In light of Black History Month, it’s always good to reflect on the accomplishments of African Americans. Not just in the past but also in the present. Hearing about so many black people triumph… does a couple of things to you…..First, it doesn’t leave much room for excuses. And, if you put your mind to it you can succeed at anything.
Even though you may have heard stories about Martin Luther King, Jr., George Washington Carver, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and many others, I bet there are some facts you didn’t know.
Did you know?…………………………………………………………
The first three black men elected to congress weren’t seated or allowed to serve as Congressmen.
Matthew Gaines: Former slave, community leader, minister, Republican State Senator and courageous leader in the 12th Legislature, which established free public education in the State of Texas and enabled the founding of Texas A&M University.
Blanche Kelso Bruce: was the first African-American who served a full term in the U.S. Senate. He was educated at Oberlin College in Ohio. He served from March 5, 1875 until March 3, 1881.
James Baldwin (Aug. 2, 1924-Dec. 1, 1987) was a very important American author who wrote about the struggle of being black in America. Baldwin’s first book, the semi-autobiographical Go Tell It On the Mountain, was published in 1953 and is considered to be a classic American novel. Baldwin participated in the Southern school desegregation struggle of the 1960s and marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. Baldwin wrote extensively about the Civil Rights Movement, including The Fire Next Time and Notes of a Native Son.
Dr. Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. (November 22, 1942-) was the first African-American in space. A NASA astronaut, he flew aboard the Challenger Space Shuttle mission STS-8 as a mission specialist. Dr. Bluford is an aerospace engineer with a Ph.D from the Air Force Institute of Technology. He is also a colonel in the US Air Force In total, Bluford logged over 688 hours in space. Dr. Bluford became a NASA astronaut in August 1979.
Aaron Douglas (May 26, 1899 – February 3, 1979) was an African-American artist who was associated with the Harlem Renaissance art movement. Douglas was born in Topeka, Kansas and studied art at the University of Nebraska. He later moved to Harlem, NY, and soon became a pre-eminent artist. Douglas did many paintings, woodcut prints, murals, and book and magazine illustrations.
Dr. Charles Richard Drew (1904-1950) was an American medical doctor and surgeon who started the idea of a blood bank and a system for the long-term preservation of blood plasma (he found that plasma kept longer than whole blood). His ideas revolutionized the medical profession and have saved many, many lives.
Sarah E. Goode was a businesswoman and inventor. Goode invented the folding cabinet bed, a space-saver that folded up against the wall into a cabinet. When folded up, it could be used as a desk, complete with compartments for stationery and writing supplies. Goode owned a furniture store in Chicago, Illinois, and invented the bed for people living in small apartments. Goode’s patent was the first one obtained by an African-American woman inventor (patent #322,177, approved on July 14, 1885).
Mae C. Jemison (October 17, 1956 – ) was the first African-American woman in space. Dr. Jemison is a medical doctor and a surgeon, with engineering experience. She flew on the space shuttle Endeavor (STS-47, Spacelab-J) as the Mission Specialist; the mission lifted off on September 12, 1992 and landed on September 20, 1992.
If you found this information intriguing, then do me a favor and leave a comment below. Or, if you would like then write down another interesting fact in light of Black History Month.
Many Blessings from Christian's Inspiration
