Multicultural Achievers A to Z
Arthur Ashe was born in Richmond, Virginia on July 10, 1943. His mother taught him to read at the age of four. Arthur loved to visit the park near his home. There he saw people engaging in many different sports, but the one that he was most interested in was tennis. His mother died when Arthur was six years old leaving the youth to spend many lonely days without her. Arthur learned how to play tennis and played as frequently as he could. In 1960 Arthur won the American Negro Championship. Arthur attended college at UCLA. In 1975 he won the Wimbledon and the World Court Championships and in 1977 he won the Australian Open Doubles. He became the first African-American male athlete to break down the barriers of the traditional white world of tennis. He made a significant contribution to the Civil Rights movement by adding his fame to the movement. Arthur Ashe contacted AIDS while undergoing a blood transfusion and died on February 7, 1993. (
Daddy & Me
by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe)
Ruby Bridges became the first African-American student to be integrated into New Orleans' public school system in 1960 at the age of six years old. She endured months of hostility, jeers, and taunts by white people and had to be escorted in and out of Frantz Elementary School by federal marshals. White parents kept their children home instead of allowing them to attend school with an African-American child. Ruby prayed for the people who jeered her and when on to excel in school that year. (
Ruby Bridges
by Robert Coles)
Benjamin Carson, an African-American neurosurgeon, was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1951. His father left the family when Ben was eight years old. His bad grades caused him to be called the class dummy. In ninth grade Ben reached the turning point in his life when he nearly stabbed a friend. Ben's grades improved and he went on to graduate from Yale University were he met his future wife, Candy. He studied medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and now serves as chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. On September 5, 1987, Dr. Benjamin Carson performed an operation to separate the German Siamese twins who were joined at the back of the head. Dr. Carson credits his success to a mother who would not give up and God, who saved him from himself. (
Ben Carson
by Ben Carson)
Wilfred Denteclas, Jr., who became the first Navajo zoologist, was born in Shiprock, New Mexico in 1959. Shiprock is part of the Navajo Nation, a reservation located in the Four Corners area of the United States. As a boy, he cared for the animals on the family farm and became interested in diseases when the animals died due to some mysterious infection. He went to Fort Lewis College in Colorado, where he studied biology, and onto the University of California in Berkeley, where he received his doctorate in zoology. He encourages teens and Native Americans to take math and science courses and hopes to see more Native American scientists in the future. (
Native American Scientists
by Jetty St. John)
Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas on July 24, 1897, the daughter of a wealthy judge. She saw her first airplane at the age of eleven and considered the machine to be nothing too interesting. On Christmas day in 1920, she took her first airplane ride. This ride changed her life. She bought her first plane in 1921 and by 1928 she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. She disappeared somewhere in the Pacific Ocean after setting off on a trip with her navigator, Fred Noonan in 1937. There was a great search but Amelia Earhart was never found. (
A Picture Book of Amelia Earhart
by David A. Adler)
Mary Joe Fernandez, a Hispanic tennis player, was born as Maria Jose Fernandez on February 19, 1998 in the Dominican Republic. She showed an interest and talent for tennis at the age of three. She won the United States Tennis Association Nations for players under twelve years of age. She graduated from Carrolton College in 1989. She holds two gold medals, one from the Olympic competition at Barcelona in 1992 and the other from the 1996 Olympic competition in Atlanta, Georgia. (
Hispanic Americans
by Globe)
Andres Galarraga is a professional Hispanic Professional Baseball player who was born in Caracas, Venezuela on June 18, 1961. He loved to play baseball as a young child. Today he plays major league baseball with the Colorado Rockies and is one of the best players in the field. (
Hispanic Americans
by Globe)
Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri in 1902. As a child he liked to read and write poetry. After his father moved to Mexico, Langston went to live with his grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas. He was often lonely and read lots of books. His grandmother told him many wonderful stories about the African experience in the United States. Langston graduated from Lincoln University and worked as a teacher in several American cities and abroad. He became a spokesman for the African-American people in America writing often about their frustrations. He spoke in his poetry about social injustices and frequently used jazz, Black folk rhythms, and humor in his writings. Langston was very concerned about the treatment of African-Americans in the United States. His death in 1967 brought sadness to many people all over the world. (
Langston Hughes, American Poet
by Alice Walker)
James Weldon Johnson was an African-American author, lawyer, and songwriter. He was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1871. As a child he loved books and music. He was educated in the universities of Atlanta and Columbia, Georgia. He became the principal of a school for African-American children and started the first Negro daily newspaper in the United States. He wrote the Black National Anthem, "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" with the help of his brother, Rosamund Johnson. (
James Weldon Johnson
by Ophelia Settle Egypt and "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" by James Weldon Johnson)
Mae C. Jemison was born in Decatur, Alabama in 1956. She was raised in Chicago. As a child, Mae spent many hours at the library reading books on animals that are extinct and astronomy. She is a licensed physician and speaks Swahili, Japanese, and Russian. She holds a degree in chemical engineering and Afro-American Studies. She joined NASA in 1986 and six years later became the first African-American women to travel into space. She encourages women and minorities to pursue careers in science. (
Black Eagles
by Jim Haskins)
Martin Luther King believed that all people were equal. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. When he was not allowed to play with some white friends because he was Black, Martin believed that people should not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their characters. He helped to organize a boycott against the Montgomery-Alabama Bus Company and won the fight. He felt that peace could only be accomplished through non-violent efforts. He preached a message of love and he held on to his "dream" of peace and brotherhood amongst all people. Martin Luther King was killed on April 4, 1968, the day after delivering his famous speech; "I Have A Dream". (
My Dream of Martin Luther King
by Faith Ringgold and
Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King
by Jean Marzollo)
Susan LaFlesche was born on June 17, 1865 on the Omaha Reservation in Nebraska. Her father was part French and part Omaha. As a child, Susan liked to help with the household chores. She loved to be with her father and to play with her dolls. She built tepees for the doll families using sunflower stalks for poles and old blankets for covers. Her favorite activity was horseback riding. In 1884 she entered Hampton Institute, a Black Institution, which opened in 1868 and began accepting Native American students in 1879. After graduation she attended Women's Medical College in Philadelphia where she graduated in March 1889 as Dr. Susan LaFlesche. She returned to Nebraska where she cared for Indians and non-Indians alike. (
Native American Doctor, The Story of Susan LaFlesche Picotte
by Jeri Ferris)
Garrett A. Morgan, an African-American inventor, was born in Paris, Tennessee, in 1875. He loved school and attended daily. He became famous when he rescued trapped miners with a gas mask he had invented. Garrett invented the first electric traffic light that controlled traffic in all directions at one time in 1923.
Ellison Onizuka was born in Keopu, Hawaii in 1946. As a child he liked to gaze at the stars through a telescope. He dreamt of traveling in outer space. He attended the University of Colorado where he studied aerospace engineering. He later became an Air Force test pilot. In 1978 he joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He made his first space flight on the shuttle Discovery in 1985, becoming the first Japanese-American to fly in space. He died when the space shuttle Challenger exploded within seventy-three seconds of takeoff on January 28, 1996. A museum has been dedicated to his honor in Hawaii. (
Japanese Americans
by Cobblestone)
Rosa Parks was an African-American seamstress in Alabama during the days leading up to the Civil Rights Movement. Born in Tuskegee, Alabama in l9l3, she lived with her mother who taught her self-respect and a respect for others. African-Americans were not treated fairly in those days and this bothered Rosa. Rosa was propelled into the public eye when she refused to give her seat on a bus to a white passenger. She was arrested. Her arrest led to the Montgomery Bus boycott led by Dr. Martin Luther King. The Bus Company lost so much money when African-Americans and their supporters refused to ride the bus for nearly a year, that they changed their policy allowing African-Americans to sit anywhere they wanted on the bus. What a victory for African-Americans and all minority people! (
I Am Rosa Parks
by Rosa Parks with Jim Haskins)
Squanto was a member of the Wampanoag tribe in what is now Massachusetts. He lived during the time of the early white settlers. He proved to be a valuable friend when he helped the Pilgrims at Plymouth colony survive starvation by teaching them to fish and plant corn. He acted as an interpreter at the signing of the Treaty of Plymouth that was signed in 1621. (
Squanto and the First Thanksgiving
by Teresa Celsi)
Mother Teresa, an Albanian nun, was born on August 26, 1910 in the city of Prizren. She was baptized as Gonxha (Gohn-ja) Agnes. She became known as the "Saint of Calcutta", the nun who cared for the starving, the homeless and who nursed the sick and dying. Her philosophy to help one person at a time ¾ the person closest to her ¾ helped her to make a difference for the "Poorest of the Poor". She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She died in l997. (
Women of our Time: Mother Teresa: Sister to the Poor
by Patricia Reilly Giff)
Tiger Woods was born on December 30, 1975 in Orange County, California, of African-Asian heritage. While still confined to the high chair, he became mesmerized with the swing of the golf club in his father's hand. By eleven months of age, Tiger was hitting balls into the net with his putter. He had absorbed through observation the basics of good golf and could imitate his father perfectly. Tiger went on to win the Master's tournament in 1997. (
Tiger Woods
by Nicholas Edwards)
Malcolm X was born as Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925. He faced many tragedies in his early life. His father was a preacher who spoke out against the mistreatment of Blacks. Malcolm's father was killed because of his protest. Malcolm joined the Black Muslims religious group after having served time in prison. He changed his name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X, a radical group who hated all white people. Later, he joined the traditional Muslims and they changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. Malcolm wanted his people to be treated with respect. At the time of his death in 1965, Malcolm was preaching a message of brotherhood and love. (
Malcolm X and Black Pride
by Robert Cwiklik)
Kristi Yamaguchi (Yah-mah-goo-chee), a Japanese-American Olympic skating champion, was born in California in 1971. Her foot was so badly twisted that she had to undergo extensive physical therapy. She wore corrective shoes and a leg brace that helped to correct the problem. At the age of six, she began ice-skating. Her parents had experienced the detention camps established by the United States government during World War II as a means of controlling any possible subversive actions of Japanese-Americans. They wanted their daughter's life to be better than their own. Kristi won a gold medal at the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships in 1992. She competed against Japanese Midori Ito in the 1992 Olympic Games. She brought home the gold medal for her country and for all Japanese-Americans. (
Japanese Americans
by Cobblestone)
Roosevelt Zanders, an African-American businessman, was born in Youngstown, Ohio. As a child he liked to shoot marbles. He won the marble shooting championship for the state of Georgia. He served as a Captain in the army while serving in Alaska. In 1946 he began a car service for the elite in New York. Presidents, movie stars used his service, and Queens but Roosevelt Zanders showed no one any preferential treatment.