Famous Firsts of Black Americans

By Sibyl Hancock

Did you know that Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable founded what was to become Chicago? That Charles Richard Drew invented a method of preserving plasma for blood transfusions? Or that Phyllis Wheatley wrote a poem about George Washington, and as a result was invited to meet him?

These are only three of the twenty black men and women you will learn about in Famous Firsts of Black Americans . This historical overview, geared to elementary and junior high school students, focuses on notable black people who made unusual and important contributions, and helped shape the destiny of America. Arranged chronologically, the brief biographies include those who made significant contributions in the fields of science, politics, sports, and the arts-from Estevanico Dorentez, an early Spanish explorer, to Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play major league baseball. Also included are: Crispus Attucks, Benjamin Banneker, Richard Allen, York, Jan Matzelinger, Bill Pickett, George Washington Carver, Matthew Henson, Charles Henry Turner, W. C. Handy, Jack Johnson, Hugh Mulzac, Frederick McKinley Jones, Ralph Bunche, and Marian Anderson. Sibyl Hancock is the author of fourteen previous books, including Old Blue, which was an ALA Notable Book in 1980 and was on the master list of the Texas Bluebonnet Award and the Washington State Children's Choice Picture Book Award.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Sep 30, 1983
• ISBN: 9781455604081

Book preview

Explorer

ESTEVANICO DORANTEZ

[graphic][graphic]

ESTEVANICO DORANTEZ

(Born about 1500-Died 1539)

Estevanico Dorantez was a tall black man who sailed from Spain more than four hundred years ago. He was with a group of men who were searching for new lands beyond the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was wrecked when it hit coral reefs on the Florida coast. Many crewmen died in the wreck, and unfriendly Indians killed most of the survivors. Estevanico and three Spaniards were the only ones left alive.

For eight years they traveled through swamps and deserts before finally reaching Mexico City in 1536. During this long trek, the four men lived with the Indians, and Estevanico learned to speak many Indian languages. He wore colorful clothes and often danced with the Indians, who thought of him as one of their own.

In 1539 Friar Marcos de Niza of Mexico City decided to lead an expedition to the lands to the north. He had heard stories about rich cities with streets paved with gold, the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola. He asked Estevanico to be the guide.

Estevanico traveled ahead of the main group, taking only a few Indians with him. The Indians could not speak Spanish, so Estevanico agreed to send Friar Marcos a cross made of twigs or tree branches to report his findings. A small cross would mean he had found nothing out of the ordinary. But if he found great cities he would send back a large cross.

One day two Indians brought a large cross to Friar Marcos. The Mexicans were excited. They wondered if this meant that Estevanico had found the Seven Cities of gold.

Friar Marcos and his men did not find the Seven Cities, but they did find a settlement of large Indian pueblos standing four stories high. Estevanico was never seen again. The Indians of the settlement had killed him because they feared he would try to conquer them. Estevanico had not found a golden city, but he had made an important discovery. He had opened the way to the territory that is now New Mexico and Arizona.

Patriot

CRISPUS ATTUCKS

[graphic][graphic]

CRISPUS ATTUCKS

(Born about 1723-Died 1770)

In 1770 the land