30 Remarkable African American Heroes You Might Not Have Known About

John Horse was a Seminole slave of African American, American Indian, and Spanish descent, who was the leader of the Black Seminoles and fought in the Second Seminole War in Florida. For almost half a century, Horse struggled to obtain land and a permanent home for Seminoles.

Stormé DeLarverie was a gay rights activist and drag performer. She performed at the Apollo Theater and Radio City Music Hall. According to many eyewitnesses, Delaverie was the spark that ignited the Stonewall riots, spurring the crowd to action.

Jesse Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. At the 1935 Big Ten track meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Owens set three world records (in the long jump, 220-yard sprint, and 220-yard low hurdles) and tied a fourth (100-yard dash). The long jump record held for 25 years.

Shirley Weber is the California Secretary of State. In 2021, Weber became the first African American person to serve as Secretary of State and the fifth to serve in a statewide position. Prior to that, Weber was a member of the California State Assembly for the 79th Assembly District, served on the San Diego Board of Education, and was a Professor of African-American Studies at San Diego State University.

Stacey Abrams is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and New York Times bestselling author. Abrams has served 11 years in the Georgia House of Representatives, 7 as Democratic Leader, and in 2018, became the Democratic nominee for Governor of Georgia, winning at the time more votes than any other Democrat in the state’s history. She was the first Black woman to become the gubernatorial nominee for a major party in the US. In addition, Abrams has founded multiple organizations focusing on voting rights, training and hiring young people of color, and tackling social issues.

Audre Lorde was an American writer, feminist, womanist, librarian, and civil rights activist. Lorde dedicated her life and talent to addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, capitalism, heterosexism, and homophobia. She was a self-described "Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet."

Brehanna Daniels is a 27-year-old pit crew member, a tire changer, affiliated with NASCAR Racing. In June 2017, Daniels became the first African American woman to pit a vehicle in a national NASCAR series race.

Alvin Ailey was an African American dancer, director, choreographer. In 1958, Ailey founded a dance company based in New York City, called Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and its affiliated Ailey School for nurturing Black artists.

James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, and playwright. His works mostly focused on portraying the joys and hardships of working-class Black lives. Hughes became a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance—an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, and politics centered in Harlem, Manhattan in the 1920s and 1930s.

Claressa Gwoat Shields is an American professional boxer and MMA fighter. She is a three-division world champion having multiple titles in the super-welterweight, middleweight and super-middleweight. In addition, Shields is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist in the US.