The document profiles 6 influential African American heroes for Black History Month: Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States; Sojourner Truth, an escaped slave and women's rights activist; Whitney Houston, a legendary singer and actress; Jackie Robinson, the first African American baseball player in the major leagues; Mae Jemison, the first African American woman in space; and Frederick Jones, an inventor who developed refrigerated trucks and other devices. The document provides biographical details on each individual's accomplishments and significance.

1. AFRICAN AMERICAN
HEROES

2. BLACK HISTORY MONTH’S
AFRICAN AMERICAN HEROES OF THE WEEK
• Each week in February we will be exploring 6
African American Heroes.
• The next group of slides will showcase people
who have put their stamp on history whether it
be artistically, economically, politically, and so
on.

3. BARACK OBAMA
• Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44 th
President of the United States.
• He is the first president to be born in Hawaii
August 4, 1961.
• He is the first African American to become
President.
• He graduated from Columbia University and
Harvard Law School.
• He worked as a civil rights attorney in
Chicago.
• He helped set up job training
programs, college prep tutoring
programs, and a tenants right program while
working for the Developing Communitites
project while in Chicago.

4. SOJOURNER TRUTH
• Was born Isabella Baumfre in 1797.
• She was sold at the age of 9 for $100 and
a herd of sheep.
• She was born a Slave in New York
• She was the first black woman to go to
court and win her son back who was
illegally sold after she escaped and
became free.
• She helped recruit black troops for the
Union Army which helped to free slaves.
• She died November 26, 1883 in Battle
Creek Michigan.
• She was pivital in the civil and women’s
rights movement.

5. WHITNEY HOUSTON
• Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born August
9, 1973 in Newark, New Jersey.
• In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited
her as the most awarded female act of all
time.
• Houston is the only artist to chart seven
consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits.
• “I will always love you”, from the body guard
soundtrack which she also starred in is the
best selling single by a female artist in music
history.
• “The Preachers Wife”, soundtrack which she
had hits on also became the best selling
Gospel Album in history.
• She passed abruptly at a pre Grammy party
on February 11, 2012 in Beverly Hills
California.

6. JACKIE ROBINSON
• Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born January
31, 1919.
• He was the first African American to play Major
League Baseball.
• When the Dodgers started him at first base in
1947, they became the first major league team
to play a negro.
• He was selected for 6 consecutive all star
games.
• He played in 6 world series and contributed to
the dodgers winning the World Championship in
1955.
• He was major league baseballs Rookie of the
Year in 1947.
• He was inducted into the hall of fame in 1962.
• He was also the first black television analyst in
Major League Baseball.

7. MAE JEMISON
• Mae Carol Jemison was born October
17,1956.
• She is the first black woman to travel to
space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor
in 1992.
• Jemison served in the Peace Corps from
1985 to 1987
• She acted on an episode of Star Trek the
next generation.
• IN 1993 she resigned from NASA to form a
company to research applying technology
to every day life.
• She is a dancer.
• She holds nine honorary doctorates in
Engineering and Science.

8. FREDERICK JONES
MR. FREEZE
• Jones was born in 1892 just outside of Cincinnati.
• He ran away from the Catholic Priest who had
adopted him at age 11 and got a job at an auto shop.
• By the age of 15 he was helping to manage the auto
repair shop.
• After he returned from World War 1, he designed
devices that adapted silent film to audio stock.
• He developed a transportation refrigerator that could
be mounted to trucks to ship food, and deliver food
and blood behind enemy lines in World War 2.
• In total Jones was granted more than 60 patents for
inventions including a defroster, a two-cycle gas
engine, and a thermostat system
Read more:

9. THE END!!
This concludes the end of Week 1 of our African American
heroes. Stay tuned for plenty more in the coming weeks.

10. REFERENCES
I received facts and images from the following websites.
Http://www.google.com
http://www.findagrave.com
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,19634
24_1963480_1963466,00.html
http://www.wikipedia.org/