Heroes of Unstoppable You
This timeline highlights 50 Black heroes whose lives have shaped our legacy of resistance to erasure. Their stories are rooted in the book, Unstoppable You, which introduces young readers to the power of purpose, imagination, and ancestral wisdom.
Let their lives shine the way.
Freedom Fighters & Revolutionaries
Queen Nzinga
c. 1583–1663
A brilliant diplomat and military leader who resisted Portuguese colonization in Central Africa for decades, becoming a symbol of anti-colonial resistance.
Toussaint L’Ouverture
c. 1743–1803
The leader of the Haitian Revolution, he defeated European armies to establish the first independent Black republic.
George William Gordon
1820–1865
A Jamaican freedom fighter and politician who advocated for justice and was executed for his role in the Morant Bay Rebellion.
Harriet Tubman
c. 1822–1913
The “Moses” of her people, she led hundreds to freedom on the Underground Railroad and served as a spy in the Civil War.
Yaa Asantewaa
c. 1840–1921
The Queen Mother of Ejisu who led the Ashanti resistance against British colonialism in the War of the Golden Stool.
Amílcar Cabral
1924–1973
An agronomist and revolutionary leader who led the independence movements of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.
Thomas Sankara
1949–1987
A revolutionary leader who served as president of Burkina Faso, implementing radical social and economic programs.
Writers, Poets & Artists
Olaudah Equiano
c. 1745–1797
An abolitionist whose autobiography, a powerful slave narrative, fueled the anti-slavery movement in Britain.
Phillis Wheatley
c. 1753–1784
The first African American woman to publish a book of poetry, achieving international recognition for her work despite being enslaved.
James Weldon Johnson
1871–1938
A key figure of the Harlem Renaissance who wrote “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the Black national anthem.
Louise Bennett-Coverley
1919–2006
Known as “Miss Lou,” she was a Jamaican poet who championed the use of Jamaican Patois, elevating it to an art form.
James Baldwin
1924–1987
A novelist and essayist whose powerful writing explored the complexities of race, sexuality, and class in America.
Chinua Achebe
1930–2013
A Nigerian novelist whose masterpiece, “Things Fall Apart,” reshaped modern African literature by telling African stories from an African perspective.
Audre Lorde
1934–1992
A self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet” whose work confronted injustice with unflinching honesty.
Fela Kuti
1938–1997
The pioneer of Afrobeat music, he used his art as a form of protest against government corruption and oppression in Nigeria.
Bob Marley
1945–1981
A global music icon who spread messages of peace, unity, and resistance, inspired by the teachings of Marcus Garvey.
Octavia Butler
1947–2006
A visionary science fiction author whose work explored themes of race, power, and humanity, reshaping the genre.
Educators & Thinkers
Frederick Douglass
c. 1818–1895
An escaped slave who became a renowned abolitionist, orator, and writer, proving that knowledge was a path to liberation.
W.E.B. Du Bois
1868–1963
A leading intellectual, sociologist, and activist who co-founded the NAACP and championed Pan-Africanism.
Carter G. Woodson
1875–1950
The “Father of Black History,” he established Negro History Week (now Black History Month) to celebrate Black contributions.
Leaders, Activists & Pioneers
Sojourner Truth
c. 1797–1883
An abolitionist and women’s rights activist famous for her “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech, challenging racial and gender discrimination.
Mary Seacole
1805–1881
A pioneering Jamaican nurse who cared for wounded soldiers during the Crimean War, overcoming racial prejudice to establish the “British Hotel.”
Henrietta Vinton Davis
1860–1941
A powerful orator and one of the most important leaders in Marcus Garvey’s UNIA, fearlessly challenging authority.
Ida B. Wells
1862–1931
A fearless journalist and anti-lynching crusader who used investigative reporting to expose racial terrorism in America.
Madam C.J. Walker
1867–1919
A pioneering entrepreneur who built a haircare empire and empowered thousands of Black women as beauty culturalists.
Marcus Garvey
1887–1940
A visionary Pan-Africanist leader who founded the UNIA, inspiring a global movement of Black pride and self-reliance.
Bessie Coleman
1892–1926
The first African American and Native American woman to earn a pilot’s license, she used her fame to fight segregation.
Haile Selassie I
1892–1975
Emperor of Ethiopia and a key figure in Pan-African unity, he founded the Organization of African Unity.
Jomo Kenyatta
c. 1894–1978
The first president of Kenya, he led the nation to independence and was inspired by Garvey’s ideas of self-reliance.
Amy Jacques Garvey
1895–1973
A pivotal leader, editor, and strategist who preserved her husband’s legacy and championed women’s roles in liberation.
Amy Ashwood Garvey
1897–1969
A co-founder of the UNIA, she was a lifelong Pan-Africanist who advocated for women’s inclusion in the freedom struggle.
Paul Robeson
1898–1976
A world-renowned performer who sacrificed his career to speak out against racism and oppression.
Ella Baker
1903–1986
A key organizer of the Civil Rights Movement who mentored young activists and believed in empowering grassroots leaders.
Thurgood Marshall
1908–1993
A brilliant lawyer who won Brown v. Board of Education and became the first African American Supreme Court Justice.
Kwame Nkrumah
1909–1972
The first president of Ghana, he led the country to independence and sparked liberation movements across Africa.
Dorothy Height
1912–2010
A leading civil rights and women’s rights activist who served as president of the National Council of Negro Women for forty years.
Rosa Parks
1913–2005
An experienced activist whose refusal to give up her bus seat sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and reshaped American history.
Claudia Jones
1915–1964
A journalist and activist who founded The West Indian Gazette and the Notting Hill Carnival in London, celebrating Caribbean culture.
Fannie Lou Hamer
1917–1977
A powerful voting rights activist whose raw testimony exposed the brutal truth about injustice in Mississippi.
Katherine Johnson
1918–2020
A pioneering NASA mathematician whose calculations were critical for the success of U.S. spaceflights, including the Apollo Moon landing.
Nelson Mandela
1918–2013
An anti-apartheid revolutionary who became the first Black president of South Africa, leading the nation toward reconciliation.
Shirley Chisholm
1924–2005
The first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress and the first to run for a major party’s presidential nomination.
Malcolm X
1925–1965
A courageous human rights activist and powerful orator who championed Black empowerment and self-determination.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
1929–1968
A pivotal leader of the Civil Rights Movement who advocated for nonviolent resistance to achieve racial equality.
Desmond Tutu
1931–2021
An anti-apartheid activist who led South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, advocating for forgiveness and healing.
Miriam Makeba
1932–2008
Known as “Mama Africa,” she was a South African singer and anti-apartheid activist who used her voice to fight for justice.