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.