african american businesspeople

Looks at the life of hat entrepreneur Mae Reeves.

O.W. Gurley was a savvy businessman. In 1905 he purchased 40 acres of land in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It later became known as the Greenwood Community. He used his money and influence to make Greenwood one of the richest African American communities in America. It was nicknamed "Black Wall Street.".

One of the most successful Black businessmen in the country, who has led Nike's Jordan Brand from a $200M sneaker company to a $4B global apparel juggernaut, tells the remarkable story of his rise from gangland violence to the pinnacles of international business.

Looks at the life of former professional American football player and businessmen, Edgerrin James.

"The astonishing untold history of America's first black millionaires - former slaves who endured incredible challenges to amass and maintain their wealth for a century, from the Jacksonian period to the Roaring Twenties - self-made entrepreneurs whose unknown success mirrored that of American business heroes such as Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, and Thomas Edison. Between the years of 1830 and 1927, as the last generation of blacks born into slavery was reaching maturity, a small group of smart, tenacious, and daring men and women broke new ground to attain the highest levels of financial success."--Amazon.com.

We are familiar with a handful of African Americans who are mentioned in American history books, but there are also countless others who do not get recognized in mainstream media. Their actions may not have appeared to shake the world, but their contributions to shifting American culture were just as groundbreaking. African Americans have made history by challenging and changing the American landscape. This was accomplished not by shedding layers of originality, but by wearing their colors proudly and openly in the world. Growth has been made possible by a resistance to conformity and a fusing of cultures, African and American alike.

Relates details of the life of Austin Steward who started out his life as a slave and eventually became a freeman.

A biography of William J. Powell, an African American golfer, discussing his becoming a caddie and learning to play golf, the discrimination he faced trying to compete, and building his own golf course where anyone was welcome.

Explores the life and community organizing activism of African American woman Dorothy Pitman Hughes. She shared the activist stage with Gloria Steinem for five years and spent the rest of her life fighting for civil rights and equality wherever she lived.

Explores the relationship of African American barbers with the white men they shaved from the American Revolution to World War I.