Mid-20th Century

A bout with a serious illness caused Helen Keller to become blind and deaf when she was 19 months old. She could not hear, see, or speak. Imagine how frustrating that must have been. Her teacher, Annie Sullivan, taught her to communicate and opened her world. Fun Facts Helen Keller…

Fun Facts Ella was born in 1917. She grew up in Yonkers, New York in a busy, vibrant neighborhood. She liked to play baseball with the other kids, listen to music, and dance and sing. Her stepfather, Joe, was a chauffeur and ditch digger. Her mother, Tempie, worked at a…

Horace Pippin was born in 1888. His grandparents had been slaves. His parents were poor. As a little boy, Horace liked to draw but his parents didn’t have money for art materials. When he was 10, Horace won a box of crayons in a contest. When he was 14, he left…

After Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, laws were passed that said that whites and blacks could ride together on any bus traveling through more than one state. But throughout the South, this practice was still not allowed. So white volunteers began riding with black…

Ruby Bridges was born during a time when black children and white children couldn’t go to school together. The law said schools for these children should be separate, but equal. But that’s not what happened. Schools for white children were almost always equipped with better supplies, better books, and better…

From gang member to world-famous baseball player, Jackie Robinson helped break down barriers for African American athletes, proving that they can not only compete, but excel, in a variety of sports. Jackie Robinson was the youngest of five children, born in 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. His father left the family…

They say necessity is the mother of invention; if that’s true, it’s no wonder African Americans have created so many useful products designed to make work easier or to save money. Fun Facts African Americans who were slaves often came up with ideas to make their work more efficient. They…

After the first world war, many African Americans migrated to the north, but some stayed in the south. They got jobs or farmed their own land. Their white neighbors didn’t always like them, especially if their crops were more successful. But World War II came, bringing change again. Fun Facts…

Rosa Parks stood up for herself at a time when no one else would. Her courage started a movement that led to greater equality for African Americans. Fun Facts Rosa Parks was born February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her parents separated when she was two years old. She and her…

The Soviet Union wasn’t the only country promoting communism. Since the late 1920s, Communist leader Mao Tse-tung had been trying to gain control of China from the Nationalist government led by Chiang Kai-shek. The two sides formed a truce during World War II to fight against the Japanese, but as…