February is known, not only as the month of love, but also as a month to celebrate America’s rich African American history. Below are seven of the most influential African American figures of the last 300 years:

Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784) — Wheatley was sold into slavery at the age of seven, Wheatley learned to read and write with the help of her eighteen year old mistress. From captivity, she discovered a love for poetry that earned her the praise of presidents and other founding fathers. To this day, she is the first recorded African American woman to earn a living off of her writings.

Ida B. Wells (1832-1961) —Wells was an African American journalist, suffragist, and a key leader of the civil rights movement. She began her career as an investigative journalist, shedding light on the horrors of lynching. A precursor of Rosa Parks, she was a newspaper editor and publisher, co-founder of the NAACP, political candidate, mother, wife, and the single most powerful leader in the anti-lynching campaign in America.

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) —Martin Luther King, Jr., was an American pastor, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs. Throughout his life, King won a Nobel Peace Prize for combatting racial injustices and inspired millions of people to push towards a more accepting future.

Malcolm X (1925-1965) —Malcolm was an African-American Muslim minister and a human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who, unlike Martin Luther King Jr. confronted racists with violent protests, which provided him with the reaction that fueled his campaign: more violence. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history.

Jackie Robinson (1919-1972) —Robinson was an American baseball player who became the first black man to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson crossed the color line when the Brooklyn Dodgers started him at first base in 1947. In doing so, he and his team ended the racial segregation that had cast African American ball players to the “Negro Leagues.” Robinson’s character, his use of nonviolence, and his unquestionable talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation, which then marked many other aspects of American life.

Oprah Winfrey (1954-Present) — Beginning her career as a news host for the low-rated Chicago A.M., Winfrey has grown into a national symbol of wealth and philanthropic actions. In 2004, Winfrey became the first African American to rank among the 50 most generous Americans, and continued to do so until 2014. By 2012, she had given an estimated $400 million toward funding education, including the opening of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Barack Obama (1961-Present) — Obama is the current President of the United States and the first African American to be elected so. His appointment to office in 2008 and his re-election four years later has been accompanied by vast social reform as well as foreign policy change. In October of 2009, Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his, “…extraordinary efforts to strengthen diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”