Jackie Robinson

Sept. 30, 1956, the Dodgers vs. the Chicago Cubs, Dodgers 14, Cubs 15. One more run and the Dodgers win, three strikes, they lose. The next batter is Jackie. People went silent, then the pitcher threw a curve ball. Jackie hit a home run on the board. Who is Jackie? One of the greatest Major League Baseball players of all time.

Jackie Robinson grew up with two brothers and two sisters. His family was poor until he went to college. When he went to college he signed up for baseball, football, basketball and track. After college he was drafted into the U.S. Army. After serving in the Army, he signed up for the Brooklyn Dodgers, a Major League Baseball team, Jackie became the first African-American to be on an all-white baseball team. This helped black people to realize they could play baseball on a white team if they wanted to.

His house was declared a National Historic Landmark. Ballparks were named after him. He received the National Gold Medal from Martin Luther King Jr. He died from heart disease and diabetes.

- McCuin Gould

West Middle School

George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver was a farmer, then a science teacher.

George Washington Carver was born in 1864 or 1865 near the end of Civil War on the Missouri farm of Moses and Susan Carver. He was a slave. George's father was a slave too, but George never saw him before. His father worked on a neighbor's farm and was killed in an accident around the time George was born.

He paid for his room and food by helping around the house. He learned which plants and herbs cure illnesses. George also learned the value of time.

When he was an infant, raiders kidnapped him and his mother. The raider took them to Arkansas. The neighbors found George and took him back home, but he didn't find his mother Mary. He never saw her again. George worked very hard and in September 1890, he enrolled in Simpson College. He was the school's first African-American student. He transferred to Iowa State College and graduated from Iowa State in 1894 and became the school's first African-American teacher.

He worked with the parts of peanuts and found 300 different peanut byproducts, including peanut milk, flour, cheese, candy, ice cream, butter, shampoo, face cream, glue, wood, stain and ink. He separated the fats, gums, sugar, starches and other chemical parts of the peanut. He also found more than 100 useful products from sweet potatoes.

George won many awards for his work and in 1939 he was awarded the Spring Medal and Roosevelt Medal too. He was a brave man and became a good African-American teacher. He died in 1953 and was an inventor.

- Janvi Patel

West Middle School

Madame C.J. Walker

The person I chose was Madame C.J. Walker. I chose this person because she is an African-American woman that developed hair care product. Sarah (Madame C.J. Walker) was born on Dec. 23, 1867 in Delta, La. The reason why she developed these hair care products because she was losing hair herself. Anyway, she had a struggling childhood because her parents died when she was 6 by yellow fever. After that happened she move to St. Louis, where she worked as laundress. When she was 18 years old she went to college. When she started her business she got married and changed her name to Madame C.J. Walker. That's how she got her name Madame C.J. Walker.

- Taylor Stanton

Booker T. Washington

Community Center.

Tim Duncan

My favorite African-American of achievement is Tim Duncan because he is in the NBA and I hope to be in the NBA one day. Tim Duncan plays for the San Antonio Spurs. When Tim was a child he was always ahead of the class. Tim was born on April 25, 1976, in St. Croix. He moved up a grade when he was 8 years old because he was so smart.

When he was younger he wanted to be in the Olympics, but later his final decision was basketball. Tim Duncan is a very good role model. He has many accomplishments in his life.

Tim Duncan's first accomplishment is that he was the youngest person in his college. Tim Duncan is in the NBA and has won three world championships. Lastly, he is a very good role model.

Therefore you can see that Tim Duncan is my favorite African-American of achievement. Tim Duncan does not drink, smoke or do drugs and he doesn't hang out with people who make negative choices. Tim, does not complain if he loses a game. He shows good sportsmanship. Tim Duncan is my favorite African-American of achievement because of the way he lives his life.

- Joey Montesano

Casey Park Elementary School

Larry Bell

My favorite African American of achievement is Dr. Larry Bell. He has helped teachers all over the world. He runs workshops for teachers to help them educate. He is a 25-year veteran of education. He even traveled to South Africa to share his ideas.

He is an educational consultant, a motivational speaker and an author. There is no end to how much he helps people. He must love helping everyone become more educated. He received a $550,000 grant by the federal government. We even use his learning strategies at Casey Park, On the announcement in the morning we have a weekly “power word” said on the announcements. If a student or a teacher says a power word, a bell is placed in a jar by our main office. We learned a song and even sang it. Our principal even recorded it on a DVD. He will come to Auburn in March for staff development day. One of his goals when he was teaching was to “Make every child feel like he or she is the reason I teach.” Dr. Larry Bell is my African-American of achievement because he never stopped wanting to help make everything in the classroom better.

- Amanda Dixon

Casey Park Elementary School

Marian Anderson

Wow! What a very good voice. Marian was born in Philadelphia in 1897. Marian Anderson sang in the church choirs in her childhood. After graduating from high school, she studied voice and began to make concert tours. She was the first African-American to be named a permanent member of the Metropolitan Opera Company, as well as the first to perform at the White House. Marian Anderson died in 1993. Marion Anderson is my favorite African-American of achievement because she is a great singer, and I love to sing. Ms. Anderson sang in hundreds of cities all over the world. She became a star. But she never forgot to thank her family or church for their help. This is why I think Marian Anderson is a good African-American to write about.

Shahnika Williams

Casey Park Elementary School

Mohammad Ali

Muhammad Ali was born in 1942 in Louisville, Ky. Then he was called Cassius Clay. He first became interested in boxing at age 12. He had dyslexia and he didn't do well in school. That is why he chose boxing. Then he changed his name to what it is now. In his boxing career he won 56 out of 61 one matches and won the heavy weight championship three times in a row. He would always call himself the greatest and he always believed in himself. He said, “All of us are born with the potential of greatness.”

Muhammad Ali is important because he went all the way to become a champion. He got sent to prison. Then he came back to the boxing ring. Shortly after he got the heavyweight championship position back. Also there is an important lesson that Muhammad Ali taught us to never give up and always go all the way to your goal. That is why I think Muhammad Ali is important.

Taylor Lindsay

Casey Park

Madame C.J. Walker

Married to Charles J. Walker

Achieved becoming the first African-American women to be millionaire

Died on May 25, 1919

Also has many other accomplishments

Married at the age of 14

Elegant

Created Madame C.J. Walker hair products

Just my favorite African-American of achievement

Was born on Dec. 23, 1867 in Delta, La.

At the age of 6 she was orphaned

Lived in Pittsburgh

Kind and loved by many

Educated in hair care products

Remembered by many

Taylor Griffin

Casey Park

Hank Aaron

Hank Aaron was born in Mobile, Ala. Hank has seven siblings. Hank first played baseball for the Mobile Black Bears, a team in the Negro Leagues. When Jackie Robinson broke the Major League Baseball color barrier, African-Americans were able to play in the Major Leagues. Aaron started to play on the Braves.

Aaron was number 44. When Hank was playing he tied with Babe Ruth's record (714) home runs. The next season Aaron passed Babe Ruth's record and he got his number (755).

During his time in the Major Leagues he played for the Jacksonville Tars, the Eau Claire Bears, the Yankees and the San Francisco Giants. Aaron played all of the positions. Hank Aaron was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. Hank hit his record-breaking homer in Turner Field.

Now has been retired for more then five years and he is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Right now he is in his 70s.

Steven Gillooly

Seward Elementary School

Mr. Amazing

Booker T. Washington dedicated himself to the idea that education would raise his people. Washington was born a slave in Hales Ford, Va. on April 5, 1856. When Washington was 16, his parents allowed him to quit his job and go to school. He worked at the salt mines of W. Va. from 4 in the morning until late at night. He cleaned buildings and classrooms to pay his college tuition. He wanted to become a teacher. He became a leader of his people. Where Washington went to school there was only two wooden buildings and 30 students arrived. He died in 1915. He is an impact on other people's lives because helped the kids go to school. He is an amazing man.

Brooke Townsend

Seward Elementary School

The World's Fastest Woman

Would you like to meet the world fastest woman? Wilma Rudolph! She was born on June 23, 1940, in St. Bethlehem, Tenn. She could not walk without braces until age 11. She also had 19 other brothers and sisters, all together. Wilma survived polio and scarlet fever.

In 1957, Wilma enrolled at Tennessee State University and began getting ready for the Olympic games in Rome. She proudly set a world record in the 200 meter dash in July of 1960 in Rome.

She worked really hard, and became the first American woman runner to win three gold medals in the Olympic games in 1960 in Rome. She earned a title of the “world's fastest woman.” She got the name by winning the 100 meter dash, the 200 meter dash (Olympic record) and for also to break the world record of the 400 meter relay, all in the year of 1960. She also broke the state basketball record for girls.

Sadly, she died at her home in Brentwood, Tenn., because she had a brain tumor.

She did a lot because she really worked hard, and she liked what she was doing. I learned that if you try something and keep practicing you can really do a lot. Also, even if you are different, you can be as good as anybody else. William Rudolph was a strong, courageous woman and she broke many records, and girls should follow her example.

Haley Ryan

Seward Elementary School

Marian Anderson

Have you ever heard of Marian Anderson? In Philadelphia, Feb. 27, 1897 was a special day because Marian Anderson was born, that day was the birth of a star. Her life was very challenging with several obstacles to face as a singer of color.

When Marian was 12 her father died, and Marian had to go to work to help support the family. Marian delivered laundry that her mother took in, and scrubbed the white marble steps of Philadelphia row houses. Marian was a very hard worker, because she had to help the family. She knew she wanted to sing, so one day Anderson tried to apply to a Philadelphia music school, but the woman that did the applications was white.

The white woman said, “We do not take colored people.”

When Marian was 18 years old she applied for another music school. The early 1900s were a difficult time for a young black woman to begin a professional singing career because of the fight between the races. That did not stop Anderson. She just kept singing and following her dream.

Anderson had been denied the right to sing in Washington's Constitution Hall because she was a person of color. The oldest of three girls, she was a happy child, especially when singing in the choir at the Union Baptist Church. From the beginning, adults noticed her naturally beautiful, powerful voice.

In 1925, Marian won a voice contest in New York and sang with the New York Philharmonic. Still, her chances to perform were limited. She traveled to Europe in 1928, where she became successful. As Marian's career progressed, America changed. She performed in many prestigious locations, including Constitution Hall, where she sang after the D.A.R changed its policies.

In 1936, Eleanor Roosevelt invited Anderson to sing at the White House for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and herself. In 1935, the famous conductor Arturo Toscanini heard Anderson sing in Salzburg. “A voice like yours is heard once in hundreds of years,” he said

By 1939, Marian was a world class singer. She returned to the United States to continue her career. Marian believed strongly in civil rights movements. With Mrs. Roosevelt's support, the Secretary of the Interior arranged a special concert for her. Marian's concert was considered to be America's first civil rights rally. Seventy-five thousand people attended.

As Marian's career progressed, America changed. By 1954, segregation was declared unconstitutional. The Civil Rights Act was signed into law in 1964, the year Marian retired from performing. By then, many of the barriers she had to fight through were disappearing. Marian's farewell tour began in the front of an admiring crowd at the Constitution Hall.

Marian died after living a wonderful and adventurous life in 1993 at the age of 96. It was a sad day, but Marian Anderson will always be remembered.

Elizabeth Sheridan

Seward Elementary School

Oprah Winfrey

“The biggest talk show host of all time.”

On Jan. 29, 1957, somewhere in Mississippi, in a simple town, a new baby was born. That little baby was Oprah Winfrey. This little girl would become one of the greatest, successful and wealthiest talk show hosts in America. This is her story.

Kosciusko, Miss. was the start and birth place of little Oprah. Her unmarried parents, Vernon Winfrey, and Vernita Lee, broke up soon after their baby was born, leaving Oprah in the care of her grandmother. Taught by her grandmother, she learned shapes and Bible stories. Oprah's grandma was a very religious woman.

“She was un-educated, she taught me everything she could,” Oprah commented on her grandmother.

When Oprah turned 6, she moved to a Milwaukee, where she lived with her mother. Oprah's times with her mother weren't what you would expect. The 6 year old was abused by a teenage cousin and other male friends and relatives.

“It had ... has scarred me for the rest of my life, I've blamed myself for those men's acts. I thought I was healed when I wasn't.” Oprah comments from the present day on her abused life.

As she grew older, Oprah acted out and misbehaved for attention from her mother. She was bad in school, and often troubled at home. The lost teen once stole money from her mother's purse!

Soon after, Oprah was sent to live in Nashville with her father, when she was 14. In Nashville she found a retreat from everything. The troubles faded away and life was finally looking up.

Oprah started to progress in school. She won a speech contest in high school, and after doing so, she earned a college degree to Tennessee State University.

After finishing college, Oprah continued to excel in life. She started a talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” It was that talk show that made her name in show business. Her show was nominated for seven Emmys, and won her the title of “Best Talk Show Host.” Oprah was named a Woman of Achievement by the National Organization of Women. Oprah was also named the most powerful person in show business.

You might think all this attention went to the star's head, but you are sadly incorrect. The humble woman continued to help children who were abused. She would not let what happen to her happen to young and innocent children.

After a terrifying murder in 1991 of a 4-year-old (who had been abused at the child's day care center) Winfrey and a senator helped to pass a law that child care providers must check the background of employees.

It had been a great year for Oprah, she also raked in over $900 million! All her success was causing an impact on America.

Oprah Winfrey was an inspiration to all. She revolutionized the talk show market. And showed that you could go from the lowest low to the highest high. She is truly an American success story!

Aileen Mack

Seward Elementary School

Motivated

Admirable

Responsible

Truthful

Intelligent

Non-violent

Loving

Understanding

Trusting

Honest

Educational

Respectful

Knowledgeable

Inspirational

Noble

Generous

Justice

Reasonable

Taylor Holehauer

Grade 3

Seward Elementary School

My Favorite African American Essay

My favorite African-American is Martin Luther King Jr. He is my favorite African-American because he was a very active civil rights leader and gave a lot of speeches. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on Jan. 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He died on April 4, 1968 at the age of 39. He was assassinated.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s real name was Michael Luther King Jr., but a few years after he was born his father decided to change both his name and his son's name from Michael to Martin King. His mother's name is Alberta King. Martin Luther King Jr.'s mother said, “No matter what the rest of the world says, you're as good as anyone else.”

As a boy, Martin Luther King Jr. wanted to play with a really nice white kid and the white kid wanted to play with Martin but the law said that black and white kids can not play together. Martin was really mad and felt that this was unfair so he decided to grow up and give speeches so white and black kids could play together. He did not understand why there had to be laws like these. Years later Martin Luther King Jr. was sitting in a seat on the bus and a white person wanted to sit where Martin was sitting. Martin would not let him have the seat so the bus driver started calling Martin ugly names. Martin tried not to act differently towards white people after that but it was hard for him. Black people learned how to make the best of situations that were meant to hurt and insult them.

When black people came to America, they were gradually banned from attending church and praying with the whites. In 1950, Martin's last year at Crozer, Martin traveled to Philadelphia to hear a lecture by Dr. Mordecai Johnson. This helped Martin Luther King Jr. and made his believe that things would change someday. He also thought that the attitude of white people towards the black people should change. Martin Luther King Jr. became a minister for a Baptist church in 1954. Martin Luther King Jr. organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Martin Luther King Jr. made many speeches during the Civil Rights Movement. He spoke about non-violent resistance. He walked many marches. His most famous speech is “I Have a Dream.” At the age of 35, he was the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Martin Luther King Jr. was an African-American leader and a very nice and respectful person. He helped people realize that we cannot segregate and discriminate. A long time ago, white and black people could not go to the same schools or do anything together but now we can because Martin Luther King Jr. helped to change that.

Abigail Rhianna Jeanne Harmon-Brown

Grade 3

Seward Elementary School

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on Jan. 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Ga. Martin's father was Martin Sr., his mother's name was Alberta and his grandmother's name was Jenny. Martin had one brother, Daniel, and one sister, Christine.

As a kid, Martin Jr. loved to sing, fly a kite, ride his bicycle and play football and baseball, and he loved playing with his friends, but he hated the Jim Crow Laws that separated whites from blacks because it meant that he could not play with his friends that were white children which made him very sad.

White children couldn't go to the same schools as black children and blacks were not allowed to sit in the front of the bus, they were supposed to sit in the back of the bus. A black woman by the name of Rosa Parks even got arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white person.

Martin read about G. W. Carver, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and Nat Turner and he dreamed of black's rights, respect and freedom everywhere forever. Martin lived for that dream to come true someday. He met a woman by the name of Coretta Scott and fell deeply in love with her because she had the same dream, they were married and had four children together.

During his lifetime Martin Luther King Jr. led hundreds of boycotts and marches in an effort to gain black rights, his most famous was on Aug. 28, 1963, where he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He was a Nobel Peace Prize winner, which he donated the money from that to the black rights organization and he met with several presidents, including Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson.

On April 4, 1968 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis and was shot and killed by James Earl Ray. The marker on his grave reads, “I'm free at last”.

Martin Luther King Jr. fought for black rights all through his life and brought a needed change to America and his birthday is celebrated as national holiday on the third Monday of every January.

Victoria Trumbull

Grade 3, Seward Elementary School

Hank Aaron

Hammerin' Hank

After Robinson broke the color barrier

Needing to prove himself in baseball

Knocking balls left and right over the fence

A hero in baseball who

Always made the claim

Records are made to be broken

On the road to success, competing with Babe Ruth's record

Now in the Baseball Hall of Fame

David Watkins

Grade 4, Seward Elementary School

Shirley Chisholm

“I want history to remember me not as the first black woman to have made a bid for the presidency of the United States, but as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and dared to be herself.” - Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Chisholm was born on Nov. 30, 1924, in Brooklyn. In 1927, she was sent to live with her grandmother in Barbados. In 1934, she rejoined her parents in New York. When she returned, she found that her father was a follower of the West Indian Activist, Marcus Garvey, who advocated black pride and unity among the black people of his country in order to achieve economic growth and political powers. This is what got her interested in politics and helping others from a very young age.

Shirley excelled at her school work in a private girl's high school, in Brooklyn. she graduated in 1942. Upon graduating from high school, she enrolled at Brooklyn College. While at Brooklyn College, black students were not allowed to join many of the social clubs. Shirley decided to start an alternative social club for people of color. She graduated from Brooklyn College in 1946 with honors. At the time that she graduated, it was very difficult for black people, and women, to find good jobs.

In 1949, she married Conrad Chisholm. Together, Shirley and her husband began to participate in local politics. They helped to form the Bedford-Stuyvesant Political League. With this club, they helped to spark interest in many black and Hispanic voters.

Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman to serve in the U.S. Congress. She was a congresswoman for the 12th district of New York from 1969 until 1982. In 1972, she became the first black woman to run for the presidency of the United States. She won 10 percent of the votes at the Democratic National Convention.

Shirley Chisholm died in 2005. I choose Shirley Chisholm because she stood up for African-Americans and for women. She formed special clubs for them and showed them how to make their voices be heard. She was brave. She was a good role model. More people should try to help and educate others like Shirley Chisholm did.

Jamie McBain

Grade 4, Seward Elementary School

Barack Obama

“I'm Fired up And Ready to Go!” says Barack Obama.

Most people think of Barack Obama as ... well, a candidate running for president in 2008, but really he had an interesting life. Barack Hussein Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Later, when he was two, his parents separated and then divorced. He says, “I have only seen my father once since my parents divorced.” His father later died in 1982. His mother married Lolo Soetoro. In 1967, the family moved to Jakarat where Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro, was born. When he was 10, he moved back to Hawaii to live with his grandparents. In 1983, he graduated from Columbia University. His major was political science. In 1988 ,he met his wife, Michelle, when he was summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidney and Austin. They later married in October of 1992. When he was 34 (in 1995), his mother died. In 1996 he was elected to the Illinois senate. He was the third African-American to be elected to the senate in more then a century.

In 1999 his first child, Malia Obama, was born. In 2000, he made an unsuccessful attempt to be elected to the Democratic Party U.S. House of Representatives. He lost to candidate Bobby Rush.

In 2001 his second child, Sasha Obama, was born. In 2004, he published his first book, an autobiography, “Dreams For My Father: A Story of Race And Inheritance.” In 2005 and 2006, he served on the Environment and Public Works Committee. In 2006, he published his second book, “The Audacity Of Hope: Thoughts On Reclaiming The American Dream.” Also in 2006, he published his third book, “It Takes A Nation: How Strangers Become Family In The Wake Of Hurricane Katrina.”

He is running for president in the Democratic Party. He may be president from 2008 to 2012. He is running against current U.S. senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and 2004 vice president nominee John Edwards. I think he has a good chance of being our first African-American president because of all that he has done for the U.S. and all the books he has published. I hope now that you have read this about Barack Obama that you don't think he is just some candidate running for president. Maybe now you might consider voting for him.

Hannah Pierce

Seward Elementary School

Daniel Hale Williams

Daniel Hale Williams was born in 1858 in Holidaysburg, Pa. He was the fifth child of his parents' seven children. In fourth grade, Daniel Hale Williams was sent to Baltimore because Daniel's father died early and Daniel's mother could not take care of all her children by herself. In Baltimore, Daniel ran away and rejoined with his family. Daniel and his family struggled to stay together, but could not.

Daniel Hale Williams was inspired to become a doctor when he was at work one day, reading a newspaper article about a local surgeon, Dr. Henry Palmer. Daniel Hale Williams quit his job and became an apprentice to Dr. Henry Palmer. Daniel was unable to get an internship in hospitals in his area because he was African-American. In 1883, Daniel graduated from Chicago Medical School.

On July 9, 1893, Dr. Williams performed open-heart surgery on a man who been stabbed in the heart. The open-heart surgery was a success. The man who had been stabbed in the heart had lived for another 20 years after the open-heart surgery, because of Daniel Hale Williams.

Daniel Hale Williams was inspired by Dr. Henry Palmer once again to open his own hospital. On the same day, Williams was stabbed in his chest. He was rushed to Providence Hospital with a one inch knife wound in his chest. In becoming a doctor, Dr. Williams earned the nickname “Dr. Dan.”

Dr. Williams took medical science to a higher level. In 1912, Daniel Hale Williams became the first African-American to be appointed associate attending surgeon at St. Luke's Hospital, the wealthiest and largest hospital in Chicago.

Daniel Hale Williams suffered a stroke was partially paralyzed. Daniel died at home at the age of 75 in the year of 1931.

Daniel Hale Williams was the first African-American to perform open-heart surgery.

Suhanee Patel

Seward Elementary School

If you go

What: Reception for winners of Auburn Human Rights Commission's “My Favorite African-American” essay contest

When: 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27

Where: Auburn City Hall, South Street, Auburn