14 The Hampton Roads Messenger


Volume 11 Number 5


February 2017 African American History Facts and Figures


writing, and photography. As a college professor at Yale and Rutgers University, he enhanced his writing.


earliest freedmen’s schools dedicated to industrial education.


1) Claudette Colvin


refused to give up her bus seat - nine months before Rosa Parks on March 2, 1955. At the time, she was fifteen years old.


6) Sandra Bland was a positive role model that spoke realism on topics that affected minorities Systemic


in Lives Matter were some society.


racism, protests, and All of the


platforms she stood on to encourage individuals to be active leaders in society. Bland used social media to spread her messages and believed that it could make a change if it was used to acknowledge real life issues that citizens faced.


2) Bree Newsome contributed to


another heroic day in the black and brown community when she climbed up a flagpole in front of a South Carolina courthouse to remove the confederate flag. Now, she continues to serve


as an activist in the community.


7) Gwen Ifill published various articles and books to enlighten people on issues that happened locally and worldwide. Ifill had the honor of covering seven presidential elections and was awarded with the National Press Club’s highest honor.


12) Bob Marley was known to be very


alluring through his Fame reggae


music during the 20th century. He was drafted in the Rock and Roll Hall of


in 1994. Marley’s


foundation, 1Love, has touched more than 255,250 lives.


11) Ice Cube produced the movie, “Friday” which earned $28 million worldwide with a


$3.5 million


budget. “Friday” has two sequels, “Next Friday” and “Friday After Next”. Although he has great success in the music and film industry, he is able to give back to communities.


16) Cornel West is a scholarly democratic leader in humanity and has written over 20 books. He is keeping the message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. alive with his inviting spirit to all races that have ideas to make America equal for all citizens.


17) Serena Williams is the highest paid female athlete in the world. She recently won the Australian Open. Williams is the only tennis player to win over 10 grand slam singles titles in two different decades.


3) Malcolm X was assigned as minister for the Nation of


Islam


(NOI)). During his time as minister he recruited many followers into the NOI. Malcolm was able to increase the number of members in the NOI from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963. Later on, he established


his


organization the Muslim Mosque, Inc.


18) Mary Jackson became the first black female engineer in 1958. She worked on the


4-foot


8) Harry Belafonte supported the civil rights movement in the 50’s and 60’s, but John F. Kennedy opposed Belafonte as the cultural advisor for the Peace Corps in 1960. He has won several awards over the years due to his impactful contributions individuals around


to the Washington the


4) Oprah Winfrey is a woman of many talents - such as talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist - just to name a few. Winfrey invested $40 million into creating the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Johannesburg, South Africa. She was ranked highly on the list of greatest Americans.


world.


Recently, he was the honorary co- chair of


the Women’s March on day


inauguration on January 21, 2017. after the


13) Katherine Johnson was chosen to be one of three black students to integrate West Virginia’s graduate schools. Her skillset with mathematics was what led her


to


National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. She provided math for Notes on Space Technology and stated that her greatest addition to the space exploration was the calculations that helped synch Project Apollo’s Lunar Lander with


moon-orbiting Command and Service Module.


supersonic


pressure tunnel. Jackson retired from NASA as an aeronautical engineer after 34 years.


the


19) Sarah Breedlove, better known as Madam C. J. Walker became a phenomenal sensation after the invention of her hair care products for black women. She gained the roles of philanthropist


speaking on views in the community.


and activist while


5) Spike Lee’s production company, Forty Acres and a Mule which has produced 35 motion pictures since 1983. Lee went on to teach at Harvard University


University’s Tisch School of Fine Arts where


and New York he


later earned his


master’s degree in Fine Arts. His movies have exposed race and colorism in the black community.


15) Booker T. Washington was one of


the most


10) Ralph Ellison is most accredited for his novel “Invisible Man” written in 1953. He won the National Book Award for that creative works


inspirational and


intellectual African-Americans in the 19th century mainly because of his promotion towards the economic dependency amongst


blacks.


book. Ellison’s combined music,


Washington earned his education at Hampton Institute which one of the


9) Taraji. P Henson’s “breakout” role in “Baby Boy” has led her to be an award-winning actor. Henson won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama for Empire which made her the third African-American actress to win the award. Her autobiography “Around the Way Girl” made it to the New York Times Bestsellers List.


14) Dorothy Vaughn was an expert FORTRAN programmer. She also contributed Vehicle


considered


to the Scout Launch Program. Engineers her


to be resourceful


because they needed her intelligence to calculate properly.


20) Toni Morrison was as a Pulitzer Prize winner. She has become a triumphant writer through telling stories to which people can relate. As a


Morrison’s accomplishments live on through each platform represented.


novelist, editor, and professor, she has


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16