This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Odetta, an American folk singer who was noted especially for her versions of spirituals and who became for many the voice of the civil rights movement of the early 1960s.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Oscar Micheaux, a prolific African American producer and director who made films independently of the Hollywood film industry from the silent era until 1948.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Oscar Peterson, a Canadian jazz pianist best known for his dazzling solo technique.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Paul Winfield, an American film and television actor perhaps best known for his role in the film Sounder (1972).

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Percy Ellis Sutton, an American attorney, politician, and businessman born Nov. 24, 1920, San Antonio, Texas. This site, rich in detail and breadth of coverage, includes a wealth of...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Professor Longhair, an American singer and pianist who helped shape the sound of New Orleans rhythm and blues from the mid-1940s.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Prudence Crandall, an American schoolteacher whose attempt to educate African American girls aroused controversy in the 1830s.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Rafer Johnson, an American athlete, who won a gold medal in the decathlon at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Ralph Metcalfe, an American sprinter and member of the American 4 x 100-meter relay team that won a gold medal at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. At his peak, in 1934-35, he was called...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Randy Weston, an American jazz pianist and composer noted for his use of African rhythms.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Ray Dandridge, an American professional baseball player who spent most of his career between 1933 and 1955 playing in the Negro leagues and on teams outside the United States.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Redd Foxx, an American comedian and television actor known for his raunchy stand-up routines. His style of comedy, often described as "blue" for its foul language and highly adult subject...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Reggie Jackson, a professional baseball player.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Reverend Ike, an American clergyman born June 1, 1935, Ridgeland, S.C. .

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Roger Milla, a Cameroonian football (soccer) player, renowned for his impeccable technique and grace under pressure. A forward, he starred on the Cameroon national team that became the...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Roland Burris, an American Democratic politician who was the first African-American elected to statewide office in Illinois. His appointment as U.S. senator (2009-10) to fill the seat...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Sammy Price, an American pianist and bandleader, a jazz musician rooted in the old rhythm and blues and boogie-woogie traditions who had a long career as a soloist and accompanist.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Samuel David Ferguson, the first African American bishop of the Episcopal Church.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Samuel Freeman Miller, an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1862-90), a leading opponent of efforts to use the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution to protect business...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Savion Glover, an American dancer and choreographer who became known for his unique pounding style of tap dancing, called "hitting." He brought renewed interest in dance, particularly...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Sheryl Swoopes, an American basketball player who won three Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards (2000, 2002, 2005) and four WNBA titles...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Sonny Boy Williamson, an American blues vocalist and the first influential harmonica virtuoso, a self-taught player who developed several technical innovations on his instrument.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Sonny Terry, an American blues singer and harmonica player who became the touring and recording partner of guitarist Brownie McGhee in 1941.

Read about the persisitence of President Lyndon B. Johnson in finally enacting the momentous civil rights legislation, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Find out about his adversaries and allies in getting this legislation passed.