Edward Blyden

Edward Wilmot Blyden (3 August 1832 – 7 February 1912) was an Americo-Liberian educator, writer, diplomat, and politician primarily in Liberia. He also taught for five years in Sierra Leone, and his writings were influential in both countries.  From 1855-1856, Blyden edited the Liberia Herald and wrote the column, "A Voice From Bleeding Africa". 

Source: Courtesy of The New York Public Library.  

Nannie Burroughs

Nannie Helen Burroughs, (May 2, 1879 - May 20, 1961), was an African-American educator, orator, religious leader, and business woman. Her parents were John and Jennie Burroughs. They were both ex-slaves. Her father was a farmer and Baptist preacher, her mother was a cook. Burroughs's lifelong dream was realized when she opened the National Training School for Women and Girls in Washington, D.C., in 1909. In 1975, Mayor Walter E. Washington proclaimed May 10 to be Nannie Helen Burroughs Day in the District of Columbia.

Source: findagrave | Library of Congress

Mary McLeod Bethune

Mary Jane McLeod Bethune, (July 10, 1875 – May 18, 1955) in Mayesville, South Carolina, Mary McLeod Bethune was a child of former slaves; she began her life picking cotton. A scholarship to Scotia Seminary in North Carolina in 1888 launched her career as educator and activist. Believing that education provided the key to racial advancement, she founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute, which later became Bethune-Cookman University. A national figure, she served in the Roosevelt administration as adviser to the president on minority affairs and director of the Division of Negro Affairs within the National Youth Administration (1936–44).

Source: biography | vivacitynow

Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm (November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005) was an American politician, educator, and author. She was a Congresswoman, representing New York's 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1968, she became the first African American woman elected to Congress.

Source: wikipedia

James Johnson

James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871 – June 26, 1938) was an American author, politician, diplomat, critic, journalist, poet, anthologist, educator, lawyer, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. James Johnson was born in Jacksonville, Florida. Johnson started the first black newspaper in the United States, The Daily American.

Source: blackpast | clipartguide

Sylvia Fort

Sylvia Fort (July 3, 1917 – November 8, 1975) was an American dancer, choreographer, and dance educator.

Source: wikipedia | blackpast.org