Notable Men in Black History

It was Carter Woodson who said at the founding of Negro History Week in 1926, "We should emphasize not Negro history, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias and religious prejudice."

Though Mr. Woodson was born at a time when there was no more slavery, both of his parents had been slaves. His childhood was spent working in the coal mines of Kentucky. He spent his entire youth working, but he was finally able to go to high school when he was 20 years old, and he graduated within 2 years. Sometime later he went to Harvard where he earned a Ph.D.

Troubled by the fact that no history was written about blacks except that which was written showing their inferior position in society; he made it his life's ambition to write black Americans into our nation's history. It was because of his dedication and work that we had our first Negro History Week, which would later become Black History Month. Mr. Woodson chose February to celebrate this time because it was the birthday month of two men that he respected very much. It was also these two men that he accredited to not only freeing the slaves, but worked toward the equality of all people. These two men were Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery February 14, 1818. While yet a boy, his mistress taught him his letters and how to read. At the time this was considered an illegal thing to do. In 1836, at age 18, he escaped to freedom and spent the better part of his adult life working to make life better for all mankind. Not only was he a renowned abolitionist, speaker, writer and politician; he dedicated a good part of his time on the women's suffrage movement.

Mr. Douglass was an ordained minister in the AME church, and being a strong supporter of the women's rights movement, was one of 32 men who signed the Declaration of Sentiments. This document was the basis for civil, social, political and religious rights for women. He also owned a weekly newspaper 'The North Star,' that had the motto, "Right is of no Sex - Truth is of No Color - God is the Father of us all, and we are all brothers." Frederick Douglass died February 20, 1895 at age 77.

George Washington Carver was born towards the end of the Civil War in 1864. George was owned by a German American immigrant named Moses Carver. After slavery was abolished; George, and his wife Susan raised George as one of their own children. Throughout his life with Mr. and Mrs. Carver, George was taught to read and write, and was encouraged to further his education. George attended many different schools before earning his diploma at Minneapolis High School.

In 1891, Mr. Carver went to Iowa State Agricultural College where he earned a Master's Degree. Not only was he the first black student at Iowa State, he was also the first black faculty member. He gained national notoriety because of his study of plant pathology and mycology; which is a type of life study on fungus.

Through his work, he transformed agriculture in the southern states, where the land was sorely depleted of nutrients because of continuous plantings of cotton. Mr. Carver advocated, and taught the importance of crop rotation.

In 1923 he was awarded the Spingam Medal from the NAACP for Outstanding Achievement by an African American, and in 1939, Mr. Carver was awarded the Roosevelt Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Southern Agriculture. It is inscribed, "To a scientist humbly seeking the guidance of God and a liberator to men of the white race as well as the black."

He died January 5, 1943 from complications from a fall. On his grave is written; "He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor being helpful to the world.

Whitney Young, Jr. was born in Kentucky July 31, 1921 to educated parents. His father was President of the Lincoln Institute, which was an all-black boarding high school in Lincoln Ridge, Kentucky, and his mother was the first African American postmaster in Kentucky; and only the second in the United States.

Mr. Young, Jr. was not only a civil rights leader, but spent the better part of his adult life ending employment discrimination. He died on March 11, 1971.

Ralph Bunche was an American diplomat who negotiated the 1949 Armistice between the new country of Israel, and her Arab neighbors. It was a feat that, at that time most of the world thought was impossible. For his efforts and hard work he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.

In 1951, he was awarded the Silver Buffalo Award by the National Boy Scouts of America for his work in scouting, and for his positive impact on the world.

Mr. Bunche died in 1971, and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, in the Bronx. In 1982 a U.S. Postage Stamp was issued in his memory.

Medgar Evers was born on July 2, 1925 in Decatur, Mississippi. He was a veteran of World War II, and in 1952 he began working for the NAACP. From his home in Jackson, Mississippi, he traveled all over the state encouraging voter registration; and tried to enforce other federally mandated integration laws. He was shot in the back and killed, on June 12, 1963.

These men, and the lives that they led helped to make it possible for us to have the world that we now have today. For that, I say thank-you.

Resources:

Wikipedia

http://www.nps.gov/archive/wori/particip.htm

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhm1.html

http://www.infoplease.con/spot/bhmfirsts.html

American Peoples Encyclopedia

United States - Its Past and Present - by Henry W. Elson