Join us in celebrating Black History Month! We hope you learn something new about the breadth and variety of our accomplishments. Note that what we've shared in our collage represents such a small portion of the black community's impact and contributions, which is why we'll continue to research and share more stories year round via our Social Media pages.
Find below more information about the inspiring figures in our Black History Month Collage: (starting top left to right)
1. Richard Allen - Born as a slave, he purchased his and his brother's freedom, and founded the AME Church. He preached about the freedom of slaves, and his home and churches were stops on the Underground Railroad. He educated people to help them towards better opportunities.
2. Henry Blair - The second black inventor to receive a patent for his invention, the seed planter, which became the precedent for all agriculture machinery and innovation.
3. Katherine Johnson - A gifted mathematician who helped launch the US's first astronaut, and safely land Apollo 11 on the moon.
4. Bayard Rustin - A brilliant social strategist credited for the organization behind the March on Washington, and dedicated advocate for jobs and wages.
5. Henrietta Lacks - Her cells had a unique 'immortal' quality, allowing them to sustain testing and observation and revolutionize medical advancements around the world. Henrietta's cells were taken without her knowledge or consent while being diagnosed with cervical cancer, she passed the same year.
6. Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler - The first black female doctor in the United States broke boundaries by excelling in elite medical programs, and went on to publish a book and serve the predominately black community in Boston.
7. Dr. Charles Drew - A professor at Howard University and the first black man with a Doctorate from Columbia in 1940, he went on to become the world's leading authority on blood transfusions and donations, saving troops as Medical Director of the Red Cross. He resigned, outraged upon discovery the Red Cross continued to segregate blood during WWII efforts.
8. Alice Coachman - From dirt roads in Georgia rose the first black woman from any country to win an Olympic Gold Medal at the 1948 London Games, who went on to win 34 national titles.
9. Mary McLeod Bethune - A life lived for the advancement of others, she founded multiple schools including Bethune College, and lead and raised funds for many civil rights organizations.
10. Shirley Chisolm - The first black woman elected to Congress, and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Her slogan: "Unbought and Unbossed"
11. Garrett A. Morgan - The seventh of eleven children with elementary school education, Garrett started as a mechanic, and emerged as a giant of an inventor and activist. He is credited with the stoplight, gasmask, early support of the NAACP, and the founder of an African American Newspaper and Country Club.
12. Ella Baker - A core player of the civil rights movement as branch director for the NAACP, an organizer for MLK II's Southern Christian Leadership Conference, for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, among other initiatives.
13. Robert S. Abbott - Founder of the Chicago Defender Weekly newspaper, a four-page pamphlet that grew to circulate nationally and encouraged Black Americans to seek better economic opportunities.
14. Maya Angelou - Prolific poet, activist, and public servant with MLK's SCLC and Malcolm X's Organization of Afro-American Unity, she used her testimony to speak life into others.
15. Matthew Henson - Orphaned as a young child, working as a dishwasher and sailor, he taught himself to read and write and went on to lead the first expedition to the North Pole in 1909 along with 5 other major voyages.
16. Alvin Ailey - Founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1958, an accomplished dancer and choreographer, he used his platform to celebrate the beauty of black expression, movement, and bodies.
17. Robert Smalls - Was a skilled boatsman and slave from Charleston, SC, who commandeered a Confederate ship and delivered its 17 black passengers to freedom. He went on to recruit 5,000+ plus soldiers for the Union Army and became one of the highest-paid black soldiers of the war.
Follow us on Social Media @peoplesempowermentco for more inspirational content.
For more information regarding these figures and others, check out the sources below:
Comments