African-American men and women have made great contributions to American society throughout the 20th century. Below you will find a listing of 100 African Americans who truly achieved greatness by either advancing civil rights or making major impacts in science, government, sports, or entertainment.
Athletes
- Hank Aaron
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Muhammad Ali
- Arthur Ashe
- Charles Barkley
- Wilt Chamberlain
- Althea Gibson
- Reggie Jackson
- Michael Jordan
- Jackie Joyner-Kersee
- Sugar Ray Leonard
- Joe Louis
- Jesse Owens
- Jackie Robinson
- Tiger Woods
Authors
- Maya Angelou
- Ralph Ellison
- Alex Haley
- Lorraine Hansberry
- Langston Hughes
- Zora Neale Hurston
- Toni Morrison
- Walter Mosley
- Richard Wright
Civil Rights Leaders and Activists
- Ella Baker
- Stokely Carmichael
- W.E.B. DuBois
- Medgar Evers
- Marcus Garvey
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Malcolm X
- James Meredith
- Elijah Muhammad
- Rosa Parks
- Bobby Seale
- Fred Shuttlesworth
- Emmett Till
- Ida Bell Wells-Barnett
- Walter White
- Roy Wilkins
Entertainers
- Josephine Baker
- Halle Berry
- Bill Cosby
- Dorothy Dandridge
- Sammy Davis Jr.
- Morgan Freeman
- Gregory Hines
- Lena Horne
- James Earl Jones
- Spike Lee
- Eddie Murphy
- Sidney Poitier
- Richard Pryor
- Will Smith
- Denzel Washington
- Oprah Winfrey
Inventors, Scientists, and Educators
- Archibald Alphonso Alexander
- Patricia Bath
- Bessie Coleman
- David Crosthwait Jr.
- Mark Dean
- Charles Drew
- Matthew Henson
- Mae Jemison
- Percy Lavon Julian
- Frederick McKinley Jones
- Ernest Everett Just
- Mary McLeod Bethune
- Garrett Augustus Morgan
- Charles Henry Turner
- Madame C.J. Walker
- Booker T. Washington
- Daniel Hale Williams
Politicians, Lawyers, and Other Government Leaders
- Ralph Bunche
- Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr.
- Minnie Joycelyn Elders
- Jesse Jackson
- Daniel "Chappie" James
- Thurgood Marshall
- Kwesi Mfume
- Colin Powell
- Clarence Thomas
- Andrew Young
- Coleman Young
Singers and Musicians
- Marian Anderson
- Louis Armstrong
- Harry Belafonte
- Chuck Berry
- Ray Charles
- Nat King Cole
- Miles Davis
- Duke Ellington
- Aretha Franklin
- Dizzy Gillespie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Billie Holiday
- Michael Jackson
- Robert Johnson
- Diana Ross
- Stevie Wonder
