Black History Month

He earned a PhD in zoology at the University of Chicago. His work lead to a deepening understanding of insects.

• Robert Smalls

• Bass Reeves

• Arturo Schomburg

• Charles Henry Turner

He was the first African American to win a world championship in cycling. There is a bike bath named in his honor that starts at the Dan Ryan Woods.

• Robert Smalls

• Marshall "Major" Taylor

• Garrett Morgan

• Bass Reeves

She said, "“I may be the first woman to hold this office. But I won’t be the last.”

• Amanda Gorman

• Shirley Chisholm

• Kamala Harris

• Maya Angelou

He is known as a War hero. He freed himself and his crew and families during the Civil War.

• Marshall "Major" Taylor

• Bass Reeves

• Arturo Schomburg

• Robert Smalls

She is an activist and scholar. She said, “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”

• Angela Davis

• Gwendolyn Brooks

• Audre Lorde

• Shirley Chisholm

He dedicated his life to collecting and preserving the stories of Africans around the world.

• Arturo Schomburg

• Garrett Morgan

• Charles Henry Turner

• Marshall "Major" Taylor

She was the FIRST poet to read a poem at a Presidential Inauguration. She had many roles throughout her life: singer, actor, activist, playwright, author, and legend.

• Gwendolyn Brooks

• Amanda Gorman

• Maya Angelou

His ideas and inventions of a safety hood and traffic signal made the world a safer place.

• Marshall "Major" Taylor

• Garrett Morgan

• Bass Reeves

• Robert Smalls

She was a painter, singer, and activist whose songs were used during the Civil Rights Movement.

• Shirley Chisholm

• Gwendolyn Brooks

• Nina Simone

• Alvin Ailey

He earned the reputation as "the tough-as-nails, sharpshooting, six-foot two black deputy."

• Bass Reeves

• Robert Smalls

• Charles Henry Turner

• Arturo Schomburg