Online Class: Twenty African Americans Who Changed History

no certificate
with CEU Certificate*
-
15Lessons
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32Exams &
Assignments -
138Students
have taken this course -
3Hours
average time -
0.3CEUs
Course Description
America was a vast wilderness when the first Africans arrived as a source of labor. As ever-greater numbers of African people were brought into the colonies, first as servants and then as enslaved men and women, the colonies were able to grow and flourish precisely because of their labor. Great numbers of unwilling workers were required, and these workers owned nothing, not even the clothes on their backs or the fruits of their labor.
This course examines the circumstances into which these African Americans were brought or born, and the obstacles they faced. It will begin with Francisco Menendez, who owned not even his own name, and go on to James Amistead, without whom British rule of the colonies might not have ended when it did. We'll look at the lives of those who documented, in painful detail, the horrors of slavery, such as Harriet Jacobs and William Wells Brown; we'll look at those who transcended their own status as slaves to attend and even found institutions of higher learning, such as Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois.
And we'll examine the Civil Rights Movement from its beginnings, through the eyes of visionaries such as Lucy Craft Laney and Mary McLeod Bethune, women who understood the necessity of education as a way for oppressed people to rise above their circumstances. We'll see American life through the eyes of men and women like Thurgood Marshall and Daisy Lee Gatson, who fought and ended school segregation, and people like Medgar Evers, who died for the cause.
The twenty men and women included in this course knew firsthand the wrongs that had to be set right, and they dedicated their lives to creating a better America, not only for themselves, but for those who would come after them.
- Completely Online
- Self-Paced
- 6 Months to Complete
- 24/7 Availability
- Start Anytime
- PC & Mac Compatible
- Android & iOS Friendly
- Accredited CEUs

Course Lessons
Lesson 1. In a Harsh Land
Lesson discussions: Course; Reasons for Taking this Course
Complete Assignment: An Introduction
Complete: Lesson 1 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 1 - In a Harsh Land
Lesson 2. Francisco Menendez and James Armistead. The Mose Militia and the Battle of Yorktown
Complete: Lesson 2 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 2 - Francisco Menendez and James Armistead: The Mose Militia and the Battle of Yorktown
Lesson 3. Benjamin Banneker. Speaking Truth to Power
Complete: Lesson 3 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 3 - Benjamin Banneker: Speaking Truth to Power
Lesson 4. Harriet Jacobs and William Wells Brown. The Slave Narrative from Two Perspectives
Complete: Lesson 4 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 4 - Harriet Jacobs and William Wells Brown: The Slave Narrative from Two Perspectives
Lesson 5. Frederick Douglass. Truth Is of No Color
Complete: Lesson 5 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 5 - Frederick Douglass: Truth Is of No Color
Lesson 6. George Washington Carver. Economic Stability through Botany
Complete: Lesson 6 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 6 - George Washington Carver: Economic Stability Through Botany
Lesson 7. Lugenia Burns Hope and Ida B. Wells. The Beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement
Complete: Lesson 7 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 7 - Lugenia Burns Hope and Ida B. Wells: The Beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement
Lesson 8. Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. from Conciliation to Rejection
Lesson discussions: African American History
Complete: Lesson 8 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 8 - Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois: From Conciliation to Rejection
Lesson 9. Lucy Craft Laney and Mary McLeod Bethune. Paving the Way for "The Educated Negro"
Complete: Lesson 9 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 9 - Lucy Craft Laney and Mary McLeod Bethune: Paving the Way for 'The Educated Negro'
Lesson 10. Thurgood Marshall and Daisy Lee Gatson. The Battle for Integrated Schools
Complete: Lesson 10 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 10 - Thurgood Marshall and Daisy Lee Gatson: The Battle for Integrated Schools
Lesson 11. Medgar Evers. One Martyr to the Cause
Complete: Lesson 11 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 11 - Medgar Evers: One Martyr to the Cause
Lesson 12. Septima Clark and Carter Woodson. The Queen Mother and the Father of Black History
Complete: Lesson 12 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 12 - Septima Clark and Carter Woodson: The Queen Mother and the Father of Black History
Lesson 13. Mabel Keaton Staupers and Alvin Poussaint. Toward Equality in Medicine
Complete: Lesson 13 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 13 - Mabel Keaton Staupers and Alvin Poussaint: Toward Equality in Medicine
Lesson 14. Shirley Chisholm: Unbought and Unbossed
Complete: Lesson 14 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 14 - Shirley Chisholm: Unbought and Unbossed
Lesson 15. Conclusion. From the Depths to the Heights
Lesson discussions: Influential African Americans; Program Evaluation Follow-up Survey (End of Course); Course Comments
Complete: Lesson 15 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 15 - Conclusion: From the Depths to the Heights
Assessment: The Final Exam
Learning Outcomes
- Summarize the contributions of Francisco Menendez and James Armistead.
- Summarize the contributions of Benjamin Banneker, Harriet Jacobs and William Wells Brown.
- Summarize the contributions of Frederick Douglass and George Washing Carver.
- George Washington Carver
- Summarize the contributions of Lugenia Burns Hope and Ida B. Wells
- Summarize the contributions of Booker T. Washington.
- Summarize the contributions of Lucy Craft Laney and Mary McLeod Bethune.
- Summarize the contributions of Thurgood Marshall and Daisy Lee Gatson.
- Summarize the contributions of The Queen Mother and the Father of Black History.
- Demonstrate mastery of lesson content at levels of 70% or higher.
Additional Course Information

- Document Your Lifelong Learning Achievements
- Earn an Official Certificate Documenting Course Hours and CEUs
- Verify Your Certificate with a Unique Serial Number Online
- View and Share Your Certificate Online or Download/Print as PDF
- Display Your Certificate on Your Resume and Promote Your Achievements Using Social Media

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Time to complete | 6 months |
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Time to complete | 6 months |
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Time to complete | 12 Months |
No. of courses | 600+ |
Certificates & CEUs
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Includes certificate |
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Includes CEUs |
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Self-paced |
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Instructor support |
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Time to complete | 24 Months |
No. of courses | 600+ |
Student Testimonials
- "Enjoyed the class and the comments instructor were helpful." -- Deborah B.
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