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Amanda Gorman made history at the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, becoming the US’s youngest inaugural poet. At age 22, Amanda Gorman is heralded as "the next great figure in American poetry."

Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first black female physician in the United States. After working as a nurse, she was admitted to the New England Female Medical College in 1864. After her M.D., Crumpler worked in poor communities in Richmond, Virginia and Boston, Massachusetts aiding those who had little access to medical care. She published the widely renowned medical text Book of Medical Discourses in Two Parts in 1883, which is believed to be the first textbook authored by a black academic.

Born free in the slave state of Virginia, Martin Delany was a vocal black Nationalist and considered one of the earliest voices in the movement. He became one of three black men admitted to the Harvard Medical School. The black physician heroically stayed in Pittsburgh to treat cholera victims at a time when many doctors fled the epidemic. He later became the first black field officer in the United States Army during the US Civil War. While serving, he was active in recruiting black troops.

While Thomas Edison is rightfully famed for the invention of the light bulb, its real potential was realized by a black inventor named Lewis Latimer. The son of runaway slaves, Latimer found work as an office boy in a US patent office. Due to his cleverness and skill at drawing, he ended up being hired by Edison as the only black inventor on his team. Edison’s original light bulbs lasted only a few days, making them incredibly expensive. Latimer developed the filament system that made them last far longer and cost less to produce.

William Hastie was an immensely successful lawyer and politician in the first half of the 20th century. He became the first black governor of a U.S. state or territory to serve a full term. He later became the highest-ranking black judge in US history, surpassed only by Thurgood Marshall in 1976 with his nomination to the supreme court. While serving in the War Department during WWII, Hastie argued for integrated military units. He also fought for integrated schools as a judge.

Born the son of a freed slave, Edward Bouchet rose to academic heights unimaginable for his era. Only three US colleges accepted Black students when he finished high school. Edward gained admission to Yale and became the first Black man to receive a Ph.D. in United States history. He was only the sixth American of any race to earn a Ph.D. in physics. Despite his incredible achievements, his job options were severely restricted by his race. He ended up teaching at the Institute for Colored Youth for 26 years, inspiring countless young minds.

After learning about Black pilots as a child, Jessie LeRoy Brown was determined to become a pilot. Upon hearing that no Black pilots were serving in the US military, the young man wrote to President Roosevelt in protest. Despite pushback against his race, Brown was eventually admitted to the naval pilot training program due to excellent test scores. Brown became the first Black aviator in the US Navy and received a Distinguished Flying Cross for his service. Sadly, he also became the first Black naval officer killed in the Korean War when his plane was shot down by Chinese infantry fire.

While her early life is shrouded in mystery, Mary Ellen Pleasant left an indelible legacy in California. Born poor, as either a free Philadelphian or an enslaved Georgian, Mary Ellen worked as an indentured servant in a general store as a young woman. Through her time there, she learned a great deal about business and property ownership and eventually became a wealthy woman. She financially supported John Brown and other abolitionist causes and became known as the Mother of Human Rights in California.

Matthew Henson was an African- American explorer best known as the co-discoverer of the North Pole with Robert Edwin Peary in 1909.

On January 20, 2021, Kamala D. Harris became the first woman, the first African American woman, the first Indian-American, the first person of Asian-American descent, and the first graduate of an HBCU to be sworn in as the Vice President of the United States of America. As she said in her election acceptance speech, she “may be the first, but [she] will not be the last.” Kamala Harris has spent her life breaking glass ceilings.

Every time a person crunches into a potato chip, he or she is enjoying the delicious taste of one of the world’s most famous snacks – a treat that might not exist without the contribution of Afro Native inventor(s) George Crum and his sister Catherine Speck Wicks .

Henry “Box” Brown was born enslaved in Louisa County, Virginia in 1815. When he was 15, he was sent to Richmond to work in a tobacco factory. His life was filled with unrewarded drudgery, although he had it better than most of his enslaved peers.

Born two decades before American women won the right to vote, Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander overcame obstacles as a female and also as an African American in the elite profession of law. In 1927 she became the first black woman to gain admission to the Pennsylvania Bar, beginning a long career advocating for civil and human rights.

John Morton-Finney was a Kentucky-born lover of learning. He grew up in a family of seven children in which poetry readings and political debates were common activities. He enlisted in the 24th Infantry in 1911 and received $15 a month while serving his country. Morton-Finney, who ultimately earned 11 academic degrees, was noted to have once said, “I saved my money so I could go to school when I left the army.” He had his eyes set on a big future.

While most women had their feet planted firmly on the ground and in the home, Azellia White had her sights on something much higher. She’s the incredible woman who made history in Texas by being the first woman and first Black woman as a licensed pilot in Texas.

One of the most accomplished and famous African Americans of the 20th century, George Washington Carver overcame nearly every obstacle placed in his path to fulfill his lifelong passion for learning, using his hard-earned education to improve the lives of his fellow blacks and those living in the deep South.

Before Sojourner Truth died on November 26, 1883, she had a personal encounter with President Lincoln at the White House that brought the two major freedom fighters together.

Educator Booker T. Washington was one of the foremost African- American leaders of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, founding the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, now known as Tuskegee University.

Black leader, educator and diplomat John Mercer Langston is known as the first African- American lawyer in Ohio and the first black person to be elected to public office in the United States.

Tiger Woods is an African American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World's number one ranked golfer, he is the highest paid professional athlete in the world, having earned an estimated $90.5 million from a combination of winnings and endorsements in 2010.

Actress and radio performer Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win an Oscar in 1940, for her supporting role as Mammy in 'Gone With the Wind.

In recognition of Black History Month, First Lady DeSantis is inviting students to participate in academic and creative contests based on theme, Students in grades K-3 can participate in an art contest while students in grades 4-12 can participate in an essay contest. Additionally, students, parents, teachers and principals are invited to nominate full-time educators of all student grades for the Black History Month Excellence in Education Award. Please visit http://www.floridablackhistory.com/student-contests.html for all the details.

Rhythm and blues (R&B), jazz, and blues singer Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938 in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles to Dorothy Hawkins, who at the time was sixteen years old and unmarried.

Lena Horne was a major 20th Century entertainer. Born in Brooklyn, New York into an upper middle class black family on June 30, 1917, Horne battled racial injustice throughout her career. Despite her obstacles she became one of the most well-known African American performers of the 20th Century, achieving fame as a singer and actor.

Dorothy Dandridge, born on November 9, 1923 in Cleveland, Ohio, was a superb actress, singer and dancer who became a national and international star, and the first African American female actor nominated for both an Academy Award for Best Actress (Carmen Jones) and later a Golden Globe for her performance in Porgy and Bess. She also showcased her singing and dancing talent in Las Vegas, Nevada during the 1950s where a portion of ‘D’ Street that runs through the Westside black community was renamed for her.

Louis Armstrong is perhaps the most important and influential person in the history of jazz music, swing music, and jazz vocal styling. His virtuosic ability with the trumpet, his distinctive gravelly low vocal style, his bright personality, and his band leadership abilities helped to build jazz into a popular musical genre and influenced nearly every jazz musician after him.

Being handpicked to be one of three black students to integrate West Virginia’s graduate schools is something that many people would consider one of their life’s most notable moments, but it’s just one of several breakthroughs that have marked Katherine Johnson’s long and remarkable life.

Dr. Gladys West is the woman behind GPS. GPS or the Global Positioning System is something that we use every day. From finding your local supermarket, checking your directions if you get lost or mapping out your daily commute to avoid traffic, GPS is with us everywhere we go. It has literally changed the way we work, play and live.

The Office of Advocacy facilitates resolutions to disputes and conflicts experienced by students, families, and the community.