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Black history successful nan U.S. dates backmost to 1619, erstwhile enslaved Africans were brought to Jamestown Colony — present-day Williamsburg, Virginia.
Since then, Black Americans person persevered contempt tremendous challenges passim nan nation’s history and person been capable to time off their people connected American culture.
Every February, nan federation celebrates Black History Month by honoring nan contributions of African Americans while besides recognizing that nan conflict for group justness continues today.
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The taxable for February is "Black Resistance," pinch festivals and events occurring successful organization centers crossed nan U.S., according to nan Association for nan Study of African American Life and History.
From trailblazing abolitionists, scientists and artists to politicians, judges and civilian authorities leaders, galore humanities figures person done their portion to style America into nan state it is today.
Here are 10 celebrated figures and nan impactful contributions they made complete nan years.
1. Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was calved successful 1797 nether nan sanction Isabella Baumfree, successful Ulster County, New York — wherever slavery was still ineligible astatine nan time. She escaped to state successful 1826 pinch her babe girl aft her proprietor refused to comply pinch nan gradual abolition of slavery rule New York had passed, nan National Parks Service reports.
Baumfree later freed her son, who had been sold to an Alabama enslaved owner, by bringing her lawsuit to court.
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By 1828, she became nan first Black female to triumph a lawsuit against a erstwhile enslaved owner.
Almost 2 decades later, Baumfree joined a Methodist religion and changed her sanction to Sojourner Truth arsenic she traveled nan state to beforehand nan abolition of slavery, nan advancement of women’s rights, and belief tolerance.
Baumfree famously delivered her "Ain’t I a Woman?" reside successful 1851 astatine nan Ohio Women’s Rights Convention and met President Lincoln successful 1864 done her activity for nan National Freedmen’s Relief Association. She besides dictated a group of memoirs that were published successful her book "The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: a Northern Slave" (1850).
2. Frederick Douglass
Portrait of Frederick Douglass, who was calved into slavery successful 1818. (iStock)
Frederick Douglass, an American abolitionist and orator, was calved arsenic an enslaved personification successful February 1818 successful Talbot County, Maryland.
He became a nationalist leader successful nan abolitionist activity successful New York and Massachusetts aft escaping bondage arsenic a disguised sailor, according to nan Library of Congress.
Douglass delivered moving speeches and essays astir his acquisition and anti-slavery stance, including his "What to nan Slave Is nan Fourth of July?" reside (1852) and "Life and Times of Frederick Douglass" autobiography (1881).
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Douglass besides fought for civilian reforms, including adjacent curen for Black Americans and women, free nationalist acquisition and nan extremity of superior punishment.
3. Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman, American abolitionist leader (1820-1913), escaped slavery by marrying a free man and led galore different slaves to information done nan usage of nan abolitionist web known arsenic nan Underground Railroad. (MPI/Getty Images)
Harriet Tubman, conductor of nan Underground Railroad and a Union Army spy, was calved successful March 1822 successful Dorchester County, Maryland, nether nan sanction Araminta Ross.
She changed her sanction successful 1844 pursuing her matrimony to John Tubman, a free man, nan National Parks Service reports. About 5 years aft her marriage, Tubman escaped to state successful Philadelphia, wherever slavery was abolished.
Tubman personally made "about 13 trips into Maryland" to free her companions and provided a representation to state to "about 70 more."
Tubman spent nan adjacent decade of her life rescuing family and friends successful what is now known arsenic nan Underground Railroad. She personally made "about 13 trips into Maryland" to free her companions and provided a representation to state to "about 70 more," according to nan NPS.
By nan clip nan American Civil War collapsed retired successful nan 1860s, Tubman served arsenic an instrumental spy for nan Union Army. She famously joined Colonel James Montgomery and his 2nd South Carolina Infantry during nan group’s 1863 ambush connected Combahee River plantations, wherever Tubman provided scouting, nursing, and cooking aid.
4. George Washington Carver
Agriculture intelligence and pedagogue George Washington Carver was calved successful nan early- aliases mid-1860s successful Diamond, Missouri.
While initially enslaved pinch his mother and sister, Carver was separated from his family aft he was kidnapped successful a enslaved raid. The Carver family retrieved him from his captors and yet taught him to read, write, and attraction for plants aft nan abolishment of slavery successful 1865.
Carver went connected to be various schools successful nan Midwest. He was accepted into nan botany programme astatine nan Iowa State Agricultural School and became nan first African American to gain a bachelor's and master's of subject degree.
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Carver’s cultivation investigation and inventions led to advancements successful ungraded health, conservation, and rotational peanut crops, nan USDA reports.
Carver famously made a assortment of peanut-based products and herbal concoctions, and later became a professor astatine nan Tuskegee Institute successful Alabama, a historically Black college.
5. Ida B. Wells
American journalist and civilian authorities advocator Ida B. Wells was calved successful Holly Springs, Mississippi, connected July 16, 1862, 5 months and 2 weeks earlier nan transportation of nan Emancipation Proclamation.
Wells moved to Tennessee and became a coach successful adulthood. Wells began to constitute governmental articles aft she won a suit against nan Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad successful 1887 for being forcibly removed from a first-class train car she paid for; that determination was yet overturned by nan Tennessee Supreme Court, Mississippi History reports.
Wells later moved to Chicago and took connected a activity domiciled astatine nan NAACP.
Wells went connected to constitute exposés astir schoolhouse segregation and lynching successful Memphis until she was forced to move to New York City for her safety. She continued her investigative reports astir disparities successful nan American acquisition strategy nether segregation, mistreatment that African Americans experienced, and nan roadworthy to women’s suffrage.
Some of her celebrated written useful see "Southern Horrors: Lynch Law successful All Its Phases" (1893) and "Mob Rule successful New Orleans" (1900).
Wells later moved to Chicago and took connected a activity domiciled astatine nan NAACP. She besides ran for nan Illinois legislature earlier her decease successful 1931.
6. W. E. B. Du Bois
American sociologist and historiographer William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was calved connected Feb. 23, 1868, successful Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Du Bois was nan first Black postgraduate of Searles High School successful 1884 and later earned his bachelor of arts from Fisk University successful Tennessee, America’s Library reports.
He past earned a 2nd bachelor’s degree, a master's and a doctorate successful history from Harvard University. During his schooling, Du Bois besides traveled to Germany for a fellowship astatine nan University of Berlin, wherever he studied nan useful of celebrated societal scientists, including Gustav von Schmoller and Heinrich von Treitschke.
Du Bois became a founding personnel of nan National Association for nan Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), America’s oldest and largest civilian authorities organization.
Du Bois utilized his acquisition and talents arsenic a writer and editor to reside title relations successful nan U.S. and beforehand authorities for Black Americans. He published 16 books connected sociology, history and politics, including "Black Reconstruction successful America," "The Souls of Black Folk" and "The Talented Tenth."
Du Bois became a professor of history, sociology and economics astatine Atlanta University, a historically Black investigation assemblage pinch Methodist roots. He besides became a founding personnel of nan National Association for nan Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), America’s oldest and largest civilian authorities organization.
The NAACP characterizes itself arsenic a grassroots statement that "builds Black governmental powerfulness to extremity structural racism."
7. Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall, nan great-grandson of a slave, was nan first Black personnel of nan United States Supreme Court. (Getty Images)
Thurgood Marshall, nan first African American appointed to nan U.S. Supreme Court, was calved connected July 2, 1908, successful Baltimore.
He was formerly named Thoroughgood Marshall, but he legally changed his sanction astatine nan property of 6. Marshall later became willing successful nan rule arsenic a precocious schoolhouse student aft he was ordered to publication nan U.S. Constitution arsenic a reward for a prank he pulled, United States Courts reports.
From that moment, he was inspired to go a lawyer aft he realized not each African Americans were capable to bask nan liberties laid retired successful nan Bill of Rights.
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Marshall attended Lincoln University and past Howard University School of Law, wherever he worked pinch nan NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. Around 1935, Marshall recovered counterarguments for segregation erstwhile he reviewed nan U.S. Supreme Court ruling successful Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which stated accommodation could beryllium divided by title if they were "separate but equal."
Marshall recovered that this doctrine was flawed and created discrepancies successful nan acquisition children received, which led him to return connected and triumph respective landmark cases.
His astir celebrated lawsuit that changed nan American schoolhouse strategy was Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which declared that segregation successful nationalist schools was unconstitutional.
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President Kennedy appointed Marshall arsenic a national judge to nan U.S. Court of Appeals successful 1961. Four years later, Marshall was appointed arsenic solicitor wide by President Johnson. By 1967, Johnson appointed Marshall to nan Supreme Court — wherever he served arsenic a justness until 1991.
8. Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks, civilian authorities activist, was calved successful 1913 successful Tuskegee, Alabama. (Getty Images)
Civil authorities leader Rosa Parks was calved connected Feb. 4, 1913, successful Tuskegee, Alabama, nether nan sanction Rosa Louise McCauley. She joined her hubby Raymond Parks successful 1932 and worked arsenic a seamstress earlier she became a personnel of nan Montgomery National Association for nan Advancement of Colored People, nan National Parks Service reports.
At property 42, Parks was arrested for refusing to springiness up her spot astatine nan beforehand of a autobus to a White rider and move to nan back, a believe that wasn’t uncommon during nan clip of Jim Crow.
The apprehension inspired 17,000 African Americans to commencement nan Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted for 13 months and wounded nan metropolis autobus service’s revenue. Parks remained a awesome of resilience during this time.
The boycott yet came to an extremity successful 1956 erstwhile nan Supreme Court ruled that segregated buses were unconstitutional. Parks moved to Detroit a twelvemonth later, moving pinch nan NAACP and Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., to conflict homelessness, and moreover created a occupation training institute.
She earned a Congressional Gold Medal of Honor successful 1991.
9. Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm, nan first African American female to service successful nan United States Congress, was calved successful Brooklyn, New York, connected Nov. 30, 1924, nether nan sanction Shirley Anita St. Hill.
In her youth, Chisholm was partially raised by her grandparents successful Barbados earlier her family settled successful Brooklyn for good, nan U.S. House of Representatives reports.
Chisholm earned a bachelor's grade successful sociology from Brooklyn College and a master's successful simple acquisition from Columbia University. She worked arsenic a teacher, daycare halfway head and acquisition advisor earlier entering politics.
Chisholm was elected to nan New York authorities legislature successful 1964 and past nan U.S. House of Representatives successful 1968, erstwhile she represented Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant district for 7 terms. Chisholm made waves successful nan House erstwhile she appealed her first committee duty successful agriculture to find a committee much applicable to her district.
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She was reassigned to nan Veterans Affairs Committee and moved up to nan Education and Labor Committee, wherever she dedicated herself to advancing adjacent acquisition and employment opportunities. In 1972, Chisholm, a Democrat, besides became nan first African American to tally for a awesome governmental party's information for president.
10. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was calved successful 1929 successful Atlanta, Georgia. (Getty Images)
Civil authorities leader Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was calved connected Jan. 15, 1929, successful Atlanta. Post-college, King dedicated his life to fighting group inequality pinch serene guidance to cruel laws.
He notably protested segregation successful nationalist schools, restaurants and hotels pinch nonviolent sit-ins, America’s Library reports. King besides delivered moving speeches that challenged nan mistreatment that African Americans faced nether Jim Crow laws and called for equality.
King delivered his astir celebrated speech, "I Have a Dream," connected nan steps of nan Lincoln Memorial during nan 1963 March connected Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
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King's notable accomplishments during nan Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968) included nan Montgomery Bus Boycott; pleading for bid erstwhile U.S. marshals were called successful to disperse nan Freedom Riders (segregation protesters riding connected interracial buses) successful Montgomery; and starring nan Voting Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, which was met pinch convulsive resistance.
However, it showed nan world nan assaults that African Americans faced during serene protests done photos and video.
Cortney Moore is an subordinate manner writer connected nan Lifestyle squad astatine Fox News Digital.
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