Black history month celebrate. vector illustration design graphic Black history month
In the United States and Canada, Black History Month is celebrated in February. In the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands, they honor it during the month of October. In 2014, Ireland became the fourth country in the world to celebrate Black History Month.
Quincy Jones made Grammy history as the most nominated artist. He has scored a total of 79 nominations and 27 awards. He was presented with the Grammy Legend Award back in 1992. Jones is also one of the founders of the Institute for Black American Music.
More people need to hear the name Rebecca Lee Crumpler. Born in 1831, (died in 1895), Crumpler was the first Black American woman physician. She became a doctor of medicine at New England Female Medical College in 1864, a year before the end of the Civil War. Her career revolved around the care of women, children, and people of color unable to pay for medical services. In 1883, she published a book called, “A Book of Medical Discourses in Two Parts,” which many historians think is the first medical text by a Black American writer.
Benjamin Banneker’s (1731-1806) father was formerly enslaved and his mother was a former indentured servant, though Banneker himself was born a free person. He was self-educated and became a surveyor, astronomer, and most famously, a writer of almanacs. He was an outspoken abolitionist who exchanged letters with Thomas Jefferson — secretary of state at the time.
Originally born Mum Bett, Elizabeth Freeman (1744-1829) was enslaved, but filed a legal challenge and astonishingly won her freedom in court. She became the first woman to successfully file a lawsuit for her right to freedom in the state of Massachusetts.
Many people think that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize, but it was Ralph Bunche (1904-1971), who did. Bunche was valedictorian of his class in both high school and college and later earned a doctorate in political science at Harvard University. He served as undersecretary-general of the United Nations.
Mark Dean, born in 1957, was a scientist and inventor and ahead of his time in his work with computing. Dean once helped his father assemble a tractor from scratch. He studied engineering in college and started working with IBM soon after earning his degree. At IBM, Dean developed three of the company’s nine original patents.
Moms Mabley (1894-1975) was a comedian and who broke onto the stage in the 1920s. Born Loretta Aiken, and overcoming tough obstacles, she joined the African American Vaudeville Circuit. She then went on to be the first woman featured on stage at the prestigious Apollo Theater.
Jane Bolin (1908-2007) stood out from the crowd after graduating from Wellesley College in 1928, despite experiencing isolation from her classmates. She became the first Black woman to graduate from Yale Law School and at age 31 she became the first Black woman in the country to be sworn in as a judge. She retired from the bench at age 70.
Navy Lt. Robert Peary, led the first expedition to reach the North Pole in 1909. Alongside him was none other than Matthew Henson (1866-1955), an African American explorer born to free sharecroppers. In 1912, Henson published a book about his adventures, “A Negro Explorer at the North Pole,” and later received a Congressional medal and a Presidential Citation in 1950.
Bayard Rustin (1912-1987) was gay and African American, and faced discrimination on many levels. Nevertheless, he contributed to forward progress and the cause of equality in the country. Rustin was one of the primary organizers for the March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech.
Ursula Burns (1958-present) made history when she was named CEO of the Xerox Corporation in 2007, making her the first African American woman to hold this position in a Fortune 500 company.
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) was an African American poet whose work shined a light on the Civil Rights movement and the poor economic conditions forced on many people including Black Americans. She was the first Black writer to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the first Black woman to serve in the role of Poetry Consultant for the Library of Congress.
Gordon Parks was a renowned photojournalist documenting the Civil Rights Movement. His photography granted him access as the first African American to direct a major motion picture.
