African-American Civil Rights Champions

These African-Americans are famous for their roles in the struggle for civil rights. Learn more about their lives.


The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Article tracing the life, acts, and fame of the famous civil rights leader

Rosa Parks
She is often called the "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement" in America.

Malcolm X
The story of another powerful civil rights leader in 20th Century America

Thurgood Marshall
He successfully convinced the Supreme Court to rule that segregation in education, then later served on the Court itself. Find out more about this famous lawyer.

Elizabeth Jennings Graham
Elizabeth Jennings Graham acted out against segregation in public transportation 40 years before Homer Plessy and 100 years before Rosa Parks.

W.E.B. DuBois
He was a famous scholar and writer and one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Mary McLeod Bethune
She was a famous activist and educator, advisor to four U.S. Presidents, and a longtime executive of the NAACP.

Ruby Bridges
This 6-year-old girl was the first to desegregate an elementary school. Read her uplifting story.

Fannie Lou Hamer
This woman was tireless in her efforts to secure the right to vote for people of all colors.

Booker T. Washington
This educator founded a university and fought for civil rights for all.

Graphics courtesy of ArtToday

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David White