February is right around the corner, and with it, Black History Month. Black History Month was originated in 1926 and is held in February because that particular month contains the birthdays of two Americans who have had a profound and positive effect on the lives of African Americans, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Here is a list of some of the most famous African American public figures in history.
Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)
Booker T. Washington was a famous African American educator who started Tuskegee Institute, which was one of the first industrial schools for African Americans. He gave many speeches throughout the country promoting African American economic equality and was considered one of the finest public speakers of his day. In 1900, he founded the National Negro Business League.
Frederick Douglass (1818-1895)
Frederick Douglass wore many hats in his lifetime: civil rights activist, orator, author, and statesman. During the Civil War, he fought tirelessly to recruit African Americans for the Union Army, and after the war, fought for the rights of the newly freed ex-slaves. He authored three books in his lifetime, A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, My Bondage and My Freedom, and Life and Times of Frederick Douglas.
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
Martin Luther King is undoubtedly the most famous African American Civil Rights leader in American history. He organized numerous marches, protests, and boycotts, all of them nonviolent. He organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference which gave the Civil Rights Movement a base of operations. In 1964, Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Tragically he was struck down by an assassin’s bullet in April 1968.
Colin Powell (1937)
The son of Jamaican immigrants, Powell has risen to become one of the greatest African American statesmen of the modern era. After serving two tours in Vietnam, Powell went to work for the Defense Department. In 1989, Powell became the first African American to be named Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He played an important role in the Liberation of Kuwait in the Persian Gulf War, and in 2001, became the first African American Secretary of State.
Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993)
Thurgood Marshall received his law degree from Howard University in 1933 and set up his private practice a year later. He became the Chief Counsel of the NAACP in 1938 and held the post for 23 years. During that time he argued many race cases before the Supreme Court. In 1967, he became the first African American appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States and served until 1991.
George Washington Carver (1864-1943)
George Washington Carver was born to enslaved parents in Missouri. He received his degree from Iowa State College in 1894. He worked tirelessly to improve the economy in the South by working on improving farming techniques. During his lifetime, he found hundreds of uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans, which in turn helped to stimulate these crops in the South.
W.E.B Dubois (1868-1963)
W.E.B. Dubois was an American Civil Rights leader and author who became the first African American to earn a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. In 1905, he co founded the Niagara Movement which later became the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Rosa Parks (1913-2005)
Rosa Parks sparked one of the most famous boycotts in history when in 1955, she refused to give her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. The boycott helped to thrust Martin Luther King to national prominence and to jump start the Civil Rights Movement. Parks stayed active in the NAACP for the rest of her life and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999.
Malcolm X (1925-1965)
Malcolm X was a Civil Rights leader who took a militant approach to further the cause, rather than the nonviolent approach favored by Dr. King. He joined the Nation of Islam in 1952 and served as one of its most influential leaders for 12 years. After a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1964, he converted to mainstream Islam which he felt could transcend racial problems. He was assassinated in February 1965.
Harriet Tubman (1820-1913)
Harriet Tubman was born into slavery, but successfully escaped to Pennsylvania in 1849. There, she joined the Underground Railroad and is credited with leading more than 300 slaves to freedom. After the Civil War, she traveled the country as a lecturer on civil rights.
Sources: Blackhistorymonth.com
Infoplease.com
Factmonster.com
