Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks made one of the biggest contributions to modern science when her cells were taken, unknowingly, by Johns Hopkins Hospital. Lacks's cells - known to scientists as HeLa cells - ended up in the hands of Dr. George Otto Gey where he noticed that they had a peculiar quality. "Unlike most cells, which survived only a few days, Lacks's cells were far more durable. Gey isolated and multiplied a specific cell, creating a cell line." Henrietta's cells were used to create the polio vaccine, and have had more than ten thousand patents registered since then.

Katherine Dunham

Katherine Dunham, an Illinois native, was an African American dancer who was known for her "innovative interpretations of ritualistic and ethnic dances." She also put together a dance group that performed at the Chicago World Fair in 1934, and a few years later created an all black company.

Bayard Rustin

Bayard Rustin was a civil rights activist who worked as Martin Luther King Junior's adviser in the 1950s and 1960s. Though he spent some time in jail for homosexual activity, he continued to live as an openly gay man. Rustin believed in non-violent resistance, along with pacifism and socialism, though he was punished multiple times for his views. "Most famously, Rustin was a key figure in the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, at which King delivered his legendary 'I Have a Dream' speech on August 28, 1963."

Claudette Colvin

Contrary to popular belief, Rosa Parks was not the first African American woman to refuse to give up her seat on a bus. Claudette Colvin was a civil rights activist who was arrested months before Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat. Colvin was only fifteen years-old when she stood up for herself - against a white passenger - saying, "It's my constitutional right to sit here as much as that lady. I paid my fare, it's my constitutional right."

Thomas Peterson

Thomas Peterson was the first African American to vote in the United States, thanks to the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment. "In New Jersey, March 31 is annually celebrated as Thomas Mundy Peterson Day in recognition of his historic vote."