FREE ESSAY ON ONE MORE RIVER TO CROSS

ONE MORE RIVER TO CROSS

One More River to Cross
Crispus Attucks
Crispus Attucks was the first American to die in cause of independence. He was born a
slave in 1725, in Massachusetts. He was an expert livestock trader. On March 5, 1770, he
left dinner after hearing strange fire bells. He then gathered an angry mob and went to
where a British soldier was staying. The soldier shot into the crowd killing Attucks and
injuring other civilians. Thousands attended his funeral. 
Madam C. J. Walker
Madam C. J. Walker was the first American woman to earn 1 million dollars. On December
23, 1867, she was born into a racist society. She grew up working in the laundry mats,
trying to invent a hair product for regrowth. A black man told the ingredients in a dream
she had one night. She set up her own business and sold her products worldwide. In 1919,
she died of kidney failure. Her business is still running today.
Matthew Henson
Matthew Henson was one of the first two people to reach the North Pole. He was born in
Maryland, 1866. He had many jobs by age 14 in Baltimore. He worked on a ship at age 19;
he sailed around by China. Then he met another captain. They made trips up north to reach
the pole and met many disasters. He reached the pole in 1909 and he died in 1955.
Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson was born February 17, 1902, in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At age
6, she joined her church's junior choir. From high school on she sung at churches, clubs,
and organizations. She had won a contest in New York a few years later. She traveled to
Europe to help herself with her opera pronouncing. She was very famous in Europe. She had
performed in the White House for President Roosevelt. She set up funds for young
musicians with her money from contests. She was a very good singer until 1993, when she
died.
Dr. Romare Bearden
Romare Bearden is the most celebrated black American artist of the 20th century. He was
born on September 2, 1912, in Charlotte, North Carolina. He became the organist at his
church at a young age. After high school, he went to Boston University to study medicine.
He was an excellent pitcher. After a year he transferred to New York University. He drew
political comics for newspapers. He graduated in 1935 with a math degree. He had liked
art very much. In 1936 he went to the Manhattan Art School for one and a half years. He
traveled to Paris in 1949 to continue his art career. He opened shows and museums to show
all his work. He was a success all over the world. He died in 1988 of bone cancer.
Frannie Lou Hamer
Frannie Lou Hamer reached national fame by her courage and determination against
discrimination. She was born in 1917 in Montgomery County, Mississippi. At age 6 after
surviving polio she started working in the fields. She was a married sharecropper at age
27. She worked as a maid. When she registered to vote her owner kicked her out. She
became a major leader of the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee). In 1970,
Ruleville had "Frannie Lou Hamer Day" for her accomplishments. She died of cancer on
March 15, 1977.
Eddie Robinson
In 1986, Eddie Robinson became the most "winningest" football coach. He was born on
February 12, 1919, in Jackson, Louisiana. As a child he had worked on his farm. In high
school he played many sports. For his football skills he got a scholarship to Leland
College. He graduated in 1941. By age 22 he was a football coach at Grambling College. By
1949, he sent over 200 players to the NFL. In 1968 he started to travel around the U.S.
with his team making money. He traveled to Japan and all over the world. In his 55 years
at Grambling he has broken many records.
Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm was very important during the civil rights movement. She started "Ms."
because she thought people shouldn't be judged by if they are married or not. She was
born 1924, in Brooklyn, New York. She got good grades in high school; she graduated in
1942 then majored in sociology at Brooklyn College. She took night classes while she was
a teacher so she could get her masters degree in education. In 1964 she ran for state
assembly and won. In 1968 she ran for Congress and won. In 1972 she ran president of a
major party after being encouraged by all her friends and colleagues. She did not win.
She retired from politics in 1972 and left congress in 1982. Then she started to teach
politics.
Malcolm X
Malcolm was born May 19, 1925. As a child he shined shoes. When he was older he became a
hustler; he sold drugs and robbed people. He was sent to prison in 1946. While in prison,
he read about slavery and blacks. He turned Islam and in 1952 he was out of jail. He was
against nonviolent civil acts. All his ways were related to Islam and he compared
everything to Islam. His leader, Mr. Muhammad, named him first national minister. He
spoke for the cause of blacks. Years later he went to talk on stage, then two men ran
down the isle firing at him and killing him. He never got to pursue his dream of a white
and black organization.
Ronald McNair
Ronald died when the Challenger space shuttle crashed. He was born on October 21, 1950,
in Lake City, South Carolina. He was very good in school. He went to North Carolina A&T.
He took classes at the local YMCA and went to MIT. He then graduated and continued to
take physics at MIT. He worked in research labs, and in these years President Kennedy
started the space program. He was trained as an astronaut. He flew in Challenger and
orbited the earth. It was to fly on January 28, 1986, as it launched it went up in a
fireball. He and all the astronauts were killed. His family set up a fund for people
wanting to attend college. MIT named their space program after Ronald McNair.
Ralph Bunche
In 1950, Ralph Bunche was the first black American to win the Nobel peace prize, for
bringing Israel and its neighbors together. He was born on August 7, 1904, in Detroit,
Michigan. He had excellent grades, so he went to UCLA while working two jobs. After UCLA
he went to Harvard and got his masters degree in government. In 1934 he got his Ph.D. in
political science. In 1944 during World War 2, he was the first black American to hold a
desk job. After he helped to organize the United Nations, he served as a guide for
Africans. He died in 1965 from bad health.
Charles R. Drew
Charles R. Drew saved thousands of lives by finding out how to keep blood stored for a
long time. He was born on June 3, 1904, in Washington DC. He was a good athlete all his
life. He went to Amherst College in Amherst Massachusetts. He graduated in 1926 and
taught biology. After getting money for medical school, he went to McGill University in
Montreal. He worked at hospitals and helped in World War 2. He won many awards. He was
the first black to get a doctors degree in science for forming a blood bank. He worked in
surgery. In 1950 when driving home at two a.m., he fell asleep and tipped his car over
and was killed instantly. No one else was killed.