In celebration of Black History Month, PSP highlights the contributions that these scholars have made to history and American culture.

These six scholars have made great strides for academia, art and medicine and provide inspiration to our scholars today. We profile them below.

• Marian Wright Edelman
  • Ms. Wright Edelman is an American activist for the rights of children. She has been an advocate for disadvantaged Americans for her entire professional life. She is president and founder of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF). The CDF’s mission is to improve federal policies concerning child welfare and public education systems. You can read more about Ms. Wright Edelman here.

• Maya Angelou
  • Ms. Angelou was an American poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She is perhaps most famous for her best-selling, award-winning autobiographical book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, about her upbringing in the South. The book was one of the first ever written by a black woman to garner widespread readership, according to The New York Times. You can read more about Ms. Angelou here.

• Gwendolyn Brooks
  • Ms. Brooks was an American poet, author, and teacher. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry on May 1, 1950, for Annie Allen making her the first African American to receive the Pulitzer. You can read more about Ms. Brooks here.

• Booker T. Washington
  • Mr. Washington  was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to presidents of the United States. He was born into slavery and became the leading voice of the former slaves and their descendants. He also founded the Tuskegee Institute, a black school in Alabama devoted to training teachers. You can learn more about Mr. Washington here.

• Charles Drew
  • Dr. Drew as the First black surgeon examiner of the American Board of Surgery. He revolutionized medicine by creating a system that allowed the immediate and safe transfusion of blood plasma. He also managed two of the largest blood banks during World War II. Dr. Drew’s legacy is honored at Los Angeles’ Charles R. Drew University. You can learn more about Dr. Drew here.

• Alexander L. Twilight
  • Mr. Twilight was an American educator, minister and politician. He was the first African-American man known to have earned a bachelor’s degree from an American college or university, graduating from Middlebury College in 1823. He was licensed as a Congregational preacher and worked in education and ministry all his career. You can learn more about Mr. Twilight here.