In a time when the U.S. military was segregated, the Tuskegee Airmen proved that blacks could fight as well and with as much courage as anyone. Learn about this group of exceptional pilots, whose outstanding flying and performances paved the way for the integration of the military. Additional features include detailed captions and sidebars, critical-thinking questions, a phonetic glossary, an index, and sources for further research.
Eighteenth-century mathematician and astronomer Benjamin Banneker was widely known and respected in his time. Most of what he knew, he taught himself. His letter to Thomas Jefferson asked the future president to reconsider his racial prejudices. Learn about Banneker, who abolitionists would use as proof that people of any race can be equally intelligent. Additional features include detailed captions and sidebars, critical-thinking questions, a phonetic glossary, an index, and sources for further research.
Madam C. J. Walker's skill as a businesswoman and desire to create products for black women drove her to become the first black female millionaire. Learn about this amazing woman who, while improving women's lives with her products, employed women as sales agents and hair culturists--all while giving back to her community. Additional features include detailed captions and sidebars, critical-thinking questions, a phonetic glossary, an index, and sources for further research.
Introduces young readers to the dangers of a tranquilizer and depressant addiction and shows ways that users have found help. Learn about the physical and mental effects of tranquilizer and depressant abuse and their negative impacts on lives. Additional features include a Fast Facts spread, an infographic, critical thinking questions, a phonetic glossary, an index, and sources for further research.
Introduces young readers to the dangers of steroid addiction and shows ways that users have found help. Learn about the physical and mental effects of steroid abuse and its negative impact on lives. Additional features include a Fast Facts spread, an infographic, critical thinking questions, a phonetic glossary, an index, and sources for further research.
Introduces young readers to the dangers of a prescription opioid addiction and shows ways that users have found help. Learn about the physical and mental effects of prescription opioid abuse and its negative impact on lives. Additional features include a Fast Facts spread, an infographic, critical thinking questions, a phonetic glossary, an index, and sources for further research.
Introduces young readers to the dangers of a hallucinogen addiction and shows ways that users have found help. Learn about the physical and mental effects of hallucinogen abuse and its negative impact on lives. Additional features include a Fast Facts spread, an infographic, critical thinking questions, a phonetic glossary, an index, and sources for further research.
Introduces young readers to the dangers of Adderall addiction and shows ways that users have found help. Learn about the physical and mental effects of Adderall abuse and its negative impact on lives. Additional features include a Fast Facts spread, an infographic, critical thinking questions, a phonetic glossary, an index, and sources for further research.
Booker T. Washington rose from his slavery beginnings to become a national leader in education and civil rights. Beginning his career as a teacher and developing into a renowned speaker, Washington's influence is still felt today through Tuskegee University, which he originally founded.
W. E. B. Du Bois was born a few years after the end of the Civil War, and he dedicated his life to the fight for racial equality. Du Bois was highly educated, and he used his knowledge to speak out against segregation and the commonly held belief that blacks were inferior to whites.
The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, declared all Confederate slaves to be free. Because the order only applied to Southern states that the Union did not control, few slaves benefited immediately. However, many see the historic document as a key turning point in the U.S. Civil War and in the movement to abolish slavery.
The first enslaved Africans landed in North America in 1619 to begin a life of forced, unpaid labor, harsh living conditions, and cruel treatment. The Southern economy grew dependent on slave labor, and the terrible institution was not abolished until after the American Civil War. Although slavery ended almost 150 years ago in the United States, its legacies of racism, prejudice, and the struggle for equal treatment persist today.
Sojourner Truth was born into slavery. Freed before its abolition, she dedicated her life to speaking out against inequality in all forms. She became one of the nation's foremost abolitionists and an important women's-rights advocate.
Muhammad Ali is one of America's most well-known athletes. From the time he was a young boy, Ali has been devoted to fighting racism in and out of the boxing ring. Later in his life, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, but despite his illness he has not ceased to stand up for what he believes.
Throughout her life, Mary McLeod Bethune worked tirelessly to increase women's opportunities, from education to the military to the right to vote. Her activism led her to the White House as a consultant for several presidents. There, she helped advance important civil rights agendas.
Marian Anderson broke through discrimination and racism to become one of the greatest classical singers of all time. Her exceptional talent allowed her to travel to many countries to perform, showing the world firsthand that the color of one's skin does not determine one's talent or inner strength.
Madam C. J. Walker's skill as a businesswoman and desire to create products for black women drove her to become the first black female millionaire. While improving women's lives with her products, she employed women as sales agents and hair culturists, all while giving back to her community.
Born into slavery, Frederick Douglass was struck by the unfairness and cruelty of slave life and escaped as a young man to the North. A skilled speaker and writer of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Douglass became a fierce fighter for the end of slavery and later led the early civil rights movement.
Eighteenth-century inventor and astronomer Benjamin Banneker was widely known and respected in his time. Most of what he knew, he taught himself. His letter to Thomas Jefferson asked the future president to reconsider his racial prejudices. Later, abolitionists would use Banneker as proof that people of any race can be equally intelligent.
