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Bessie Coleman was born into poverty and picked cotton to help support her family. As WWI ended, her dream was to fly, but every flying school turned her down because of her gender and race.
African-Americans have contributed to American society in every walk of life, and one purpose of Black History Month is to call attention to some of those who may have escaped notice. Here are 10 brief biographies from the Profile America series produced by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Zora Neale Hurston was one of the great talents of the Harlem Renaissance - but had to work as a manicurist to support herself.
A century ago, bread bought at stores was hand-made, a time intensive process. That changed when a baker from Boston, Joseph Lee, invented the automatic bread-making machine.
Thousands of Americans owe their lives to the inventions of Garrett Morgan. The son of former slaves, Morgan invented the gas mask.
When William Grant Still mounted the podium and began conducting the L.A. Philharmonic in 1936, it marked the first time that an African-American had led a major symphonic orchestra.
From the U.S. Census Bureau
Sarah Breedlove Walker was born the daughter of former slaves and orphaned at the age of seven. She went on to become America's first African American woman millionaire business-owner.
Faced with the loss of her own hair from a scalp ailment, Walker - by then known as Madame C. J. Walker - invented a new hair-care process and began marketing a line of cosmetics for black women in 1905. She funded scholarships and donated funds that allowed Frederick Douglass's home to be turned into a museum.
Now, 38 percent of the nation's African American owned businesses are headed by women -- a higher percentage than any other minority race or ethnic group.
This profile is adapted from Profile America, a radio series produced by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2004.
