Bayard Rustin was an early civil rights activist and organizer, and was an advisor of Martin Luther King Jr. Rustin was also an icon for not only the black community, but the LGBTQ+ community as well.
After overcoming drug addiction and a former life of crime, Malcolm X became one of the country’s most prominent civil rights leaders of the 20th century. He lead the black power movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and preached to the masses about what it truly means to be a black citizen in the United States.
Gloria Richardson was a very resilient and prominent figure who wanted to fix the racial inequality and segregation in Cambridge, Maryland. A pioneering activist in the civil rights movement, Richardson led the Cambridge Movement, a series of protests against discrimination.
Born and raised in Oakland, California, Alicia Garza is a queer, black civil rights activist, and editorial writer. Garza is most notable for her co-founding of the ‘Black Lives Matter Movement’ back in 2013 with Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Opal Tometi.
Charlotte E. Ray was the first African American woman to be a lawyer. Ray took on cases that were ignored and undermined and won. She fought against the discrimination that was placed upon women entering the law field and achieved her dream of becoming an attorney.
Misty Copeland is a ballet dancer at the American Ballet theatre in New york City, who recently became the company’s first African-American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in its 75 year history. She also became the American Ballet Theatre’s first African-American soloist in two decades, and has inspired many young girls and boys in her important work.
Although she faced heavy discrimination her entire life, Bessie Coleman fought to pursue her flying career. She became the first woman of African American descent to achieve a pilot’s license, and she earned an international pilot’s license in 1921. Mostly known for her air shows, Coleman also served as inspiration for many people of color who aspired to be pilots.
The 1950s and 60s were a turbulent time that saw everything from the space race to the civil rights movement, two separate events that were brought together in Katherine Johnson. As a NASA employee and an African American woman, she Read more
Though a controversial character, Malcolm X is an American Hero, and a trailblazer for the black community. Without X’s radical views and outspoken tendencies, nobody would pay attention to his more passive brethren, and his ideals are justified when one takes a look into his treacherous past.
On this week’s Black History month special, we’ll be talking about the late dancer, actress, singer, and activist Josephine Baker. She helped break down many doors for many black entertainers, both here in America, as well as overseas.