Glossary

Hall of Fame baseball player, most famous for breaking Babe Ruth’s long time record for career home runs. Aside from his 755 career home runs, Aaron also amassed over 3,000 hits and holds the record for most career RBIs with 2,297. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. He is an executive with the Atlanta Braves.

A serious, often fatal, disease of the immune system that results from contracting the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and is transmitted through human blood, sexual fluids, and breast milk.

Alto saxophonist and jazz musician. For sixteen years he was the leader of the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. With such hits as “This Here,” the group came to embody the subgenre known as soul jazz.

Policies first enacted under President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration to remedy the effects of widespread discrimination against marginalized groups in the United States. Affirmative action programs were designed to increase opportunities for minorities and women in employment, education and business ownership.

Founded in 1968 by a group of artists in Chicago, Illinois. The group utilized black art as a medium to promote political and functional growth of Africanized thought throughout the world, taught classes, and spoke out against apartheid in South Africa.

Founded by Richard Allen. After seeing that Methodist and Episcopalian alike were being subjected to humiliation and segregation at their holiest of places in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Allen founded the Free African Society. From this group, five churches joined together to form the fledgling A.M.E. Church on April 9, 1816.

A specialist in African affairs, cultures, or languages.

Outreach program founded in 1978 by commentator, journalist and NAACP activist Vernon Jarrett. The ACT-SO program promotes educational excellence by encouraging African American high school students to participate in academic competitions for scholarships, awards, and other prizes.

Founded in 1892 by former slave John H. Murphy, Sr. after merging his church publication, The Sunday School Helper, with two other church publications, The Ledger and The Afro-American. By 1922, the Afro was the most widely circulated black newspaper on the East Coast. Murphy's son Carl Murphy took over the paper and served as editor for forty-five years until his death, when daughter Frances L. Murphy II took over.

Accepted into the United States in 1819 as the twenty-second state. Alabama lies in the southeastern part of the country bordered by Tennessee to the north, Mississippi and Georgia to the west and east respectively, and Florida to the south. In the 20th century, Alabama was one of the major civil rights battlegrounds. It was the site of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Selma to Montgomery March, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s (SNCC) Freedom Rides.

Ali was born Cassius Clay and changed his name following his conversion to Islam in 1964. During his career, he won Olympic gold and was a three time world heavyweight champion. During his career, Ali won fifty-six fights, thirty-seven of which were by knockout.

North American professional chef organization with more than 150 chapters nationwide and 17,500 members. The organization's mission is to be the standard of excellence for the culinary industry, advancing and promoting professionalism, leadership and collaboration.

Nationally syndicated weekly news broadcast. For over forty years, the program has addressed topics of special interest to African Americans.

The first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House, Anderson was hailed as the greatest contralto of her time. Anderson's career spanned from the early 1920s through the 1970s. She became a symbol of progress early in the civil rights era when the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow her to perform at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. Over seventy-five thousand people attended Anderson's alternative performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Recipient of numerous awards, Anderson was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963.

Author, poet, actor, and film director Maya Angelou was hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature. She published ten best selling books and numerous essays, earning her Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award nominations. Angelou wrote and delivered the poem On The Pulse of Morning at President Bill Clinton's 1993 inauguration. Her screenplay for Georgia, Georgia was the first by an African American woman to be filmed.

Famed club in the heart of New York City's Harlem neighborhood, the Apollo has launched the careers of legendary artists like Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, Michael Jackson, D'Angelo and Lauryn Hill during its famed amateur nights. The club is a federal, state and city landmark and produces a weekly television show, Showtime at the Apollo.

The U.S. Department of Energy's largest research center. A direct descendant of the University of Chicago's Metallurgical Laboratory, Argonne was chartered in 1946 as the nation's first national laboratory. After World War II, Argonne was given the mission of developing nuclear reactors for peaceful purposes. Over the years, Argonne's research expanded to include many other areas of science, engineering and technology.

Founded in 1983 by John Rogers, Jr., Ariel Investments is the largest asset management firm owned by an African American. With over $13.2 billion in assets, Ariel Investments is regularly spotlighted as a paragon of African American entrepreneurship.

Accepted into the United States in 1836 as the twenty-fifth state. Arkansas lies in the Southeastern part of the country and is bordered by Missouri to the north and Louisiana to the south. President Bill Clinton hails from Arkansas.

Born in New Orleans in 1901, Louis Armstrong, otherwise known as Satchmo, was known worldwide for his skills as a jazz trumpeter and singer. Armstrong performed in films throughout his career and was an avid writer. His career took him around the globe as a performer and cultural ambassador.

Located in Chicago's Grant Park, the Art Institute of Chicago was founded in 1879 and is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. As a research institution, the Art Institute also has a conservation and conservation science department, five conservation laboratories, and one of the largest art history and architecture libraries in the country.

Tennis player and writer Arthur Ashe was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1943. Ashe was the first African American ever to win the U.S. Open, the Davis Cup, the Australian Open, and Wimbledon. A passionate civil rights activist, in 1973, Ashe became the first African American professional tennis player to play during the South African apartheid regime. He retired from competition in 1980 and wrote a three volume history of African American athletes entitled A Hard Road to Glory, published in 1988.

Established in 1919 by entrepreneur and journalist Claude Barnett, the Associated Negro Press was a consolidated news service that provided international news items and press releases to African American newspapers throughout the United States.

Founded in 1837 and the capital city of Georgia. It is the birthplace of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and has long been a locus for African American culture. Atlanta is home to several major American corporations including The Coca-Cola Company and CNN.

The chief government lawyer at either the state or federal level. The attorney general is responsible for the activities of all state and district attorneys, and oversees all criminal and civil cases brought by the government.