‘The Heroes’ Archives
Martin Luther King
In what was to become the most renowned speech of the 20th century, “I have a dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a window to view not only one of the best orators in world history, but the passion of one man’s battle for equality. Dr. King’s involvement in the Montgomery County Bus Strikes and battle for equality was sparked with [...]
Condoleezza Rice
Born and raised in the southern United States where the process of desegregation caused much strife for the African American communities, Condoleezza Rice was brought up by her minister father and school teacher mother. As a member of the middle-class of the period, she was able to take classes focusing on languages, arts, and dance. Her parents [...]
Ray Charles
Brought up with a rough childhood, Ray Charles was blinded at the age of seven because of an accident while trying to save his brother from drowning. While this may have not been the cause of his blindness, the unfortunate event plagued Ray for the rest of his life. However, being a most gifted musician and singer, even while attending the Florida [...]
George Washington Carver
Born into slavery at birth and stolen and sold elsewhere, George Washington Carver would have never been able to guess how far his love of plants would take him. It was namely his work in crop rotation techniques and in agriculture of the south with peanuts and cotton that he won recognition. It was his invention of different consumer uses of [...]
Leonardo DaVinci
Known to have carried the Mona Lisa painting with him everywhere he went until it was finished, Leonardo da Vinci was to become one of the world’s most renowned painters, sculptors, inventors, philosophers, architects and brilliant thinkers of his time. While his sketches and notebooks reveal a great about his own life, a self-portrait entitled [...]
Harriet Tubman
“’Black Moses’ is coming to let our people go,” the slaves of Maryland might have sang, praying that Harriet Tubman would come to lead them to freedom on the Underground Railroad. A good chance for their freedom did exist, as long as they followed her military-like strategy to lead her people northward. Rescuing slaves, nursing them [...]
Rosa Parks
Even after suffering bouts of poor health as a child, Rosa Parks lived a long and fulfilling life. She is one of America’s most iconic symbols of freedom and equal civil rights. Dubbed the “Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement,” her fame grew publicly when she was arrested on December 1, 1955 for refusing to move from a bus seat in [...]
Oprah Winfrey
Even though she had a rough childhood, Oprah Winfrey was destined for her role as the host of America’s number one ranked talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show. Born into a southern Baptist family, she was raised for several years by her strict grandmother in the impoverished conditions of rural Mississippi. At the age of three, Oprah began [...]
Nelson Mandela
Committed to non-violence and an end to apartheid, Nelson Mandela became the president of South Africa after spending 18 years in prison on Robben Island, and 27 years in prison altogether. But, his rise to become one of the world’s most prominent advocates of peace and racial harmony for all mankind was a rocky road, often laced with violent [...]
Mahammed Ali
In his most famous words, “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” Muhammad Ali became one of the greatest boxers in world history. With no other fighter before him as heavily promoted, he had the attitude, spunk, and rhymes to create hot anticipation even before he stepped into the ring. Born Cassius Clay Jr., Ali started with his first [...]
