Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-224) and index

Estevanico : black presence in the Americas -- The first Rhode Island ; Peter Salem ; Salem Poor ; James Armistead Lafayette ; Crispus Attucks -- Joseph Cinque : black revolt -- Frederick Douglass : freedom on the world stage -- Harriet Tubman : freedom in the shadows -- Bass Reeves : black individualism in the West -- Blacks in the military -- Lewis H. Latimer : black intellectual achievement -- Rosa Parks : black heart

"In Black Profiles in Courage, [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar] focuses on extraordinarily courageous black men and women who typified the virtues of integrity, discipline, and self-respect. Taken together, their lives form a legacy from which African Americans of all ages can draw inspiration, wisdom, and pride." "Some of these courageous heroes include Peter Salem - the slave, blacksmith, and volunteer soldier who turned the tide at Bunker Hill; Joseph Cinque - the leader of a daring revolt on the slave ship Amistad; Frederick Douglass - a self-taught writer and orator who escaped slavery and became one of the most famous black leaders of the nineteenth century; Harriet Tubman - the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad, who was also a spy and scout for the Union Army; Lewis Latimera son of slaves, whose scientific work was integral to the achievements of Alexander Graham Bell, Hiram S. Maxim, and Thomas Edison." --Book Jacket