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List of Famous African Americans
Throughout History
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Scroll down for a list of famous African Americans throughout history.
Obviously, there are many more famous African Americans than can be listed on a single page, but considering the challenges they've had to face throughout American History, it seems only fitting to acknowledge the many great contributions of African Americans to American culture.
Included here are some of the best.
Below is a list (with photos) of outstanding African American artists, athletes, activists, educators, politicians, scientists, and pioneers. Also noted are their professions, dates of birth, and the states where they grew up.
Shown here is a black power salute. The raised fist was a symbol of the Black Power movement in the 60s, which promoted economic, social, and political separation from whites in order to gain equality.
Click here for Famous African American Quotations.
List of Famous African Americans
ALABAMA
Hank Aaron .......... Baseball .......... 1934-
Charles Barkley ..... Basketball ....... 1963-
Nat King Cole ........ Musician ......... 1919-1965
W.C. Handy ........... Musician ......... 1873-1958
Evander Holyfield ..... Boxer .............. 1962-
Coretta Scott King .... Activist ............ 1927-2006
Carl Lewis ............... Track & Field ..... 1961-
Joe Louis ................ Boxer ................ 1914-1981
Willie Mays ............. Baseball ............ 1931-
Jesse Owens ........... Track & Field ...... 1913-1980
Satchel Paige ............ Baseball ............ 1906-1982
Rosa Parks ................ Activist .............. 1913-2005
Condoleezza Rice ....... Politician ............ 1954-
Willie Tyler ............... Ventriloquist ........ 1940-
ALASKA
ARIZONA
ARKANSAS
Jocelyn Elders ..... Surgeon General .... 1933-
Daisy Bates ......... Activist ....... 1914-1999
CALIFORNIA
Eddie Anderson .... Actor .......... 1898-1977
Tyra Banks...................Model...................1973-
Charles Barkley.............Basketball..............1963-
Barry Bonds..................Baseball ...............1964-
Calvin Broadus..............Musician................1972-
Michael Dorn.................Actor.....................1952-
Flo Griffith-Joyner.........Track & Field .........1959-1998
Etta James...................Musician................1938-
John Singleton..............Director.................1968-
Serena Williams............Tennis ..................1981-
Venus Williams.............Tennis ...................1980-
Tiger Woods.................Golfer.....................1975
COLORADO
CONNECTICUT
DELAWARE
Sugar Ray Leonard.........Boxer.........1956-
FLORIDA
Angela Bassett................Actor..........1958-
Zora Neale Hurston..........Writer.........1891-1960
Daniel James....Aviator/4-Star General...1920-1978
Sidney Poitier..........Actor.............1927-
GEORGIA
Ray Charles........Musician......................1930-2004
Ossie Davis ....... Actor/Writer/Director.....1917-2005
Patrick Healy.......Catholic Priest..............1834-1910
Martin Luther King...Civil Rights Leader....1929-1968
Spike Lee................Producer/Director.....1957
Ma Rainey...............Musician..................1886-1939
Jackie Robinson ..... Baseball ..................1919-1972
Nipsey Russell ....... Comedian ............... 1918-2005
Alice Walker............Writer......................1944-
George Wallace ..... Comedian ................ 1952-
HAWAII
Barack Obama ........ U.S. President ........ 1961-
IDAHO
ILLINOIS
Carol Moseley Braun .... Senator .........1947-
Gary Coleman ............ Actor .............1968-
Miles Davis ............... Musician ......... 1926-1991
Redd Foxx ................ Comedian ....... 1922-1991
Bryant Gumbel ......... Newscaster ...... 1948-
Quincy Jones ............ Musician .......... 1933-
Bernie Mac ............. Comedian .......... 1958-2008
Richard Pryor .......... Comedian .......... 1940-2005
INDIANA
Janet Jackson .......... Musician ........ 1966-
Jermiane Jackson ..... Musician .........1954-
LaToya Jackson ....... Musician ......... 1956-
Marlon Jackson ....... Musician .......... 1958-
Michael Jackson ...... Musician .......... 1958-2009
Randy Jackson ........ Musician .......... 1956-
Tito Jackson ............ Musician .......... 1953-
IOWA
Eugene Baker ......... Baseball ........... 1925-1999
KANSAS
Gwendolyn Brooks ... Poet ................ 1917-2000
KENTUCKY
Muhammad Ali ........ Boxer ............... 1942-
LOUISIANA
Louis Armstrong ....... Musician ........... 1901-1971
Fats Domino ............ Musician ........... 1928-
Jellyroll Morton ...... Musician .......... 1890-1941
Wynton Marsalis ..... Musician ......... 1961-
MAINE
MARYLAND
Eubie Blake ............ Musician .......... 1887-1983
Frederick Douglass ... Abolitionist ...... 1817-1895
Matthew Henson ...... Explorer .......... 1866-1955
Thurgood Marshall ... Supreme Court Judge ... 1908-1993
Harriet Tubman ........ Abolitionist ...... 1820-1910
MASSACHUSETTS
W.E.B. Dubois .......... Writer/Activist ... 1868-1963
Phyllis Wheatley ........ Poet ................ 1753-1784
MICHIGAN
Ralph Bunche ........... Diplomat ............ 1904-1971
Magic Johnson .......... Basketball ........... 1959-
Calvin Peete ............. Golfer ................. 1943
Smokey Robinson ...... Musician ............. 1940-
Diana Ross ............... Musician .............. 1944
Stevie Wonder .......... Musician .............. 1950-
MINNESOTA
Prince ..................... Musician ............... 1958-
MISSISSIPPI
Medgar Evers ........... Activist .............. 1925-1963
Robert L. Johnson ..... Media Exec ......... 1946-
James Earle Jones ..... Actor ................. 1931-
Walter Payton ........... Football .............. 1954-1999
Charley Pride ............ Musician ............. 1938-
Richard Wright .......... Writer ................ 1908-1960
MISSOURI
Maya Angelou ........... Writer ................. 1928-
Josephine Baker ....... Entertainer .......... 1906-1975
Chuck Berry ............. Musician ............... 1926-
George Washington Carver..... Botanist ... 1861-1943
Langston Hughes ....... Writer ................ 1902-1967
Jackie Joyner-Kersee ... Track & Field ...... 1962-
MONTANA
Bill Picket ................ Rodeo Star ..... 1870-1932
NEBRASKA
Malcolm X ............... Activist .......... 1925-1965
NEVADA
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NEW JERSEY
Count Basie ........... Musician ............. 1904-1984
Hurricane Carter ..... Boxer ................. 1937-
Whitney Houston .... Musician ............. 1963-
Jacob Lawrence ...... Artist .................. 1917-
Shaquille O'Neal ..... Basketball ........... 1972-
Queen Latifah ........ Rapper/Producer ... 1970-
Paul Robeson ......... Actor/Activist ....... 1898-1976
Clerow "Flip" Wilson ... Comedian ......... 1933-1998
NEW MEXICO
Jay Wright................. Poet ................ 1935-
NEW YORK
James Baldwin .......... Writer .............. 1924-1987
Harry Belafonte ......... Entertainer/Humanitarian ... 1927-
Cab Calloway ............ Musician ........... 1907-1994
Godfrey Cambridge .... Comedian ......... 1933-1976
Diahann Carol ........... Entertainer ........ 1935-
Sean "Puffy" Combs ... Musician ........... 1971-
Sammy Davis Jr ........ Entertainer ........ 1925-1990
Julius Erving ............. Basketball ......... 1950-
Laurence Fishburne .... Actor ............... 1961-
Whoopee Goldberg ..... Comedian ......... 1955-
Gregory Hines ........... Dancer.............. 1946-2003
Lena Horne ............... Musician ........... 1917-
Kareem Abdul Jabar ... Basketball ......... 1947-
Michael Jordan ........... Basketball ........ 1963-
Eddie Murphy ............. Comedian ......... 1961-
Colin Powell ............... U.S. Army Gen... 1937-
Chris Rock ................ Comedian .......... 1966-
Al Roker ................... Weatherman ...... 1954-
Tupac Shakur ............ Musician ............ 1971-1996
Al Sharpton ............... Activist .............. 1954-
Sojourner Truth ......... Abolitionist ......... 1797-1883
Luther Vandross ........ Musician .............. 1951-2005
Denzel Washington ..... Actor ................. 1954-
Damon Wayans ......... Comedian ............ 1960-
Keenan Ivory Wayans .. Entertainer ......... 1958-
Kim Wayans ............. Entertainer ............ 1960-
Marlon Wayans .......... Entertainer ........... 1972-
Sean Wayans ............ Entertainer ........... 1971-
NORTH CAROLINA
John Coltraine ................................... Musician ............................................ 1926-1967
Moms Mabley .................................... Comedian ........................................... 1897-1975
Thelonius Monk .................................. Musician ............................................ 1917-1982
Nina Simone ...................................... Musician ............................................ 1933-2003
NORTH DAKOTA
OHIO
Halle Berry ................. Actor .................... 1966-
Dorothy Dandridge ... Entertainer ............. 1922-1965
Paul Laurence Dunbar ..... Poet ................. 1872-1906
Toni Morrison .............. Writer ................. 1931-
Granville Woods ........... Inventor ............. 1856-1910
OKLAHOMA
Ralph Ellison .............. Writer ................ 1914-1994
Wayman Tisdale ......... Basketball, Jazz Guitarist ....... 1914-1994
OREGON
PENNSYLVANIA
Ed Bradley ................. Journalist ......... 1941-2006
Wilt Chamberlain ........ Basketball ......... 1936-1999
Bill Cosby ..... Comedian/Producer/Writer ...... 1937-
Billie Holiday .............. Musician ........... 1915-1959
Reggie Jackson .......... Baseball ............ 1946
Judith Jamison ............ Dancer ............. 1943-
Will Smith .................. Actor ................ 1968-
RHODE ISLAND
SOUTH CAROLINA
James Brown ........... Musician ............ 1933-2006
Chubby Checker ....... Musician ............ 1941-
Dizzy Gillespie .......... Musician ............ 1917-1993
Jesse Jackson ............ Activist ............. 1941-
William "Refrigerator" Perry ..... Football ... 1962-
SOUTH DAKOTA
TENNESSEE
Aretha Franklin ......... Musician ......... 1942-
Morgan Freeman ....... Actor .............. 1937-
Alex Haley ................ Writer ............. 1921-1992
Isaac Hayes ........... Musician/Actor .... 1942-2008
Samuel L. Jackson ...... Actor ............. 1948-
Wilma Rudolph ......... Track & Field ......... 1940-1994
Tina Turner ............... Singer .................. 1939-
TEXAS
Alvin Ailey ...... Dancer/Choreographer ...... 1931-1989
George Foreman ............ Boxer ............... 1948-
Jamie Foxx ................ Comedian ............. 1967-
Bernard A. Harris Jr ... Astronaut/MD ......... 1956-
Beyonce Knowles .......... Musician ............. 1981-
UTAH
VERMONT
VIRGINIA
Archibald Alexander ......... Educator .......... 1772-1851
Arthur Ashe ..................... Tennis ............. 1943-1993
Clara Brown ................. Philanthropist ....... 1800-1880
Ella Fitzgerald ................. Musician ............ 1918-1996
Wanda Sykes ................ Comedian ............ 1964-
Booker T. Washington ...... Educator ........... 1856-1915
Douglas Wilder ............... Politician ............ 1931-
WASHINGTON
Gail Devers ............ Track & Field .......... 1966-
Jimi Hendrix .............. Musician ............. 1942-1970
WASHINGTON DC
Edward Brooke ........ Senator .............. 1919
Duke Ellington ......... Musician ............. 1899-1974
Marvin Gaye ............. Musician ............ 1939-1984
WEST VIRGINIA
Henry Louis Gates ..... Educator ............ 1950
WISCONSIN
Al Jarreau ................. Musician ............ 1940-
Oprah Winfrey .... Talk Show Host/Philanthropist .... 1954
WYOMING
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