Black History Month Influential Black Individials To celebrate Black History Month, I decided to put together a little day-by-day miniature biography of some important black historical figures. Since there's 28 days in February this year, I will be doing 28 figures total. Since we're already 11 days into the month, I'm going to start us off with 11 people in this original post. I will post a reply in this thread every day to add another individual to the list. Feel free to privately contact me with any recommendations you have! 1. Henrietta Lacks (1920 ー 1951) Diagnosed at 31 years old with cervical cancer, Lacks sought treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, in the U.S. Unbeknownst to her, doctors there decided to begin experimenting on cultures of her cancerous tissue. Her cells were unusual in that they could reproduce quickly and live long enough in petri dishes to be tested on. Fascinated, these doctors sold her cells for profit due to their scientific potential ー without her consent, and without her ever seeing a dime in financial compensation. Lacks would pass away a few months after this biopsy, but her cells would live on for decades to follow in the HeLa cell line. Now worth billions of dollars, HeLa cells led to the development of the polio and influenza vaccines as well as medication to treat herpes, leukemia, and Parkinson's disease. The list goes on. 2. Shirley Chisholm (1924 ー 2005) "Unbought and Unbossed" was her slogan. Chisholm pioneered the idea of a black female politician. Chisholm served 7 terms as a House Representative for New York State's 12th District, from 1969 to 1983. She was the very first black woman to serve in Congress. She helped to tailor legislation that brought the American people: improved public education, unemployment benefits and food stamps, college education for financially disadvantaged students, and much more. In 1972, Chisholm became the first black presidential candidate for a major political party and the first woman to run for the Democratic party's presidential nomination. Breaking barriers was not easy for Chisholm. But she persevered. She put it simply: "If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair." 3. Robert Abbott (1870 ー 1940) He was the son of former slaves, born just a few years after the American Civil War ended. Raised in the turmoil of post-war America, Abbott learned very early on the importance of having a voice. In 1905, he founded The Chicago Defender, a weekly newspaper dedicated to elevating the voices of black Americans. At its birth, it cost 25 cents and was a 4-page pamphlet. At its peak, the Defender found a dedicated following of over half a million. The Defender also elevated Abbott himself: he was one of the most influential post-slavery black millionaires, owed to the success of his newspaper. 4. Sarah E. Goode (1850 ー 1905) Goode was a former slave, freed by President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Along with her husband, she ran a furniture store. Her customers consisted mostly of working-class people, living in cramped conditions. So, Goode got working. Her work led to her become the first black woman to receive a United States patent, in 1885. She created a piece of furniture that, when folded different ways, could function as either a bed, a cabinet, or a desk. She dubbed it a "folding bed". Now, it is often called a "Murphy bed". 5. Jesse Owens (1913 ー 1980) He embarrassed AdoIf Hıtler during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The German Chancellor had advertised the Olympics as what would be the perfect portrayal of "Aryan racial superiority". Owens ran that notion into the ground, almost quite literally. In Berlin, Owens was the first athlete to win four gold medals in track and field. Not only that, but in his events he either tied or broke the previous records. He ran the 100-meter dash in just 10.3 seconds. He continued to set records throughout his entire athletic career, and even established his own public relations firm after experiencing difficulty finding representation as a black man. In 1976, then-President Gerald Ford awarded Owens with the Medal of Freedom. It is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a civilian. 6. Dr. Maulana Karenga (1941 ー present) Dr. Karenga is best known for creating the holiday Kwanzaa, as a celebration of pan-African heritage to unite black Americans. He utilized the African language of Swahili to develop the "seven principles of African heritage". In English, the principles call for unity, self determination, creativity, and faith, among others. He was heavily active in the Civil Rights Movement, balancing his advocacy with his doctorate studies. He penned many essays preaching feminism, secular humanism, and pan-Africanism. Dr. Karenga also helped organize the Million Man March in 1995, a gathering of black men in Washington, D.C., to bring national awareness to issues facing the black community, including environmental hazards and lack of prenatal care. He is a professor and director of Africana studies at the California State Universary, Long Beach. 7. Mary Kenner (1912 ー 2006) Kenner received five U.S. patents in her lifetime, while managing her own business as a florist. Encouraged to be creative by her father, Kenner invented out of the kindness of heart. She claimed that she just wanted to make life easier for others. Her most famed creation was the sanitary belt (later adjusted into the sanitary napkin or pad), which faced multiple rejections at first because she was a black woman. When she did receive the patent for it, the feminine product did not reach mainstream use until 1956, almost three decades later. Kenner received more patents over the next several decades, including a toilet paper holder, a wall-mounted back washer, and a carrier attachment for canes used by blind individuals. 8. Alexander L. Twilight Twilight valued education. Living and working on a farm in rural Vermont, he would often sneak away to a neighbor's house to learn how to read and write. Yearning for a more structured, professional schooling, at the age of 20, Twilight eventually earned enough money to afford to attend Randolph's Orange County Grammar School. Six years later, he transferred to Middlebury College. He graduated from Middlebury in 1823, becoming the first black person to earn a bachelor's degree in an American college. He became a teacher, and even once partook in the Vermont state legislature in 1836. 9. Constance Baker Motley (1921 ー 2005) As a teenager, Motley was refused entrance to a public beach because she was black. She credits this with the spark that ignited her passion for civil rights and justice. She worked her way into law school, and graduated from Columbia Law School. As a lawyer, she represented Martin Luther King, Jr., and even worked as a clerk for Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court Justice, during his landmark Brown v. Board of Education case that eventually ended school racial segregation. She briefly entered politics and became the first black woman to serve in the New York Senate. Her political career ended when she was appointed as a federal judge in 1966, crowning her the first black woman to do so. 10. Dr. Ralph J. Bunche (1904 ー 1971) A diplomat of the United Nations, Dr. Bunche is the first black man to win a Nobel Peace Prize, in 1950. In his college graduate years, he extensively studied colonial policy in West Africa as a part of his social science degree. He worked with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt during World War II to establish the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. After helping form the United Nations, he worked in the late 1940s to amend relations between the Arabic and Jewish communities in the Middle East. His casual attitude earned him many successes, often negotiating with representatives over a game of pool. His optimistic and friendly demeanor paid off: in 1949, the factions authored the Armistice Agreement that ended the Arab-Israeli War. For this, he earned the Nobel Peace Prize the following year. 11. Olaudah Equiano (1745 ー 1797) Born in Nigeria to the Igbo tribe, Equiano was kidnapped by slave traders at age 11 and shipped to what is now Barbados. There, he was purchased and sent to Virginia in the United States. After being forced into labor on the Virginia plantations, he was eventually purchased by the British sailor Michael Pearson, who took Equiano back to England. Pearson conscripted Equiano to help fight in the Seven Years War against France. At the war's conclusion, Pearson granted Equiano his freedom. Equiano became a formal British citizen and began to write about the horrorifying abuse he experienced as a slave. In 1789, he published a memior titled The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. It gained significant popularity in Great Britian, and led to Equiano even petitioning in front of the King of England to abolish slavery. His stories helped lead to the enactment of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which banned slavery throughout the British Empire. To be continued...
Thank you! ? Thank you!!! It took a long time because I wanted to write my own mini bios instead of just copying and pasting. I think it was worth the several hours lol
If you have any people you were thinking about doing and wouldn't mind me including, feel free to let me know! ???
Important Correction I left out the dates of birth and death for Alexander L. Twilight, the 8th figure I shared, by mistake. Twilight lived from 1795 ー 1857. I apologize for this omission! 12. Queen Nzinga (1583 ー 1663) Queen Nzinga was a Mbundu woman who ruled over the kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba in modern-day Angola. She was extremely skilled in defusing political tensions, and defended her kingdoms from Portuguese with her self-assurance and determination. Her diplomacy and military prowess protected her people from becoming enslaved. In 1622, Queen Nzinga met with the Portuguese governor of colonized Luanda. Her power of persuasion led to the formation of a peace treaty between her kingdoms and the Portuguese, authored during that very meeting. The treaty had equal terms for both parties. Three years later, the Portuguese broke that treaty and Queen Nzinga was forced to flee into exile. Determined, she began to develop an army to take back her kingdoms from Portuguese colonization. In exile, Queen Nzinga welcomed refugees from the slave trade and offered them protection. In 1629 and into the 1630s, she successfully fought back against the Portuguese and regained control of her kingdoms. She later strengthened her power by alligning herself with the Dutch, who sent her reinforcements to her army. She fought against the Portuguese colonizers personally well into her sixties. The combined powers of the Dutch and Queen Nzinga's peoples led to a final treaty between the Portuguese and the kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba in 1657. To be continued...