Black History Month

Anna Murray Douglass was an American abolitionist, agent of the underground railroad, and the first wife of American social reformer and statesman Fredrick Douglass

Booker T. Washington was an American educator, author, and orator who was the primary leader in the African American community and a part of the Contemporary Black Elite.

Bessie Coleman was an early American civil aviator through which she was the first African American woman and first self-identified Native American to hold a pilot license

Carter G. Woodson was an American historian, journalist, author, and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). After being the founder of the journal of negro history in 1916 he began to be called the "Father of Black History". Woodson was an essential figure to the movement of Afrocentrism due to his perspective of placing of people who have African descent.

Bessie Smith was an African American blues singer nicknamed the "Empress of the Blues". She was the most popular femlae blues singer of the 1930s. She was also the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. She was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

Denmark Vesey was a slave revolt leader who was a free and community leader in Charleston, South Carolina. He was accused and convicted of planning a major slave revolt in 1822.

Ella Baker was an African American civil rights and human rights activist who remained largely behind-the-scenes as an organizer of many civil rights movements.

Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most important leader in the African American Civil Rights Movement in the 19th century.

Hattie McDaniel was an American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. She won the academy award for best supporting actress thus earning the spot as the first African American to win an Oscar. She was the first black Oscar winner with her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind.

Charles Hamilton Houston was an American Lawyer along with being the dean of Howard University Law School and NAACP first special counsel.

Angela Davis is an American Marxist and feminist activist, philosopher, academic, and author along with being a professor emerita at the University of California.

David Walker is an American Abolitionist, writer, and anti-slavery activist. Although his father was enslaved his mother was free thus he was free as well.

Claudette Colvin was an American pioneer of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and a retired nurse's aide. She was arrested on March 2nd, 1955, for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a crowded segregated bus at which she was 15 years old at the time.

Rev. Bill Lawson was a pastor emeritus of wheeler avenue Baptist church who was a pioneer in the civil rights movement and also helped to lead the battle to end segregation in Houston. He helped lead local sit-ins and marches to integrate the city. Lawson also at the age of 91 joined the march honoring Floyd in Houston in person in the summer of 2020.

Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist, poet and award-winning author who became the first black female streetcar conductor in San Francisco along with the first Hollywood female black director.

Ovide Duncantell was the founder of the U.S. First Martin Luther King Jr. Parade in 1978 and the Black Heritage Society through which Duncantell fought for equal rights for African Americans for many years in Houston.

Fannie Lou hammer fought for black voting rights and for greater economic opportunities for African Americans. Hamer became a SNCC organizer and lead a group of volunteers to vote even though they were denied Hamer continued on. Hamer finally succeeded to register to vote in June 1963. she organized the freedom summer voting rive a year later which helped to bring together black and white to help with voter registration in the segregated south.

John Lewis was an important figure in the civil rights movement for the very fight he laid his life down for to fight racism. He was beaten by Alabama state troopers in 1965 helped galvanize opposition to racial segregation. Lewis led hundreds of marchers demanding equal voting rights on the Edmund Pettus Bridge the very bridge his body would be carried across after he passed.

Annie Lee Cooper made her mark as a voting rights activist after she punched an Alabama sheriff in the face after ordering her to go home and hitting her in the back of the neck. She was restrained and arrested with charges of assault and attempted murder but was released, A photo of her being restrained was published and news of the incident quickly spread through the civil rights community which earned her the title of a hero

Deloyd parker was the co-founder and executive director of S.H.A.P.E community center in Houston. parker helped support the movements for justice, equal opportunity and human rights across the globe. S.H.A.P.E is the self-help for African people through education which was founded in 1969 as a place for people to support civil rights by coming together

Simone Biles is an American artistic gymnast with 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals which makes her the most decorated gymnast in history. Simone Biles gymnastic level is senior international elite with her currently being on the USA national team.

Kamala Harris is an American politician and attorney who was the 49th Vice President of the United States since 2021 which also made her the first female, African American, and Asian American U.S. Vice President. She also served government positions in California and San Francisco.

Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) passed away on April 4, 1968. However, his legacy continues to live on, and he remains one of the most significant figures in American history. As a leader of the Civil Rights Movement, MLK advocated for nonviolent resistance to racial segregation and injustice, famously delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington in 1963. His work led to landmark civil rights legislation, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

While he is no longer alive, Martin Luther King Jr.'s impact is still felt today in ongoing efforts for racial equality, justice, and social change. The federal holiday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, is celebrated annually to honor his contributions and the principles he stood for.