The African Americans have been one of the most oppressed communities in the world. People of African American descent have been subjected to slavery, racial discrimination and other forms of cruelty for several decades. At the time of the great American Civil War, there were around 11 slave states in the United States, which revolted against the majority (confederates). The recently released Hollywood blockbuster ‘Django Unchained’ accurately portrayed the sorry state of affairs in the United States years ago. The movie was brutally honest about how African American slaves were tortured by White aristocrats. Nat Turner, Frederick Douglass, eminent scientists George Washington Carver and writer Anna J Cooper were a few slaves who are famous across the world even today. While Carver fought against his misfortune and went on to become a renowned botanist, Anna J Cooper rose to the status of a great writer. Nat Turner is an unsung hero of the uprising of the blacks against whites. Turner led a revolt in 1831, which resulted in the death of 55 fair skinned people. Although Frederick Douglass was born a slave, he became a social reformer and a great orator during his adulthood. There are numerous such individuals who have fought tooth and nail against the atrocities committed against African Americans. For those of you who don’t know the names of famous African American slaves, this list should help. Many of these individuals are responsible for the freedom that people of this community are enjoying today.

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Birthdate: December 23, 1867

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Delta, Louisiana, United States

Died: May 25, 1919

Madam C.J. Walker is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first female self-made American millionaire. She manufactured and promoted a cosmetic-and-hair-care line catering to black women, through the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company. She was also the richest African-American businesswoman when she died.

Birthdate: 1745 AD

Birthplace: Igboland

Died: March 31, 1797

Olaudah Equiano was a writer and abolitionist who was part of the abolitionist group, Sons of Africa, composed of Africans living in Britain in the 18th century. Enslaved as a child and sold to different “masters,” he eventually purchased his freedom and became one of the leaders of the anti-slave trade movement in the 1780s.  

Birthdate: December 19, 1875

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: New Canton, Virginia, United States

Died: April 3, 1950

Historian Carter Woodson was is remembered for pioneering Black studies in schools and colleges. He began the Negro History Week, which is now celebrated as the Black History Month. Poverty had pushed him to work in the coal mines initially, and he couldn’t join high school before 20.

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Richard Allen

(American Clergyman Who was the First Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church)

Birthdate: February 14, 1760

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Died: March 26, 1831

Born to slave parents, American clergyman Richard Allen became a Methodist convert at 22. He later founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church and served as its first bishop. Apart from establishing the first church for Blacks in the U.S., he worked on various aspects to improve the lives of Blacks.

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Birthdate: March 21, 1856

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Thomasville, Georgia, United States

Died: April 26, 1940

Then first Black to have graduated from West Point’s Military Academy, Henry Ossian Flipper was born to slave parents. He also became the first African-American to command US Army troops. He was dismissed unjustly on embezzlement charges and later worked as a civil engineer. His name was cleared posthumously.

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Blind Tom Wiggins

(Music Performer)

Birthdate: May 25, 1849

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Harris County, Georgia, United States

Died: June 14, 1908

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Amanda Smith

(American Methodist Preacher and Former Slave Who Opened an Orphanage for African-American Girls)

Birthdate: January 23, 1837

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Long Green, Maryland, United States

Died: February 24, 1915

Born into slavery, Amanda Smith later stepped into freedom after her father bought his and his family’s freedom. Starting as a domestic help, she later became a missionary and a Holiness movement leader, who invested in women’s education wholeheartedly and even established an orphanage for Black girls.

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George Moses Horton

(Poet)

Birthdate: 1798 AD

Birthplace: Northampton, North Carolina

Died: 1884 AD

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