was traveling with the track
and field team during
university, he would have to
eat in different restaurants
and sleep in different hotels
because of segregation. In
1935 he broke three world
records and made the
equivalent of the then world record of the 100m sprint. In the 1936 Olympics during Nazi Germany and, as mentioned before, he won four gold medals and this irritated Hitler as he wanted to show off the superiority of Europeans.
4. James Baldwin
A gay black writer was not the usual during the mid 20th century, which is exactly what made James Baldwin infamous. He was a novelist, an activist and a playwright during his time. Baldwin had
relationships with many other black influential people during the time like Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr. He inspired many people, including his cousin and close friend who won a Nobel Peace Prize, and said that James Baldwin had shown her courage and love to get her through her