At just 6, Ruby Bridges braved angry crowds to attend an all-white school—becoming the first Black student to integrate in Louisiana.

In 1784, Virginia native James Hemings traveled to Paris with Thomas Jefferson, becoming the first American trained in French cuisine.

Learn about the life and work of Civil Rights activist and two-time presidential candidate Jesse Jackson in this video.

Bayard Rustin, a key advisor to MLK Jr., helped plan the 1963 March on Washington but had to work in the shadows as a gay man.