Discover the lives of 16 extraordinary Black Americans in this
engaging collection from Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner Tonya
Bolden
Untold numbers of Black men and women in America have achieved great
things against the odds. In this insightful book, award-winning author
Tonya Bolden commemorates the lives of sixteen Black individuals who
dared to dream, take risks, and chart courses to success. They were
Pathfinders.
In these pages you will meet Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who
was instrumental in putting U.S. astronauts on the moon; Venture
Smith, an African man who was enslaved in America but later bought his
own freedom; Richard Potter, a magician whose methods paved the way
for entertainers like Harry Houdini; Sissieretta Jones, an opera
singer who captivated audiences all over the world with her enchanting
voice; James Forten, a powder boy then prisoner of war during the
Revolution who grew up to be one of Philadelphia's leading abolitionists
and wealthiest citizens; James McCune Smith, the first Black
university-trained physician in the United States; Mary Bowser, a
spy during the Civil War; Allen Allensworth, town founder; Clara
Brown, one of the first Black women to settle in what would become
Colorado; Maggie Lena Walker, the first Black woman to run a bank;
Charlie Wiggins, a race car driver; Eugene Bullard, a combat
pilot in World War I; Oscar Micheaux, filmmaker; Jackie Ormes,
cartoonist; Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, an economist and
attorney who fought for civil rights; and Paul R. Williams,
architect of luxury homes and many iconic buildings in Los Angeles.
