Slideshow: The unsung heroes of black history

theGRIO SLIDESHOW - So many people have contributed greatly to the ongoing struggle for justice and equality and yet have remained woefully under-appreciated. These are just a few...

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Few Americans are unaware of the historic contributions African-Americans like Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells, W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and, of course, Preisdent Barack Obama have made towards bettering the United States.

But these aren’t the only African-Americans who have helped the United States move closer to becoming “a more perfect union.”

So many people have contributed greatly to the ongoing struggle for justice and equality and yet have remained woefully under-appreciated.

These are just some of the unsung heroes.

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