African-American Leaders
Links to pages about Martin Luther King and other prominent African-American leaders.
Civil Rights Movement Heroes - Article covers Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Thurgood Marshall, and the Little Rock Nine.
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Probably the best-known figure in the Civil Rights movement, King was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis.
- Seattle Times Martin Luther King site
- Martin Luther King at History.com
- "I've Been to the Mountaintop" - King's last speech, delivered April 3, 1968 in Memphis. This page has background about the speech, its text, and a recording.
Ralph Abernathy - Ralph Abernathy took a leading role in the 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott.
- Ralph Abernathy (New Georgia Encyclopedia)
- Ralph Abernathy (MLK Research & Education Institute)
- Ralph Abernathy - Spartacus Educational
Mary McLeod Bethune - Child of former slaves who became an educator and civil rights leader, including president of the NAACP.
- Mary McLeod Bethune - The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow (PBS)
- Mary McLeod Bethune - Spartacus Educational
- Mary McLeod Bethune - Profiles in Caring
- What Does American Democracy Mean to Me? - text and recording of famous speech by Bethune
Frederick Douglass - American abolitionist, women's suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer. Born in 1818 as a slave, died in 1895.
- Frederick Douglass PBS Africans in America
- Frederick Douglass - Spartacus Educational
- Frederick Douglass - Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
W.E.B. DuBois - Massachusetts native; was an American civil rights activist, leader, Pan-Africanist, sociologist, educator, historian, writer, editor, poet, and scholar. Founder of the NAACP.
- W.E.B. DuBois - The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow (PBS)
- William Du Bois - Spartacus Educational
- W.E.B. Du Bois - NAACP
- W.E.B. Du Bois Boyhood Homesite - National Park Service
Jesse Jackson - Civil rights activist and minister, former presidential candidate, founder of RainbowPUSH Coalition
- Jesse Jackson - MLK Research & Education Institute
- Jesse Jackson - BlackPast.org
- Rainbow/PUSH Coalition - Social change organization created and led by Jackson that continues to work today. See Jackson's bio on the Rainbow/PUSH site
John Lewis - Helped plan the March on Washington in 1963 and was a keynote speaker. Served as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee from 1963 to 1966.
- John Lewis - BlackPast.org
- John Lewis - Spartacus Educational
- John Lewis - MLK Research & Education Institute
Thurgood Marshall - First African-American Supreme Court justice, appointed in 1967. He was already well-known for his prominent role as an attorney in major civil rights cases.
- Thurgood Marshall - American Revolutionary - Website accompanying book by Juan Williams
- Thurgood Marshall - MLK Research & Education Institute
- Thurgood Marshall - Spartacus Educational
- Thurgood Marshall Before the Court - American Radioworks
- Thurgood Marshall Obituary - New York Times
Rosa Parks - The central figure in the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955-1956. The true story behind her not giving up a seat on the bus is much more involved and interesting than many know.
- Biography of Rosa Parks from The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development
- The Torchbearer: Rosa Parks - Time magazine
- Rosa Parks - Academy of Achievement - includes profile, biography, interview and photos
- Rosa Parks - The Time 100
- Rosa Parks Obituary - New York Times
Booker T. Washington
- Booker T. Washington National Monument - National Park Service
- Booker T. Washington - Spartacus Educational
- Speech to the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition - background of Washington's famous speech and its text
- Booker T. Washington - The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow (PBS)
Malcom X - A street hustler who became a black nationalist leader, Malcolm X converted to Islam while in prison. He was assassinated in 1965.
- Malcom X - MLK Research & Education Institute
- Malcom X - Official website
- Malcom X: Make it Plain - PBS American Experience Website