Glossary

Also known as the Genius Grant, these prizes are presented to individuals who have displayed exceptional creativity, promise for important future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishment and potential for the fellowship to facilitate subsequent creative work. The awards are given to individuals not in honor of past work but rather as an investment in a person's future work.

Originally part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Maine joined the Union in 1820, as the twenty-third state to enter the United States. Maine shares a lengthy border with Canada and is the easternmost state in the contiguous United States. Augusta is the capital.

Standard leadership role in a legislative body. The Majority Whip is a member of the majority party who coordinates the party’s legislative agenda and attempts to enforce the party line when bills come to the floor for a vote.

South African freedom fighter, activist and statesman. Nelson Mandela served as president of South Africa’s African National Congress, a civil rights organization that struggled to overthrow the racist system of apartheid. Later, after serving twenty-seven years in prison, he would become the nation’s first democratically elected president. Mandela is recognized as one of the great freedom fighters and civil rights leaders of all time, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

The first African American Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1908. After graduating with honors from Lincoln University and Howard University, he went on to become director for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. In 1967, he was appointed to the United States Supreme Court by President Lyndon B. Johnson, where he remained until retiring in 1991. Marshall passed away in 1993.

Colonized by France in 1635, this small island in the Caribbean has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation.

The seventh state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, Maryland was a large slaveholding state up to and during the Civil War, although it never left the Union. Baltimore, the largest city in the state, has a long and proud tradition of African Americans suceeding in all walks of life. Thurgood Marshall, a native of the city, went on to become the first African American to sit on the United States Supreme Court.

The sixth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, Massachusetts was home to the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The 54th was one of the first divisions of African American troops formed, and the soldiers saw combat in the Civil War. In 1966, Massachusetts voters elected Edward W. Brooke III, the first black U.S. senator elected in eighty-five years.

Singer, songwriter and activist Curtis Mayfield was a central figure in the soul and rhythm and blues genres of African American music. Mayfield gained prominence during the 1960s and 1970s with socially conscious records, including 'People Get Ready' and 'I’m So Proud.' A two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Mayfield received the honor in 1991 as a member of R and B group The Impressions and in 1999 as a solo performer. Mayfield died on December 26, 1999.

Chemical supply company founded in 1980 by William G. Mays. The company has grown to include offices around the country and offers a variety of products and services.

One of the greatest players to ever play the game of baseball. In his twenty-two years with the Giants, the Say Hey Kid hit 660 home runs and 3,283 hits. A stunning combination of speed, power and smarts, Mays played in 24 All-Star Games and was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.

Named for long-time Chicago Tribune editor Joseph Medill, Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is one of the most prestigious in the nation.

The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century.

The twenty-sixth state to join the Union, Michigan entered the nation in 1837 as a free state. The state's largest city, Detroit, saw many race riots in the second half of the 20th century. John Conyers, Jr., one of the longest serving African Americans in Congress, hails from the state.

Organized by Minister Louis Farrakhan, this event brought together hundreds of thousands of African Americans on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for a day of unity and a show of strength of character on October 16, 1995. Despite the name, women were present both in the crowd and on the podium, including civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks.

Admitted to the Union in 1858, Minnesota became the thirty-second state to join the United States. The capital is St. Paul, which creates a large urban area with its twin city, Minneapolis.

The twentieth state to join the Union, Mississippi was accepted in 1817. It joined the Confederacy in 1861, and after the Civil War was readmitted to the Union in 1870.

The twenty-fourth state, Missouri was admitted to the Union in 1821. In 1861, Missouri is admitted to the Confederacy, despite the fact that it had not formally seceded. The largest city, St. Louis, sits on the banks of the Mississippi River.

Along with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk was one of the innovators of bebop jazz. Born in North Carolina, Monk moved to Harlem, New York to play piano in jazz clubs and soon began recording and performing with his aforementioned peers.

The inventor of the gas mask, Morgan can be credited with having saved countless lives. He himself donned one when a tunnel under Lake Erie collapsed and he rushed to the rescue of those trapped. The City of Cleveland, Ohio, awarded him a gold medal for his actions and invention. Morgan also invented the first automatic traffic signal, as well as discovered and marketed the first hair straightening chemicals. He passed away in 1963.