100 Most Important Blacks In The World In The 20th Century

Ebony, Dec, 1999

"Facing the rising sun of our new day begun/Let us march on till victory is won."

THEY are 100 of the 20th century's immortal grants, men and women who stamped indelible imprints on history and changed face of the modern world.

They are teachers and preachers, politicians and publishers, entertainers and entrepreneurs--heroes and sheroes who cut a dramatic swath across the public consciousness and built institutions that stand as monuments to Black ingenuity and indomitability. Blessed with uncommon intellect, vision and talent, the 100 people featured on the following pages inspired masses, moved nations and made the past century a time of unparalleled human achievement. Without them, it would have been a different century in America, in Africa and in the islands of the sea.

MADAME C.J. WALKER

America's first self-made woman millionaire, she built a business empire selling hair-care products and used the wealth she amassed to promote social and political change for Blacks and women.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

As the transcendent figure and most eloquent voice of the civil rights revolution, he became an international symbol of the power of protest and civil disobedience and changed the face of the world through his words and deeds.

NELSON MANDELA

He was the soul of South Africa's freedom movement, a victim of the horrors of apartheid and the vessel in which the hopes and dreams for its end were vested. He emerged from prison to take the reins of the new South Africa and to show the world how to lead.

ALEXANDER BUSTAMANTE

A labor leader and visionary, he was one of the architects of Jamaica's independence movement and rose to become its first prime minister in 1962.

KWAME NKRUMAH

He orchestrated the revolution that ended 113 years of British rule in Ghana--the first African nation to declare its independence after World War II--and became the country's first president in 1957.

W.E.B. DUBOIS

With his political and scholarly writings, this international activist and champion for social and economic justice delved into "The Soul of Black Folks" and inspired them to seek freedom throughout the Diaspora.

MARY McLEOD BETHUNE

She was an inspirational educator and civil rights leader; founder of Bethune-Cookman College and the National Council of Negro Women, and mentor for generations of Black leaders.

JOHN H. JOHNSON

He changed the face of modern media with a publishing and cosmetics empire that celebrated Blackness and indisputably demonstrated the buying power of the African-American consumer market.

ROBERT S. ABBOTT

As editor and publisher of the Chicago Defender, the most widely circulated Black weekly of the time, he chronicled lynchings and helped produce the exodus that had droves of African-Americans fleeing the South.

THURGOOD MARSHALL

He was the tenacious field marshal of the army of attorneys who won landmark anti-discrimination cases in the U.S. In 1967, he became the first African-American to sit on the Supreme Court.

ROSA PARKS

The quietly regal "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement," she ignited the Montgomery Bus Boycott when she refused to relinquish her seat on a Jim Crow bus in 1955.

JOMO KENYATTA

He was the dominant symbol and leader of the independence movement that beat back British oppression in Kenya in 1959. Four years later, he would assume the presidency of the newly independent nation.

MALCOLM X

With a rhetorical style as fiery as his personality, he touched the hearts and minds of Blacks all over the world with a message of Black nationalism and self-determination.

HANK AARON

Baseball's home run king smashed racist perceptions and broke Babe Ruth's record.

MUHAMMAD ALI

"The Greatest" boxer of his time, he transcended his sport and became an icon for the ages.

MARIAN ANDERSON

She broke barriers in classical music and became a symbol of grace, style and courage.

MAYA ANGELOU

Author, actor, dancer and director gave American arts and letters an energetic new voice.

KOFI ANNAN

Career diplomat from Ghana became secretary-general of the UN in 1997.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG

Jazz great was the defining "voice" of the improvisational style that influenced generations.

ARTHUR ASHE

The first Black male tennis champion, he became an ambassador for the sport and an AIDS activist.

ROMARE BEARDEN

His multidimensional collages expressed the vibrancy of Black life and culture.

CHUCK BERRY

Guitarist revolutionized popular music and helped create the foundations of rock `n' roll.

STEVEN BIKO

South Africa's martyred freedom fighter was a force in the anti-apartheid movement.

GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Acclaimed poet and the first Black to win a Pulitzer Prize, she remains a literary icon.

RALPH BUNCHE

The first Black to win a Nobel Peace Prize, he was honored for mediating the Palestine conflict.

SHIRLEY CHISHOLM

She was the first Black congresswoman and the first to mount a serious campaign for president.

NAT KING COLE

An incomparable song stylist, he opened doors for many Blacks in the entertainment industry.

BILL COSBY

Actor-educator turned traditional Black family values into sitcom gold and changed TV.