Paul Laurence Dunbar was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1872. His parents were runaway slaves and his father had fought in the Civil War. He wrote his first poem at the age of six and gave his first recital at the age of nine. He attended an all-white school in Dayton, and was the editor of the newspaper and class president. Dunbar also belonged to the school's literary society. His first publication of a poem was in the Dayton Herald. He had a side job editing the Dayton Tattler, a short-lived black newspaper published by his classmate and friend, Orville Wright.

After high school, Dunbar was too poor to attend college. He took a job as an elevator operator. He continued to write poetry and was invited by his former teacher to read his poems at the Western Association of Writers. He impressed the audience and was encouraged to publish his works. In 1893, he published his first collection of poems, "Oak and Ivy." To help pay for the publishing costs, he sold the book to people riding in his elevator.

In late 1893, Dunbar moved to Chicago, Illinois to find work at the World's Fair. He met Frederick Douglass and the two became friends. Douglass spoke highly of the young Dunbar, arranged for him to get a job as a clerk and encouraged him to keep writing. Douglass said that Dunbar was, "the most promising young colored man in America." By 1895, Dunbar had many of his poems published throughout the country. He published a second collection of works, entitled "Majors and Minors." The "majors" referred to his poems in standard English. His "minors" referred to poems written in a Negro dialect. Although his "majors" outnumbered his "minors," it was the dialect poems that brought Dunbar fame. Even critics from Harper's Weekly gave Dunbar favorable reviews.

In 1897, with his new found fame, Dunbar began an international tour. When he returned to the United States, he got a job at the Library of Congress as a clerk. In 1899, he published a collection of short stories and two more collections of poems. He also began writing lyrics for musicals. His lyrics for "In Dahomey" was the first musical written and performed entirely by African-Americans on Broadway. In 1898, his health deteriorated and he contracted tuberculosis. He would write three novels and three short story collections during his illness. He died in 1906 at only the age of 33.

Dunbar had a very short life, but he is known today as one of America's greatest poets. He was honored by President Theodore Roosevelt with a ceremonial sword. He maintained a lifelong friendship with the Wright Brothers, who spoke very highly of Dunbar as their own fame grew. Today, Dunbar has numerous schools, libraries and institutions named in his honor. Maya Angelou said that Dunbar was a major inspiration for her as a writer. Paul Laurence Dunbar, despite a short life, was a great American.

Charlotte Forten was born in 1837 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her entire family was devoted to the anti-slavery movement. She attended a local grammar school with white students and then attended Normal School in Salem, Massachusetts. She joined the Salem Anti-Slavery Society and began teaching. She became the first African-American teacher hired in Massachusetts to teach white students.

Forten became heavily involved in the anti-slavery movement. She arranged for lectures by prominent speakers such as William Lloyd Garrison, Senator Charles Sumner and Ralph Waldo Emerson. However, by 1858, she was forced to return to Philadelphia due to her tuberculosis. While recovering, she began writing poetry, much of which was published in the abolitionist publication “The Liberator.”

During the Civil War, Forten was the first black teacher to join in the Port Royal Experiment. When Union troops liberated several islands off the coast of South Carolina, schools were set up to begin teaching to freed slaves. She published her experiences there in the Atlantic Monthly. She also volunteered as a nurse for the Army.

When the war was over, she returned to Philadelphia for health reasons. She met her husband, Francis Grimke, at the age of 41 years. They moved to Washington, DC where Francis served as a pastor. She continued to chronicle her experiences up until her death in 1914. Her contributions to the abolition of slavery, journaling the experiences of the south and the education of freed blacks made her a great American.