Celebrating Black History

In celebration of Black History Month here are 30 Facts you might not have been aware of…

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights organization, was founded in 1909

Black History Month began as “Negro History Week,”

Created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, a noted African American historian, scholar, educator, and publisher

February was chosen to coincide with Frederick Douglass’s and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays

Woodson built Negro History Week around traditional days of commemorating the black past to extend public’s study of black history

The 1920s was the decade of the New Negro, the Post-War I generation with rising racial pride and consciousness

In the 1940s, efforts increased within black community to expand the study of black history in the schools

During the Civil Rights Movement in the South, some schools incorporated Black history into the curriculum with the hopes of advancing social change

As early as 1940s, blacks in West Virginia began to celebrate February as Negro History Month

Became a national  month-long celebration in 1976

Canada celebrates Black History Month in February

The  U.K. celebrates Black History Month in October

In 1739, the Stono Rebellion in South Carolina became the largest slave revolt in colonial America

The first black U.S. senator was Hiram Revels in 1870

1 in 4 cowboys was Black, despite the stories told in popular books and movies

Dr. Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to go into space aboard the space shuttle Endeavor in 1992

Thurgood Marshall was the first African American appointed to the United States Supreme Court

Jack Johnson was the first African-American man to hold the World Heavyweight Champion boxing title in 1908

Jazz, an African–American musical form born out of the blues, ragtime and marching bands, originated in Louisiana during the turn of the 19th century

At a time when universities did not typically offer financial assistance to black athletes, African-American football star Ernie Davis was offered more than 50 scholarships.

Josiah Henson fled slavery in Maryland in 1830 and later founded a settlement in Ontario, Canada, for other black citizens who had escaped

Hall-of-Famer Jackie Robinson helped establish the African American-owned and -controlled Freedom Bank

John Baxter Taylor was the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal

Alexa Canady became the first female African-American neurosurgeon in the United States.

Cathay Williams was the first and only known female Buffalo Soldier during the Civil War

Quincy Jones is the most Grammy-nominated artist in the history of the awards with 76 nominations and 26 awards.

Scientist and mathematician Benjamin Banneker is credited with helping to design the blueprints for Washington, D.C.

George Monroe and William Robinson are thought to be two of the first African Americans to work as Pony Express riders

Inventor of the three-way traffic signal, Garrett Morgan, became the first African American to own a car in Cleveland, Ohio

Satchel Paige was the first African-American pitcher to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame

Source: Written By: O. Greendyk