Jackie Robinson, Baseball Pioneer

Jackie Robinson was an accomplished multi-sport athlete who in 1947 became the first black baseball player in the modern major leagues. He displayed courage...

Al Hirschfeld, Caricature Artist

Al Hirschfeld demonstrated prodigious artistic talent at an early age. As an adult, his technique was deceptively simple; he harnessed the power of a...

Rosa Parks, Mother of the Civil Rights Movement

Rosa Parks was a seamstress and NAACP secretary whose simple act of civil disobedience—her refusal to give up her seat on the bus to...

Harry Belafonte, Actor, Singer and Activist

Harry Belafonte’s handsome looks and velvety voice, coupled with his talent as an actor and producer, have earned him fame and accolades. But he...

Harriet Beecher Stowe, Author and Abolitionist

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s most memorable contribution to society was her book, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” The responses to Stowe’s work were so powerfully divisive that...

Madeleine L’Engle, Author of “A Wrinkle in Time”

Champion of the imagination, devout Christian and feminist, Madeleine L’Engle changed the lives and hearts of many with her books. “A writer of fantasy,...

Tim Burton, Director and Animator

Tim Burton is a maverick auteur in a world where filmmakers are often relegated to pleasing Hollywood studios and producers. But his quirky and...

Pelé, Brazilian Soccer Star

Pelé turned a childhood of playing soccer in a small Brazilian village into athletic stardom. Known as “The King of Football,” he spent his...

Flip Wilson, TV’s First Black Superstar

Through his ingenious comedy sketches, Flip Wilson and his eponymous variety show connected a racially divided world with laughter. On his birthday, we remember...

Samuel Lightnin’ Hopkins, Pioneer of Texas Blues

Blending southern poetry and a loose, all-encompassing handling of the guitar, Lightnin’ Hopkins brought a Texas accent to the masses with one of the...