Best african american biographies

Book by Molefi Kete Asante

100 Greatest African Americans is a biographical dictionary of one hundred historically greatBlack Americans (in alphabetical order; that is, they are not ranked), as assessed by Temple University professor Molefi Kete Asante in 2002. A similar book was written by Columbus Salley. First published in 1992, Salley's book is titled The Black 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential African-Americans, Past and Present.

Criteria

Asante used five factors in establishing the list:

• "significance in the general progress of African-Americans toward full equality in the American social and political system"
• "self-sacrifice and a willingness to take great risks for the collective good"
• "unusual will and determination in the face of great danger and against the most stubborn odds"
• "a consistent posture toward raising the social, cultural and economic status of African Americans"
• "personal achievement that reveals the b
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African American Biographies, 3

This book provides capsule biographies of 909 of the nation’s most notable African Americans. The entries are arranged alphabetically, with all individuals meeting two general criteria for inclusion: They were born or they spent their childhoods in the United States; and they have played an important part in the development of African American children by serving as role models. Anyone who died before January 1, 1995, is not included.
Activists, artists, athletes, attorneys, authors, business owners, educators, engineers, entertainers, government officials, medical doctors, military leaders and scientists: each person in this book has played a major role in 20th century America.

About the Author(s)

U.S. Postal Services manager Walter L. Hawkins lives in Fayetteville, Georgia.

Bibliographic Details

Walter L. Hawkins
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 255
Bibliographic Info: 822 photos, appendices
Copyright Date: 2009
pISBN: 978-0-

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Black History Month at NYPL: Biographies & Memoirs

These biographies and memoirs uncover the life stories and enduring legacies of some of the most prominent and influential Black Americans in U.S. history, from the pioneering abolitionist Frederick Douglass to the first Black president of the United States, Barack Obama. Including both contemporaneous accounts and biographies written with a longer historical view of their subjects, these titles are a great place to början for those looking to find out more about major moments in American history and the people behind them.

Explore everything the Library has to offer for Black History Month, and discover more recommended reads with the Schomburg Center’s Black Liberation Reading List.

Some of these titles are also available in accessible formats including talking books (DB), braille (BR), and through Bookshare (BK), as indicated below. See The New York Public Library's Andrew Heiskell Library for more information.