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Black College Tour - Fall 2015Top of Page

Achievements of African AmericansTop of Page

The link below highlights the creative contributions of African Americans in all fields throughout the world in the areas of literary, visual, musical, history, athletics, social studies, sciences and performing arts.

Highlights and creative contributions of African Americans

Carter Godwin Woodson – The second African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University. He founded the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History (ASALH) in 1915. He launched the Journal of Negro History. In 1933, he published the highly regarded book The Mis-Education of the Negro.

James Van Der Zee – A photographer best known for his portraits of black New Yorkers. He was a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Among his most famous subjects during this time were Marcus Garvey, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Countee Cullen.

Josephine Baker - An American-born French dancer, singer, and actress who was known in various circles as the "Black Pearl," "Bronze Venus" and the "Creole Goddess.” Baker assisted the French Resistance during World War II and received the French military honor, the Croix de guerre.

Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable - Du Sable established the first permanent trading post on the Chicago River in 1779. He was officially recognized in 1968 by the State of Illinois for having been the Founder of Chicago.

Benjamin Banneker - A free African American scientist, surveyor, almanac author and farmer. He was part of a group led by Major Andrew Ellicott that surveyed the borders of the original District of Columbia, the federal capital district of the United States.

Marian Anderson - Anderson performed at the Lincoln Memorial for an audience of 75,000 on Easter Sunday, 1939. Anderson was officially designated a delegate to the United Nations in 1958 and went on to receive a UN Peace Prize in 1972.