Biography.com
www.biography.com

A general biography site with search facility.

Thomson Gale
www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/index.htm

This information and education site has a Black History Month section including biographies of famous African-Americans.

100 Great Black Britons
www.100greatblackbritons.com/home.html

A site aimed at highlighting the contemporary and historical presence of black communities in Britain. Contains brief biographies and links to related websites.


*The following are websites we have found that provide information on specific figures in black history and culture that have been mentioned in the lessons and activities.


Mary McLeod Bethune 1875-1955, USA


Born in South Carolina, this daughter of former slaves was driven by a desire to help others and an interest in education. Bethune was the co-founder of what is now the Bethune - Cookman College. She also made an important contribution to the Civil Rights movement.

www.cookman.edu/about_BCU/history/our_founder.html
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAbethune.htm www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eleanor/peopleevents/pande05.html
See also Biography.com

Paul Bogle c1822-1865, Jamaica

Bogle protested against the poverty and injustice endured by his people and paid with his life. He is now a Jamaican National Hero.

www.jis.gov.jm/special_sections/Heroes/Heroes.htm#Paul

Marva Collins, USA

Collins grew up in Alabama during segregation. After teaching for several years, she started her own school (based in her own home) where several children achieved beyond all expectations. Collins is now a respected educator who has established schools in Cincinnati, Ohio and Florida.

www.marvacollins.com/biography.html
www.thehistorymakers.com (search in the 'Education Makers' section)

Quobna Ottobah Cugoano b.  c1757, Adjumako (in present-day Ghana)

Enslaved during his teens, he was brought to England after spending some years in Grenada. In 1787, Cugoano wrote Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil and Wicked Traffic of the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species as part of his fight for the aboliton of slavery

Freedom is For Freeing - Cugoano

Olaudah Equiano c1745- c 1797, Born in what is now Nigeria

A former enslaved African who was eventually able to buy his own freedom. He wrote and published the story of his experiences and became part of the movement to abolish slavery.

www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/equiano_olaudah.shtml
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Sequiano.htm

www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p276.html
Freedom is for Freeing - Equiano

Marcus Garvey 1887-1940, Jamaica

A Jamaican National Hero and founder of the largest ever Black Nationalist movement, Garvey worked to promote black self-reliance and pride. 

www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/garvey_marcus.shtml
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAgarvey.htm

www.jamaicatravelandculture.com/national-icons/marcus-garvey.htm

Ukawsaw Gronniosaw b. c1710, Bornu (in present-day Nigeria)

Gronniosaw was taken into slavery at around 15, and was eventually granted his freedom by his last owner, a New York minister. Coming to England after working for the British army, Gronniosaw and his family endured great poverty. His life story A narrative of the Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, An African Prince, related by himself was published in 1770

Freedom is for Freeing - Gronniosaw

Clara Hale 1905- 1992, USA

An ordinary woman who became known as 'Mother Hale'. Hale founded Hale House where she cared for the children of drug-addicted mothers.

www.wic.org/bio/chale.htm
www.answers.com/topic/clara-hale

Fanny Lou Hamer 1917-1977, USA

A former sharecropper who became a civil rights activist. Hamer campaigned for many causes in her lifetime, including voter's rights, decent low-income housing and school desegregation.

www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0900069.html
www.ibiblio.org/sncc/hamer.html 


Martin Luther King Jr. 1929-1968, USA

Baptist preacher and civil rights leader known for his commitment to non-violent protest. King first came to prominence as the leader of the Montgomery bus boycott.

www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0827680.html
www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/king_m.htm 
See also Biography.com

Toussaint L'Ouverture c1744-1803, Haiti

A self-educated enslaved man, he became the leader of a slave revolt that eventually led to Haiti becoming the world's first black republic.

www.historywiz.com/toussaint.htm 
See also Encyclopedia.com

Nelson Mandela b.1918, South Africa

ANC member imprisoned for 27 years for his activities against the Apartheid system. Mandela became South Africa's first democratically elected President in 1994.

www.nobel.se/peace/laureates/1993/mandela-bio.html
www.anc.org.za/people/mandela.html
See also Biography.com

Harold Moody b.1882, Jamaica, d.1947, England

Moody came to London in 1904 to study medicine, and qualified in 1910. After being refused positions due to racial prejudice, he started his own practice in 1913. He formed the League of Coloured Peoples in March 1931

www.100greatblackbritons.com/bios/harold_moody.html

 www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/SLAmoodyH.htm

 www.blacknet.co.uk/history/Harold.html

Rosa Parks 1913-2005, USA

Civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her seat on a bus led to the Montgomery bus boycott, a key event of the American civil rights movement.

www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0837678.html
www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/parks_r.htm 
See also Biography.com

Mary Prince b. c1788,   Brackish Pond, Bermuda

Prince endured cruel treatment as an enslaved woman in the Caribbean. Her book, The History of Mary Prince, A West Indian Slave was published in 1831. This was the first life story of a Black woman published in England

Freedom is for Freeing - Prince

 Ignatius Sancho 1729-1780, born on the Atlantic

Sancho was born on a slave ship on the Atlantic Ocean. He learned to read and write despite his owners' objections. In later life he ran a grocer's shop and also wrote poems, plays and music. His many letters were published after his death.

Freedom is for Freeing - Sancho

Sam Sharpe 1801-1832, Jamaica

A Baptist deacon who spoke out against slavery, Sharpe became the leader of Jamaica's largest slave rebellion for which he was hanged in 1832. He is now a Jamaican National Hero.

www.jis.gov.jm/special_sections/Heroes/Heroes1.htm

Sojourner Truth c1797-1883, USA

Born enslaved but declared free in 1827, Sojourner felt called by God to preach and to speak out for women's rights and the abolition of slavery.

www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/truth_s.htm
www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0849548.html
See also Biography.com

Harriet Tubman c1820-1913, USA

A 'conductor' on the famous 'Underground Railroad', Tubman helped hundreds of enslaved people to escape to freedom.

www.incwell.com/Biographies?tubman.html
www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1535.html
www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/tubman_h.htm
See also Biography.com

Nat Turner 1800-1831, USA

Preacher and controversial leader of a slave uprising in Southampton County, Virginia in 1831.

www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0849756.html
www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p1518.html
www.brightmoments.com/blackhistory/nnat.stm
www.afroamhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa040201a.htm

Desmond Tutu b. 1931, South Africa

Former Archbishop of Cape Town, anti-apartheid campaigner and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/tut0bio-1
www.thepeacemission.com/desmond-tutu.htm 

Phillis Wheatley b. c1753, Senegal

Enslaved in early childhood, Wheatley grew up in Boston. She became the first published Black woman writer in the USA.

Freedom is for Freeing - Wheatley

Any Ideas?
Do you have any suggestions about people we can feature here as subjects for research? What about heroes from other islands in the Caribbean or Black British historical figures for example? Let us know what you think.