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Profile America for the 29th day of Black History Month. Born in Washington, D.C., Benjamin O. Davis Jr. had a lot to live up to. His father became the Army's first black general in 1940. The junior Davis graduated from West Point in 1936, and in March of 1942, earned his pilot's wings. He went on to command the 99th Fighter Squadron, the famous "Tuskegee Airmen." This group, flying red tailed P-51 Mustangs, had an enviable record escorting bombers and keeping them safe from enemy fighters. Davis, known for bravery in combat, and with a distinguished military record, became the air force's first black general in 1954. Today in the U.S., there are just under 2 million surviving veterans of World War II, including the African pilots of the Tuskegee Airmen. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: The U.S. Air Force
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 521
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the 28th day of Black History Month. Sports fans know the tennis greats, sisters Venus and Serena Williams. But they may not know the path was blazed for them over 50 years ago, when Althea Gibson became the first African-American to compete in the U.S. Nationals. Her story is one odd drive and talent overcoming poverty to become one of the best tennis players in the world. In 1956, Gibson was the first black to win the French championship. The next year she was also the first to Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals, an achievement she repeated the following year. In the U.S. today, there are 260,000 professional athletes, coaches, and umpires -- 35 percent of them female, and just over 7 percent African-American. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: www.altheagibson.com/biography
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 616
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the 27th day of Black History Month. Across America, there are just under 2 million black-owned businesses. This represents a gain of more than 60 percent in just five years. In addition, these businesses employed more than 920,000 -- a gain of more than one-fifth in the same time period. One of the top 10 firms is World Wide Technology, which had revenue of $3.2 billion in 2010 for its products and consulting services. The firm's headquarters is in Maryland Heights, Missouri. Among cities, New York has the most black-owned businesses, at just over 8 percent of the U.S. total, followed by Chicago, Houston, and Detroit. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau--Measuring America: People, Places and Our Economy. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: www.theroot.com/multimedia/nation-s-top-10-black-owned-companies
U.S. Census Bureau, News Release CB11-24
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/business_ownership/cb11-24.html

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Profile America for the 26th day of Black History Month. Airline passengers who take for granted the ability to press the call button above their seat to get the attention of a flight attendant owe a debt of gratitude to someone they probably never heard of. Miriam Benjamin was a Washington, D.C. school teacher when she got an idea for a chair she called the Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels." Guests pressed a button on the chair, which sent a signal to a waiting attendant. At the same time, a light was illuminated on the chair, showing which guest needed attention. Benjamin received a patent in 1888 -- the second African-American woman to do so. The system was a predecessor of the system universally used on airliners around the world. In the U.S., more than 700 million passengers fly every year. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: Black Inventor Online Museum
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 1073
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the 25th day of Black History Month. One of the pioneers who moved West in 1844 was an African-American named George Washington Bush. His hope was to escape the discrimination of Missouri, but when he arrived in the Oregon territory, he found the same attitudes. So he moved across the Columbia River into the British controlled area in search of good land -- what is now the state of Washington. The success of his settlement drew other Americans, and some historians say their presence was a factor that strengthened the successful American claim to the area, now Washington state. In 1850, the area had a population of 1,000. Now, the state is home to 6.7 million people. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: The Oregon Historical Society
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 36
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 16
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the 24th day of Black History Month. While everyone knows that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball in 1947, it is largely forgotten that the groundwork for that event was laid more than 40 years earlier. In 1903, the Ohio Wesleyan baseball team played an away game against Notre Dame. The team's catcher was a young African-American, Charles Thomas. When he was denied lodging at the team's hotel in South Bend, Indiana, the Ohio Wesleyan baseball coach, Branch Rickey, had Thomas share his room. Years later, Rickey said the racist incident was his inspiration to sign Jackie Robinson with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Today, African-Americans are part of all major league baseball teams, which draw 74.5 million fans each year to their games. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: http://blackcollegenines.com
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 1245
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the 23rd day of Black History Month. Augusta Savage knew at an early age that she wanted to be a sculptor. Winning a prize at a county fair in Florida in 1919 only made her more certain of her career. Moving to New York, she became part of the flourishing Harlem arts scene. She won a coveted fellowship in 1929 and the opportunity to study in Paris. Upon her return, she began teaching and opened a studio so African-Americans could learn about their culture by studying fine arts. She arranged for black artists to receive commissions from a Depression-era federal agency and opened the first African-American art gallery in New York. In the U.S., there are more than 25,000 art dealers, who sell over $9.5 billion in paintings, sculpture, and drawings each year. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: 2007 Economic Census, NAICS 453920
http://www.census.gov/econ/industry/hierarchy/i453920.htm

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Profile America for the 22nd day of Black History Month. Few people knew more about heating and air conditioning than David Crosthwait. When not many African-Americans did so, he had earned bachelor and masters degrees in engineering by 1920 and spent his entire working years improving the systems that make life easier for all of us today. He held 39 patents for heating systems, vacuum pumps, refrigeration methods and temperature regulating devices. His most famous job was designing the heating system for Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center in New York City. In 1975 -- the year before he died -- Crosthwait was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from his old alma mater, Purdue University. There are 293,000 mechanical engineers in the U.S. today, just over 3 percent of them African-Americans. You can find these and more facts about the African-American population on the Web at <www.census.gov>.
I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 616
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the 21st day of Black History Month. Phillis Wheatley was brought to Colonial America as a young slave from Senegal and was purchased by a Boston tailor. Unusual for the time, he allowed her to learn to read and write, and she wrote her first poetry at age 14. The first volume of her work, called "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral," was published in England when she was 20 and was well received in Europe and the U.S. General George Washington invited Wheatley to visit his headquarters after he read a poem she had written about him in 1776. Each year in the U.S., books by African-American authors are among the more than $27 billion of new books sold across the country. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: www.masshist.org/endofslavery/?queryID=57
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 1134
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the 20th day of Black History Month. In his 38-year career in the Navy, Samuel Gravely Jr. accomplished many things -- all under the floodlight of publicity. In World War II, he was among the first black naval officers. In 1962, he became the first African-American to command a combat ship in the Navy -- a destroyer escort. Gravely went on to become the first black admiral, retiring as a three-star vice admiral. His assignments included commanding the 3rd Fleet, and the Defense Communications Agency. In 2009, a new destroyer was named after Samuel Gravely. Today, there are just over 1 million ready reservists in the military, 148,000 of them African-American. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: www.arlingtoncemetery.net/samuel-gravely.htm
Kane's Famous First Facts, 5295
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 514
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the 19th day of Black History Month. One of the nation's most influential African-American businessmen was born on this date in 1918. John H. Johnson was born in Arkansas City, Arkansas into abject poverty and went on to build a huge publishing empire. His first venture came in 1942, called "Negro Digest." Three years later, he launched "Ebony," followed by "Jet" in 1951. He served the U.S. as Goodwill Ambassador and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996 for "building self-respect in the black community." Even with the booming electronic publishing industry, there are just over 8,000 magazine and periodical publishers in the U.S., producing paper products worth $46 billion a year. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: The History Makers
2007 Economic Census, NAICS 51112
http://www.census.gov/econ/industry/hierarchy/i51112.htm

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Profile America for the 18th day of Black History Month. Wilma Rudolph's story is almost hard to believe. As a child, she had double pneumonia and scarlet fever, and could not walk without braces until the age of 11. Just a few years later, in the 1960 Olympics in Rome, she earned the title of the "world's fastest woman," winning gold medals for the 100 and 200 meter dash, and anchoring the 400-meter relay. After retiring as a runner, Rudolph worked for a youth foundation in Chicago to develop girls' track and field teams. Across the U.S., 470,000 young women participate on high school track and field teams. At the college level, more than 46,000 young women are active in their school's indoor and outdoor tracks teams. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/rudo-wil.htm
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 1247, 1248
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the 17th day of Black History Month. Mae Jemison has several distinctions. She is the first African-American woman to travel into space and the only astronaut to appear on the television show "Star Trek." She was on an eight-day mission aboard the shuttle "Endeavor," and appeared in an episode of "Star Trek, The Next Generation," called "Second Chances." Before being selected by NASA for the astronaut training program, Jemison had earned two undergraduate degrees, a medical degree and served two years as a Peace Corps medical officer in West Africa -- all before her 30th birthday. Among African-American adults, 1.5 million hold advanced degrees, compared to 900,000 10 years earlier. You can find these and more facts about the African-American population on the Web at <www.census.gov>.
I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/jemison-mc.html
U.S. Census Bureau, Facts for Features, CB12-FF.01
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb12-ff01.html

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Profile America for the 16th day of Black History Month. One of the more notable African-American journalists is Eugene Robinson, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2009 for his columns on the 2008 presidential campaign. He was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina and went to the University of Michigan, where he worked on the school paper. Starting his career with the San Francisco Chronicle, Robinson joined The Washington Post in 1980. He worked his way up, becoming London bureau chief and assistant managing editor. He now often appears on various shows on the MSNBC cable channel and as a panelist on NBCs "Meet the Press." There are 81,000 reporters, news analysts, and correspondents in the U.S., 3 percent of them African- American. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: www.postwritersgroup.com/robinson.htm
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 616
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the 15th day of Black History Month. One of the most important figures in the history of jazz, Louis Armstrong -- nicknamed "Satchmo" -- was born in New Orleans on August 4, 1901. To honor its native son, the city hosts a major jazz festival every year. While the exact date of Armstrong's birth was the subject of confusion for years, his impact on jazz and popular music was never in dispute. His innovative playing helped define not only the jazz trumpet but jazz itself. Jazz continues to have a relatively small but fiercely loyal group of fans. About 8 percent of adults attend a live jazz performance each year, and jazz accounts for some 3 percent of recordings sold annually. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1102
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009/2009edition.html
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 1238
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the 14th day of Black History Month. The highest recognition of a lawyer's abilities is to be admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court. The first African-American to achieve that honor was John Rock, admitted to practice before the highest court in 1865. Rock was an M.D. who practiced both medicine and dentistry, as well as an attorney. Active in the abolitionist movement, he died at the age of 41, just a year after being admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court. The first African-American woman lawyer admitted to practice before the Supreme Court was Violette Anderson of Chicago, who was admitted in 1926. Today in the U.S., there are just over 1 million lawyers, 31.5 percent of them female, and more than 4 percent African-American. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: African American Registry
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 616
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the 13th day of Black History Month. On October 16, 1972, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City staged a performance of Puccini's "La Boheme," as it had done many times before. But this time was special, as the conductor, Henry Lewis, was the first African- American to conduct the orchestra at the famous opera house. Lewis' appearance at the Met was preceded by other landmarks. At 16, he became the first black instrumentalist with a major U.S. orchestra, then the first to conduct a world class orchestra, and the first to become music director of a major orchestra. Today, there are 182,000 musicians, singers, and other music-related professionals in the U.S., nearly 14 percent of them African-American. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: African American Registry
Kane's Famous First Facts, 1339
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 616
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the 12th day of Black History Month. The first African-American newspaper in the U.S. was published in New York City on March 16, 1827. Called Freedom's Journal, it was the work of John Russwurm -- the first black college graduate -- and his partner, Samuel Cornish. An anti-slavery paper, it was published for two years. Today, there are just under 2 million black-owned businesses. This represents a gain of more than 60 percent in just five years. In addition, these businesses employed more than 920,000 people -- a gain of more than one-fifth in the same time period. Among cities, New York has the most black-owned businesses, at just over 8 percent of the U.S. total, followed by Chicago, Houston, and Detroit. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: www.wisconsinhistory.org/libraryarchives/aanp/freedom
U.S. Census Bureau, News Release, CB11-24
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/business_ownership/cb11-24.html

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Profile America for the 11th day of Black History Month. The name Virginia Dare, the first child born to English settlers in America in 1587, is well known. The name William Tucker has much less recognition. He was the first African-American child born in the American Colonies and was baptized on January 3, 1624, in Jamestown, Virginia. Two hundred years later, the census had counted 1.8 million black residents in the U.S. Today, that number is just over 42 million, 13.6 percent of the nation's residents. By the year 2050, it is projected that the number of African-Americans will be 65.7 million, 15 percent of the total U.S. population. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Time to 1970, p. 17
U.S. Census Bureau, Facts for Features, CB12-FF.01
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb12-ff01.html
The Black Population: 2010
http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-06.pdf

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Profile America for the 10th day of Black History Month. Willa Brown was the first African-American woman to earn a commercial pilot's license. Her love of flying was such that when she started taking flying lessons, she bought her own plane. She received her pilot's license in 1937, along with a master's degree from Northwestern University. The next year, Willa Brown started her own flying school, training some 200 African-American pilots through 1945. Some of these pilots later became part of the Tuskegee Airmen, the famous African-American fighter squadron in World War II. She also became the first black woman in the Civil Air Patrol. Today, over 594,000 Americans hold pilots' licenses, close to 37,000 of them women. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: www.distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/brown-wb.html
www.womeninaviation.com/willa.html
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 616
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the ninth day of Black History Month. Martin Robinson Delany had many careers -- doctor, editor, author, politician, judge, and army officer. He used his talents toward abolishing slavery and promoting emigration for African-Americans. He went to Harvard to become a physician, and during the Civil War recruited soldiers for all-black units in the Union Army. He attained the rank of major, becoming the first African-American with a regular army commission. After the war, Delany was active in politics, wrote several books, and became a judge. In his final years, he returned to the practice of medicine. Today in the U.S., there are 872,000 physicians and surgeons -- 6 percent of them African-American. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: http://encyclopediavirginia.org/Delany_Martin_R_1812-1885
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 616
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the eighth day of Black History Month. The first radio station owned and operated by African-Americans went on the air 63 years ago -- WERD in Atlanta, featuring popular DJ Jack Gibson. A radio news network aimed at African-Americans was the National Black Network, started in 1973, now known as the American Urban Radio Networks. Today's radio dial is fragmented according to the format of stations listeners prefer. The most popular format is news-talk, closely followed by stations appealing to fans of country music each with more than 2,000 stations. There are more than 14,400 radio stations across the nation, about 60 percent broadcasting on FM. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 6302
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 1132
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the seventh day of Black History Month. A century ago, bread bought in stores was handmade, a time and labor intensive process. That changed when an African-American food executive from Boston, Joseph Lee, invented an automatic bread-making machine. This device mixed the ingredients and then kneaded the dough, dropping the cost of making bread while increasing production. Lee also developed a machine to eliminate the waste of unsold bread by recycling the loaves into bread crumbs, which proved to be popular in restaurants the world over. Today in the U.S., African-American families buy an average of $241 worth of bakery products annually. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau--Measuring America: People, Places and Our Economy. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: www.blackinventor.com
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 686
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the sixth day of Black History Month. The late Virginia Hamilton has been called "a majestic presence" in children's literature." She was greatly influenced by growing up on a small Ohio farm and by her extended family -- but especially by her parents, who were gifted storytellers. Hamilton went on to write or edit more than 35 children's books -- many of them reflecting the life of African-Americans. Her works, such as "M.C. Higgins the Great," won nearly every award possible, including the National Book Award, the Newbery Medal, and the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. Virginia Hamilton was also the first children's writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. There are 200,000 writers and authors in the U.S. -- about 4 percent of them African-American. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: www.virginiahamilton.com
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 616
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the fifth day of Black History Month. One of the earliest African-American intellectuals was Benjamin Banneker, born in Baltimore County, Maryland in 1731. Largely self-taught, he was an author, scientist, publisher and urban planner. Banneker assisted in the survey of the land that is now Washington, D.C. When the architect of the city, Pierre L'Enfant, left town with all his plans, Banneker saved the day by recreating them -- from memory. He also became an accomplished astronomer and published a popular almanac during the early years of the nation. There are 318,000 civil engineers in the U.S., 5 percent of them African-American. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau--Measuring America: People, Places and Our Economy. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: www.blackinventor.com
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 616
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the fourth day of Black History Month. One of the people responsible for the way Americans eat today is Frederick Jones. From his army duties in World War I, he became a self-taught master of everything electrical. The inspiration for his most notable invention was a conversation with a truck driver who had lost a shipment of chickens on a hot day. As a result, Jones developed the first automatic refrigeration system for long-haul trucks in 1935. The device is also used in ships and trains. Jones ultimately was awarded more than 60 patents. Most recent statistics show the U.S. granted 244,000 patents annually. Of these, 220,000 were for inventions. Almost 17,000 were awarded to individuals. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 778
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the third day of Black History Month. As the presidential campaigns heat up, there are competing charges of vote fraud and vote suppression. It hasn't always been easy for all Americans to cast their vote in elections. It took the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, ratified after the Civil War, to establish that the right to vote could not be denied because of race. Discrimination in the registration of voters was prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That same year, poll taxes were eliminated in federal elections by the 24th Amendment, and federal court rulings did the same thing at the state level four years later. In the last presidential election, 65 percent of eligible African-American citizens turned out to vote, about 5 percentage points more than the 2004 election. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Facts for Features, CB12-FF.12
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb12-ff01.html

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Profile America for the second day of Black History Month. On the list of those who have been awarded the nation's highest honor is Milton Olive III, a slightly built young man from the South Side of Chicago. Pfc Olive was a member of the 503rd Infantry Regiment fighting in Vietnam, as he and four fellow soldiers were pursuing the enemy through the jungle, a grenade suddenly landed in their midst. Olive saved the lives of his fellow soldiers by throwing himself on top of the grenade, his body absorbing its full blast. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for this extraordinary heroism by President Johnson. There are 7.5 million veterans of the Vietnam War, and 2.4 million African-American military veterans in the U.S. This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau--Measuring America: People, Places and Our Economy. I'm Andrea Roane.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Facts for Features, CB12-FF.01
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb12-ff01.html
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 521
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html

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Profile America for the first day of Black History Month. This is a time to recall and honor the many positive contributions to our nation made by people of African descent. Started as a special week 86 years ago by historian Carter G. Woodson, the observance is now a full month of activities across the country. African-Americans number just over 42 million in the U.S., 13.6 percent of the total population. By 2050, this proportion is estimated to reach 15 percent. Although New York has the largest number of blacks of any state, Mississippi has the largest share of this group in its total population -- 38 percent. African-Americans are the largest minority group in 23 of the 50 states. You can find these and more facts about the African-American population on the Web at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Facts for Features, CB12-FF.12
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb12-ff01.html
The Black Population: 2010
http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-06.pdf