Celebrating Black History Month
It’s astounding to know that there were a significant and a prolific amount of African-Americans who assisted in leading the United States to prosper immensely. In honor and remembrance of those African-American individuals who made a huge contribution to our society, a national and annual Black History Month has been created. In United States and Canada, Black History Month is celebrated during the month of February.
African-American scholar/reporter/novelist, Carter Godwin Woodson, who was born into a family of slaves and labored in the coal mines of Kentucky, attended high school and graduated from Harvard with a Ph.D. in history. Woodson was the first black man who established The Association for the Study of American Life and History and renamed The Study of Afro-American Life and History in 1972, which was an association that endorsed and researched on the importance of Black History. Woodson was also the founder of The Journal of African American History in 1916. Ten years later, Woodson made the decision to instigate Negro History Week, which is now known as Black History Month. Woodson intentionally chose to have Negro History Week in February because in February 1870, the 15th amendment allowed African-Americans the right to vote.
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, was corrupted by racial discrimination, paucity, felony, but joined Nation of Islam-religious institute that consisted of people who wanted to support holy, public, mental, and financial resurrection. X journeyed to the holy city of Mecca and grew fond of reducing and getting rid of any sort of racism. Unfortunately, X was assassinated by the Black Muslims in 1965. He is a hero today.
“I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations…I have built my own factory on my own ground.” Entrepreneur and inventor, Madame C.J. Walker, made a massive amount of profit through the development of the C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company that sold hair and beauty products, which grew well-known worldwide and resulted in an excellent triumphant. Walker’s first item was a cure for the head using petrolatum and sulphur. Walker’s manufactured merchandise and cosmetics made her the first African-American millionaire.
Abolitionist and compassionate Harriet Tubman was born a slave in Maryland. Tubman aided several other slaves escape to freedom and liberty by creating the Underground Railroad which was a highly confidential system that helped slaves abandon the South and move into the Northern States and Canada. She ended up helping over three hundred slaves when Tubman made nine-teen risky rescue journeys. Not only did she work as a secret agent and as nurse during the time of the Civil War, but when she moved to New York, Tubman began to fight for the voting rights for the African-American community.
Civil Rights Movement protester, Rosa Parks declined to sit in the back of the bus when the bus driver asked Parks to surrender her seat for a white man in 1955 in Alabama. When Parks refused to give up her seat, not only was Parks fined, but arrested as well. This led to extreme boycotts for public buses which lasted three hundred eighty-one days. On November 13, 1956, The U.S. Supreme Court claimed separation between blacks and whites unconstitutional and thus, blacks were allowed to sit anywhere on the bus.
