first year of the series, Nichelle Nichols was tempted to leave the show as she felt her role lacked significance, but a conversation with Dr. Martin Luther King, JR. changed her mind. Dr. King personally encouraged her to stay on the show, telling her that he was a big fan of the series and told her she "could not give up"... for she was playing a vital role model for young black children and women across the country. Nichelle Nichols as Uhura on the wildly popular Star Trek O is for Owens Athlete, humanitarian, speaker, author—a master of the spirit as well as the mechanics of sport. Jesse Owens is a winner who knows that winning is not everything. He has shared with others his courage, his dedication to the highest ideals of sportsmanship. His achievements have shown us all the promise of America and his faith in America has inspired countless others to do their best for themselves and for their country. P is for Poitier After Sidney Poitier won the 1963 best-actor Oscar for his portrayal of an itinerant worker in "Lilies of the Field," his career blossomed. By 1968, Poitier had become the No. 1 box-office star in the United States. "Mine was not an easy road," he once said. Still, he added, "serendipity was running up and down all those years”. Q is for Queen Queen Latifah (born Dana Elaine Owens) is a Grammy-winning American Rapper/Singer and Academy Award Nominated Actress. Queen Latifah has written a children's book entitled Queen of the Scene (2006) to encourage young girls to accomplish their goals. Also, Latifah was recently honored with receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, becoming the first rapper ever to do so. R is for Robeson Paul Robeson was one of the most gifted men of this century. His resonant bass and commanding presence made him a world-renowned singer and actor and proved equally valuable when he spoke out against bigotry and injustice S is for Still William Grant Still was an African American classical composer who wrote more than 150 compositions. He was the first African- American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony of his own (his first symphony) performed by a leading orchestra, the first to have an opera performed by a major opera company, and the first to have an opera performed on national television. He is often referred to as "the dean" of African- American composers. T is for Tubman Harriet Tubman also known as "Moses of Her People," was an African American abolitionist. An escaped slave, she made approximately 13 voyages into Maryland to rescue about 70 enslaved friends and family to freedom in Canada. During her lifetime she worked as a lumberjack, laundress, nurse, and cook. As an abolitionist, she acted as intelligence gatherer, refugee organizer, raid leader, nurse, and fundraiser. U is for Underwood Blair Underwood is an American television and film actor. Underwood is a part of several charitable organizations. He won the 1993 Humanitarian Award for his work with the LA chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In 2003, along with Ashley Judd, he served as the spokesperson for YouthAIDS V is for Vance Jim Vance is an American television news anchor. He has worked for WRC-TV since 1969 and in 1972 he became the station's main anchor, as one of the first African-Americans to serve in this position at any American television station. Vance has earned 15 Emmy’s and has been inducted into the Journalist Hall of Fame W is for Washington Booker T. Washington was a political leader, educator and author. He was one of the dominant figures in African American history in the United States from 1890 to 1915. Dr. Washington did much to improve the overall friendship and working relationship between the races in the United States. His autobiography, Up From Slavery was first published in 1901, and is still widely read today. X is for X Malcolm X was a Black Muslim Minister and National Spokesman for the Nation of Islam. He was also founder of the Muslim Mosque, Inc and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. During his life, Malcolm went from being a drug dealer and burglar to one of the most prominent black nationalist leaders in the United States; he was considered by some as a martyr of Islam and a champion of equality. Y is for Young Andrew Jackson Young, Jr. is an American Civil Rights activist, former mayor of Atlanta, Georgia and was the United States' first African American ambassador to the United Nations. He encouraged African Americans to register to vote in Alabama and sometimes faced death threats while doing so. He became a friend and ally of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Z is for Zora Zora Neale Hurston was an American Folklorist and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance, best known for the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God- this work would be made into a movie by Oprah Winfrey nearly 70 years after it was published.