Hero 1: Nina Simone

At her first recital, 12-year-old Nina Simone refused to start singing after her parents were moved from the front row to make room for whites

Nina Simone was not only an exceptional musical legend but also a civil rights activist who whole-heartedly engaged in eradicating the racial differences in the United States. The artist that recorded more than forty albums in the period between 1958 and 1974, was the sixth of eight children born to the family of Mary Kate and John Divine Waymon.