10 American Masters who made their mark on Black History

[Rowdyboy]

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/about-the-series/ten-american-masters-who-made-their-mark-on-black-history/2900/

Words — both written and spoken — were James Baldwin’s greatest gift to America and to people of all races all over the world. Baldwin (1924 – 1987) electrified readers with his insights about what it meant to be black in America. He preached brotherhood, not violence, with searing honesty; his truth was laced with pain and anger. But he never lost hope – and his clarion call for human equality, human progress, helped shape America’s history.

Paul Robeson (1898 – 1976) was the epitome of the 20th-century Renaissance man. He was an exceptional athlete, actor, singer, cultural scholar, author, and political activist. His talents made him a revered man of his time, yet his radical political beliefs all but erased him from popular history. During the 1940s, Robeson’s black nationalist and anti-colonialist activities brought him to the attention of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Despite his contributions as an entertainer to the Allied forces during World War II, Robeson was singled out as a major threat to American democracy. Learn more about Paul Robeson.

From her early days in Harlem to the upper stratosphere of international musical fame, Ella Fitzgerald (1917 – 1996) lived the quintessential American success story. Through 58 years of performing, 13 Grammys and more than 40 million records sold, she elevated swing, bebop, and ballads to their highest potential. She was, undeniably, the First Lady of Song. She received the National Medal of Honor in 1992.

Throughout the 1950s, Sidney Poitier (b. 1927) made some of the most important and controversial movies of the time. Addressing issues of racial equality abroad, he made Cry, The Beloved Country, about apartheid in South Africa. He later took on problems closer to home in Blackboard Jungle and especially The Defiant Ones, about two escaped prisoners who must overcome issues of race in their struggle for freedom. In 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first African American to win an Academy Award in the Best Actor category for Lilies of the Field (1963).

Lots more at the link

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