Features famous African American's in history.

1. Black History Slides Magena Format them to look the same Add some color and a little flair Add one image to each slide – make it a thumb nail

2. Black History Month Robert H. Lawrence, Jr. America's First African American Astronaut He then became an Air Force pilot at age twenty-one. At age thirty-two he became the first African American astronaut in the Space Station. He unfortunately lost his life when the student he was training lost control of the aircraft. Although Robert Lawrence, Jr. never made it into space, he was the first African American astronaut.

3. Black History Month Cornel West – Scholar Born: 6/2/1953 Birthplace: Tulsa, Oklahoma One of America's most prominent black intellectuals, West earned a BA from Harvard University and his MA and PhD degrees from Princeton University. He taught religion and directed the Afro-American Studies Department at Princeton prior to joining the Harvard faculty in 1994 and returned to the Princeton Department of Religion in 2002. His first scholarly book Prophesy Deliverance! An Afro-American Revolutionary Christianity (1982), sought to fuse Christianity and Marxism. Among his other 12 books are Beyond Eurocentrism and Multiculturalism (1993); and Race Matters (1993).

4. Black History Month Spike Lee – Director Born: 1957Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia At a very young age, he moved from pre-civil rights Georgia, to Brooklyn, New York. Lee came from a proud and intelligent background. His father was a jazz musician, and his mother, a school teacher. His mother dubbed him Spike, due to his tough nature. He attended school in Morehouse College in Atlanta and developed his film making skills at Clark Atlanta University. After graduating from Morehouse, to go to the Tisch School of Arts graduate film program. Lee went on to produce several commercials and award winning films. With pointed political messages, insightful, different and intelligent films, Spike Lee has become a well known political presence. He looks likely to have further success in the film business.

5. Black History Month Condoleezza Rice Secretary of State, professor, diplomat Born: 11/14/1954 Birthplace: Birmingham, Alabama Rice became President George W. Bush's second Secretary of State in January 2005. She became National Security Advisor to the Bush presidency in 2001. Rice received a BA in political science from the University of Denver at age 19, followed by an MA in political science from the University of Notre Dame in 1975, and a PhD from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981. Rice is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and holds honorary doctorates from Morehouse College, the University of Alabama, and the University of Notre Dame.

6. Black History Month Mike Powell – Track & Field Born: Nov. 10, 1963 Broke Bob Beamon's 23-year-old long jump world record by 2 inches with leap of 29-ft., 41/2 in. at the 1991 World Championships; Sullivan Award winner (1991); won long jump silver medals in 1988 and '92 Olympics; repeated as world champ in 1993.

7. Black History Month P.B.S. Pinchback / Pinckney Benton Stewart American Reconstruction-era politician Born: May 10, 1837 Birthplace: Macon, Georgia Pinchback was born to a freed slave and her former master, who lived together as a couple. When the civil war broke out, he served as an officer in the Union army. During Reconstruction, he entered Louisiana politics, becoming a state senator in 1868. Pinchback won election to the House of Representatives in 1872 and to the U.S. Senate in 1873. But white southerners challenged the results and he was never permitted to assume either office. He then focused on publishing his weekly newspaper, The Louisianian, which he oversaw from 1870 to 1881.

8. Black History Month Gordon Parks American photographer, filmmaker, writer, and composer Born: Nov. 30, 1912 Birthplace: Fort Scott, Kansas Acclaimed photographer also a highly accomplished writer, filmmaker, and composer. Growing up in poverty, Parks managed to become a premier fashion photographer in the 1940s, eventually working for Glamour, Vogue, and other glossy New York magazines. He became the first African American to work as a photographer for the Farm Security Administration, where he developed his powerful documentary style depicting slums, poverty, and the marginal existences of African Americans. His celebrated photojournalism included portrayals of Harlem gang warfare, the civil rights movement, Malcolm X, the Martin Luther King's death, and the Black Panthers.

9. Black History Month KweisiMfume - NAACP leader Born: 10/24/1948 Birthplace: Baltimore, Md. Mfume became active in politics while a student at Morgan State University in Maryland. There, he headed the Black Student Union and edited the school's newspaper. In the years following his graduation, he taught political science and communications and earned a masters degree in Liberal Arts from Johns Hopkins University. Mfume served on Baltimore's city council from 1979 until 1986, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was leader of the Congressional Black Caucus from 1992 to 1994. A political Democrat, Mfume actively supported civil-rights and affirmative-action legislation. In 1996 he gave up his seat to become president and CEO of the prestigious civil rights organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

10. Black History Month Edmonia Lewis - Sculptor Born: 1845 Birthplace: New York, Ohio, or New Jersey At the school, Lewis was accused of theft and of trying to poison two classmates. Although she was acquitted of both charges, she was not allowed to graduate. In 1863, Lewis moved to Boston and became a sculptor, specializing in abolitionists and Civil War heroes. Forever Free (1867), a marble sculpture now at the Howard University Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, is her most famous work. Lewis reached the peak of her fame when The Death of Cleopatra was presented at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. It is now in the National Museum of American Art in Washington, DC. The end of her life remains a mystery. Lewis was last reported living in Rome in 1911.

11. Black History Month Jacob Lawrence – American Painter Born: 1917 Birthplace: Atlantic City, N.J. Lawrence's work social themes, often detailing the African-American experience, are expressed in colorfully angular, simplified, expressive, and richly decorative figurative effects. He executed many cycles of paintings, often narrative, including Harriet Tubman (1939–40), Migration (completed 1941, Museum of Modern Art and Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.), Coast Guard (1943–45), and Builders series, on which he worked for parts of the last 50 years of his life. His War series and Tombstones are in the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City. Also known for the vivid prints he began producing in 1963 and his monumental mosaic mural (designed 1997, installed 2001) for the New York subway system.

12. Black History Month Lee Evans – Track & Field Born: Feb. 25, 1947 Dominant quarter-miler in world from 1966-72; world record in 400m set at 1968 Olympics stood 20 years.

13. Black History Month James Farmer – Civil Rights Leader Born: 1920 Birthplace: Marshall, Tex. The son of a preacher, Farmer attended Howard University's School of Divinity. In 1942 he founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a civil rights organization that was the first in the United States to use nonviolent tactics to protest racial discrimination. In 1961, under the leadership of Farmer, the group organized "Freedom Rides" throughout the South. Volunteers traveled on interstate buses, with the blacks using the restaurants, restrooms, and waiting areas reserved for whites, and the whites using colored facilities. Attacked by mobs on several occasions, the Freedom Riders challenged the federal government to enforce the anti-segregation legislation that had recently been passed. Farmer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Clinton in 1998.

14. Black History Month Ossie Davis – Actor, Director, Screenwriter Born: 12/18/1917 Birthplace: Cogdell, Georgia Originally a stage actor and writer, he later wrote the screenplay for and directed the film Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), and he appeared in a number of movies, including Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing (1989), Jungle Fever (1991), and Get on the Bus (1996). He also starred on TV, in the miniseries Queen (1993) and The Stand (1994) and in the movie Miss Evers' Boys (1997), and appeared in the series Evening Shade (1990–94). He was married to the actress Ruby Dee.

15. Black History Month Freddy Adu – Soccer Player Born: 2 June 1989 Birthplace: Tema, Ghana Freddy Adu became a super soccer prodigy in the early 2000s. He played his first international matches with the U.S. under-17 national team in March of 2003; he was only 13, making him the youngest national team player ever. Born in Ghana, Adu moved to the U.S. with his mother and brother at age 8 and became an American citizen in 2003. Adu's remarkable play has earned him comparisons with earlier teen wonders like Pele and Ronaldo. In November of 2003, Adu signed a six-year deal with Major League Soccer (MLS) and began play with the team D.C. United in the 2004 season. After three seasons, during which he complained publicly about his role on the team, he was traded to Real Salt Lake in December of 2006.

16. Black History Month John Conyers – Politician Born: 5/16/1929 Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan A lawyer and former assistant to Rep. John Dingell, Conyers was first elected to Congress in 1964. He was the first black to chair the House Judiciary Committee. He was the ranking Democrat on the committee when the Republicans controlled Congress from 1995–2006 and returned to the chairman's position after the 2006 election restored Democratic control.

17. Black History Month Jimi Hendrix – Rock musician, Guitarist Born: 11/27/1942 Birthplace: Seattle, Washington Rock musician and guitarist best known for his masterful maneuvering of the electric rock guitar. A gifted singer and songwriter, Hendrix was not just a rock musician. His roots were in the blues, R&B, and soul, and he spent many years prior to his superstardom as a backup guitarist in various blues and R&B groups. His debut album Are You Experienced was a product of his group the Jimi Hendrix Experience, formed in 1967. Hendrix died of drug related problems only four years after he became an international sensation. Other albums include Axis: Bold as Love (1967) and Electric Ladyland (1968).

18. Black History Month Granville T. Woods – Inventor Born: 1856 Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio Died: 1910 Woods was born in Columbus, Ohio, and later settled in Cincinnati. Largely self-educated, he was awarded more than 60 patents. One of his most important inventions was a telegraph that allowed moving trains to communicate with other trains and train stations, thus improving railway efficiency and safety.