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Phillis Wheatley
Phillis Wheatley was born in 1753 in West Africa. It is unknown exactly where she was taken from, or her true name. She was captured and sold into American slavery, and bought by the Wheatley family. A ship named the “Phillis” brought Wheatley to Boston where she was tutored and taught to read by her owner’s wife, daughter, and son, she was given the name of the ship she traveled on. By age 12 she could read Greek and Latin text. When she matured more, she and her owner’s son, John left America, for London to have a better chance of getting her poems published. In 1773 Phillis was not only able to get her book of poems published, but she was also emancipated. Wheatley is known for being the first African American woman to publish a book of poetry.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor “Lew Alcindor” in 1947, in New York. Abdul-Jabbar was 5’9 at the age of 9 and by the time he reached the age of 13 he was 6’8. He attended UCLA and won 3 NCAA championships. He went on to be drafted by the Bucks and led them to an NBA championship at the age of 24. He changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and demanded to be traded, in which he was traded to the Lakers. He went on to take the Lakers to win 5 NBA championships. He has 6 NBA championship rings and is still currently the NBAs all time leading scorer. Abdul-Jabbar was voted ESPNs second best player of all time behind Micheal Jordan. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wowed the crowd with his unblock-able “skyhook” shot, and his unbothered demeanor, a living legend.
Robert Small’s
Robert Small’s was a slave born in South Carolina. During the civil war he was a steerer for the confederate ship the planter. One night when the ships people were inland he took the ship picked up his family and then sailed through 3 confederate check points to deliver the ship and important info to the Union Army. Small went on to become part of congress and was able to purchase his former masters plantation. On this Juneteenth we want to honor an American Hero ROBERT SMALLS his story should be inspiring to the masses.
Serena Williams
Serena Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1981. Williams was the youngest of 5 children, born to two black parents. The family moved to Compton California when Serena was 4. Serena and her sister Venus grew up playing tennis on the Junior Circuit were Serena’s record was 40-3 before her dad pulled her out to focus on school work. The family moved to Florida so the two sisters could attend Rick Macci’s tennis academy, until her 9th grade year. Mr. Williams, the sisters father trained and coached them after pulling them out of the school. In 2002 Williams ended the season with a 56/4 record only other African American to hold this record is Althea Gibson. That year she defeated the 1-3 rankings in a single tournament making her the new number 1 ranked player. Williams has won 23 titles the most won by any man or woman in the open era of tennis. She has been ranked number 1, eight times and held the ranking for a total of 319 weeks making her 3rd amongst open era female tennis players. A living legend Serena Williams is arguably the best athlete of our generation.