2. She is a Pulitzer Prizewinning, African-American
novelist and famous poet. She was born on
February 9th, 1944 in Eatonton, Georgia. The
youngest daughter of sharecroppers, she grew up
poor. Her mother worked as a maid to help support
the family´s eight children.
When she was 8, she suffered a serious injury: She
was shot in the right eye. Living in the racially
divided South, she attended segregated schools.
She graduated in 1965. After college, she worked as
a social worker, teacher and lecturer.
Alice Walker
3. She fought for equality for all
African-Americans.
Her career as a writer took
flight with the publication of her
third novel The Color Purple in
1982, she won the Pulitzer
Prize with this novel.
Other novels are: In 2004, she published “Now Is
the Time to Open Your Heart”. Two years later, in
2006, she published a collection of essays, “We
Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: Light in
a Time of Darkness”, and the well-received picture
book “There Is a Flower at the Tip of My Nose
Smelling Me”. Three years later her story made it to
the big screen: Steven Spielberg directed “The
Color Purple”.
In 2010 she wrote about her experiences with the
group Women for Women. She married activist
Melvyn Leventhal in 1967. The couple had one
daughter, Rebeca Walker, before divorcing in 1976.
She took part in the 1960s Civil Rights movement
in Mississippi. She is important because she wrote
and fought for equality for African-Americans.
Antía Iglesias Iglesias
4. BENJAMIN BANNEKER
I’m going to talk about Benjamin Banneker. He
was a man who did a lot of things during his life.
He was born on November 9, 1731 in Maryland.
He was a son of an ex-slave and a son of a white
woman. His father escaped from slavery. He went
to a small school for a short time. He was taught to
read by his grand-mother. When he was younger,
he made a clock and he studied astronomy.
He was an astronomer and a scientist. He really
struck by that he did. He did almanac with his
astronomical calculations. He published
information of bees and the cycle of locust, too. He
died on the 25 October 1806.
He is an important person because he was one of
the most intelligent people during slavery.
Samuel Deus
5. BILL RUSSELL
His complete name is William Fenton
Russell. He was born in Monroe, Luisiana
on the 12 of February 1934. He was 2, 07
metres tall and he weighed 102kg. He is
so important in the history of the USA.
When he was a child, he and his family
had a lot of problems with racism. But they
lived normal. In petrol stations, African-
American people would have to wait for a
long time.
6. He studied at the University of San
Francisco. He always liked basketball. He
played in NBA, as a center with the
number 6. He won a gold medal at the
Olympics in Melbourne in 1956.
He was a model for lots of African-
American children. He shows that your
dreams are so important and you have to
work very hard if you want your dreams to
come true.
Irene Noya
7. DENZEL WASHINGTON
Denzel Washinton was born on 28 of
December 1984 in New York.
He is very famous because he is an actor
in Hollywood.
He studied journalism at Fordham
University . Denzel Washington married
actress Pauletta Pearson in 1983 and they
have four children. Denzel Washington is
sixty-one years old.
He made his film debut in the comedy A
Carbon Copy.
8. His most famous films are Man on
Fire, The Book of Eli and American
Gangster, Glory and Training Day.
He appeared in several notable
films throughout the 1990s,
including his first of four Spike Lee
collaborations Mo’ Better Blues
Malcolm X .
He won one Oscar with Glory.
He is a founder member of the
Nelson Mandela Children´s fund. He
has also supported Save Africa´s
Children and Artists for a New
South Africa.
Damián Botana
9. JAMES BROWN
He had a lot of jobs to earn money when
he was a teenager (15 years old). Later,
his mother left him and he remained with
his father. Without education, James
went to Georgia and worked at polishing
shoes and stealing pieces of cars. Still
young he went to the jail.
Then, when he was 20 years old, he was
adopted by a family, and here was where
He began singing.
James Joseph Brown was born in
Barnwell, South Carolina, United Estates
of America on May 3, 1933 into extreme
poverty.
10. In 1953 Brown went into “The Starlighters”. He played the drums,
keyboards, organ, percussion and vocal. The group played R&B, Soul
and Funk. He was a social activist too. He was an important person
because he was a very famous singer. Some of his famous songs are
All-Time Greatest Hits!, Live at the Apollo, In the Jungle Groove, Star
Time. He died on the 25th of December 2006 at 73 years old.
Nando Couselo
12. Childhood
• He was born on February 17, in 1936, in Georgia.
• With eight years old, he went to live with his mother in New York.
• Staying there, he started playing football in the Manhasset High School.
13. His career
• As a running back, he earned national attention.
• In 1957 the Cleveland Browns selected Jim in the national football league. He became the
standard for all NFL running backs.
• In the start of the 1966 season, he annouced his retirement.
• At 30 years old, he left the game and he started a movie career. He appeared in more than 30
films.
14. Assistance to civil rights
• He also helped to create the Negro Industrial Economic Union in 1960.
• In 1980 he started the Amer-I-Can program, to turn the lives around of young gang members.
Lucas Paz
16. Toni Morrison is a
famous writer who won
the Nobel Price in
Literature in 1993.
She wrote her first novel,
The Bluest Eye in 1970
and it told the story of a
young African-American
who believes her life
would better if she had
blue eyes.
17. About her life ...
She was born in Lorian, Ohio on
February,18 in 1931. In the
school Toni Morrison was an
intelligent child and, in 1949
she graduated from Lorian
High School and the same
year she started school at
Harvard University. She was a
professor at university and she
wrote a lot of novels.
They are known for the vivid
dialogues and for the richly
detailed black characters.
18. Now ...
Now Toni Morrison, at
84 years old, continues
writing novels and the
last novel that she
published was “Home”
in 2012 and it told an
American History.
19. My opinion
I think that the
world wouldn´t be
the same if people
like Martin Luther
King, Toni Morrison
or Morgan Freeman
weren´t here.
Yago Rey
20. MALCON X
Ever think of being a very important person in history and
humanity? Ever think of being an important person in the
nation of Islam?
Malcolm X was a famous person because he was an
African-American leader and an important figure in the
Nation of Islam. He was a civil rights activist. He was a
prominent black nationalist and was also a spokesman for
the Nation of Islam. But shortly before being killed, he split
the group. I choose this person because he defended the
rights of African-American people.
Malcolm X was born on 19th, May, 1925, in Omaha,
Nebraska. Also, he was the son of E.L. a preacher who was
also an active member of the local chapter Universal Negro
Improvement Association.
21. When he was four years a group of racist
people threatened his father (at gunpoint)
who had to leave home and move to
Michigan. The racist group called themselves
“Ku Klux Klan”. However, in 1929, once in
Michigan they received more threats. A racist
woman set fire to the home of the Littles,
then the family went to the emergency
services, but they refused to help. Two years
later, in 1939, things got much worse. The
father was killed, and the mother, in 1937,
was hospitalized due to the shock, then
Malcolm was alone and had to live with his
friends.
22. Malcolm X was famous because
he was an African-American
leader and an important figure in
the Nation of Islam. He was a
civil rights activist.
On February, 21, 1965, he was
shot by three men when he was
delivering a speech in New York.
He was 39 years old.
Marcos
23. MARTINLUTHER KING
He was a baptist minister and a social
activist. And also he was a leader of civil
rights movement. He was born in the 15 of
January in 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Through his activism he played important
role in ending speech was “I Have a
Dream”.
His father´s name was Michael King and
his mother´s name was Alberta Williams
King. Martin also had an older sister and a
younger brother.
24. Martin Luther King received a Nobel Peace Prize
in 1964.
In the spring of 1963, Martin Luther King
organized a demonstration in Alabama.
He made his famous speech, “I Have a Dream”
on August 28, 1963. And more than 200.000
people watched his speech.
He was assassinated in 1968. Ray assassinated
Martin Luther King and was sentenced to 99
years in prison. He died in prison on April 23,
1998.
25. MAYAANGELOU
Maya Angelou was born on April,4 in 1928
in St. Louis, Missouri.
Angelou was an African-American woman
and she fought for civil rights. She
experienced racial prejudices and
discrimination in Arkansas.
During a visit with her mother she was
raped by her mother´s boyfriend.
Then, as vengeance for sexual assault,
Angelou´s uncle killed the boyfriend,
therefore Maya began to fight for civil
rights.
Angelou died on May 28 in 2014.
Brais Bouzas
26. NINA SIMONE
Did you never think that through
songs injustices could be
denounced? Nina Simone did it.
Nina was born on February 21,
1933, in Tryon, North Carolina.
She played the piano and sang at
4 years old. When she finished
high school she obtained a
scholarship to study piano. She
had piano classes but she left it
because she didn´t have any
money.
27. When she wanted to enter a University
to continue studying, she couldn´t
because she was an African-American.
And years later, she denounced them.
After some time she started to sing in
bars, songs for the rights of the black
people. She was a Civil Rights activist
and a journalist too. She sang jazz, blues
and folk music.
She recorded her first album in 1958.
She dedicated part of her life to make
songs for the rights of African-American
people. Some of her most famous songs
are: Feeling Good, Sinner man and My
baby just cares for me. She died in
France on April 21, 2003.
Laura
28. RAY CHARLES
Ray Charles Robinson was the real name
of Ray Charles. He was an African-
American singer, songwriter, musician and
composer. But he was a defender of the
African-American’s rights too.
Charles, the Genius’’, was born on 23
September 1930 in Alabama. He was blind
at the age of seven as a result of a
glaucoma. Charles started to play the
piano in a blind school, but he was more
interesting in the jazz or blues music he
heard on the family radio than classical
music.
29. When he finished the school, he moved to
Jacksonville, where Charles played the
piano for $4 a night. In 1947 played the
piano for Charlie Brantley's Honey
drippers and at the same time was in a
band called The Florida Playboys. In April
1949, Charles and his band (in this time
was Mc Son Trio) recorded "Confession
Blues", and this became his first national
hit.
Then he recorded his own songs and do
same duets with important singers like
George Jones or Chet Atkins.
Olaya Dubra
On June 10, 2004 Charles died in
his house of Los Angeles.
30. ROSA PARKS
Her name is Rosa Parks
but her full name is Rosa
Louise McCauley. She
was born on February 4,
1913 in Tuskegee,
Alabama . As the bus
Rosa was riding
continued on its route, it
began to fill with white
passenger that had to
stand in the aisle.
31. The driver stopped the bus and moved
the sign separating the two sections back
one row she and remained seated the
driver demanded,” why don´t you stand
up?” to which Rosa replied,” I don´t think
I should have to stand up “then the driver
called the police and had her arrested.
The police arrested Rosa at the scene
and charged her violation of law. Rosa
Parks was a very important because she
fought for civil rights in America. Rosa
Parks died on 6 October in 2005.
Alex Vásquez
32. TONIMORRISON
Have you ever read any books from the writer Toni Morrison ?
Toni Morrison won the Novel Prize in literature and she also
won the Pulitzer Prize.
She was the first African – American woman who received a
Novel Prize in 1993.
Toni Morrison was born on February 18 , in 1931, in Lorain,
Ohio.
She lived with her father, George Wofford and her mother
Ramah. Her father was a welder and her mother was a
domestic worker. Toni was the second oldest of four children.
Her own name is Chloe Anthony wofford but she was called
Toni Morrison because she married Harold Morrison in
1958. She graduated from Lorain High School in 1949. At
Howad University , Tony continued her interest in Literature.
33. She was the only black person in the class.
Everybody treated her badly. In 1957, Toni
returned to Harvard to teach English.
Her first novel “ The Bluest Eye “ was published
in 1970. Her next novel “ Sula (1973) “ , was
nominated for the American Book Award. In 1993
she received the Novel Prize. She wrote a lot of
novels along the years.
I think she is a very important person because in
her novels she writes about black people´s life
specially women and she praises the black
people.
Nerea González
34. Rebecca Cole
I am going to talk about Rebecca Cole, an
African American doctor. She was the
second African American woman to
become a doctor.
Rebecca was born on March 16, 1846, in
Philadelphia. She overcame racial and
gender barriers. She attended the Institute
for Colored Youth, graduating in 1863. She
then went on to graduate from the
Women’s Medical College of
Pennsylvania.
35. She went to practice in South Carolina. Then she
returned to Philadelphia, and in 1873 opened a
Women’s Directory Centre to provide medical and
legal services to women. In January 1899, she was
appointed superintendent of a home, run by the
Association for the Relief of Destitute Colored Women
and Children in Washington D.C.
Rebecca died in August, 1922 at the age of 76.
I think Rebecca Cole was an interesting person to talk
about her, because she managed to be a doctor in her
timing.
Nerea Portos
36. MUHAMMAD ALI
Muhammad Ali is considered one of the
greatest athletes in boxing history, winning
both the coveted Golden Gloves title and
an Olympic gold medal, among several
other honors.
Synopsis
Boxer, philanthropist and social activist
Muhammad Ali was born Cassius
Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942 in
Louisville, Kentucky.
Ali won all of his bouts in the 1960s, the
majority of them by knockout. Since his
retirement, Ali has devoted much of his
time to philanthropy.
37. Early Life
At the age of 12, Ali discovered his talent for
boxing through an odd twist of fate. His bike was
stolen, and Ali told a police officer, Joe Martin,
that he wanted to beat up the thief. In addition to
being a police officer, Martin also trained young
boxers at a local gym.
Ali started working with Martin to learn how to
box, and soon began his boxing career. In his
first amateur bout in 1954, he won the fight by
split decision. Ali went on to win the 1956 Golden
Gloves tournament for novices in the light
heavyweight class. Three years later, he won the
National Golden Gloves Tournament of
Champions, as well as the Amateur Athletic
Union's national title for the light-heavyweight
division.
38. Conversion to Islam
He was doing some spiritual searching and
decided to join the black Muslim group, the
Nation of Islam, in 1964. Two years later, Ali
refused to acknowledge his military service after
being drafted. He said that he was a practicing
Muslim minister, and that his religious beliefs
prevented him from fighting in the Vietnam War.
In 1967, Ali put his personal values ahead of his
career. The U.S. Department of Justice pursued a
legal case against Ali, denying his claim for
conscientious objector status. He was found guilty
of refusing to be inducted into the military.
Professionally, however, Ali did not fare as well.
The boxing association took away his title and
suspended him from the sport for three and a half
years.
39. Muhammad Ali is considered one of the greatest athletes in boxing
history, winning both the Golden Gloves title and an Olympic gold medal,
among several other honors.
He returned to the ring in 1970 and his
career started to decline in 1980. He
announced his retirement from boxing in
1981.
Samuel Vieites
