Black History Month – Important Figures who Resisted Oppression
Black History Month, or African American History Month, is an event that is celebrated annually to commemorate the achievements of African Americans and to remember their important part in United States history. The beginning of Black History Month originates way back in the year 1915, where a historian from Harvard named Carter G. Woodson, along with the minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, an association whose dedication is to the study of African American History. It is known today as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, or the ASALH. Many other countries, like the United Kingdom and Canada, also have a month to celebrate the history of black culture. (History.com, 2022) In this article, we look at the achievements of a several important Black figures that have made a positive impact for African Americans during their lifetimes.
Frederick Douglass, born “Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey” in 1818, was an abolitionist who fought for the end of slavery in America. He was the son of a slave woman, and his father was a white man who was never identified. He saw his mother only a few times during his childhood, and she later passed away when he was 7 years old. He lived with his grandparents and aunt, until he was sent to Baltimore to live with a carpenter named Hugh Auld. It was during that time that he began to learn about the abolitionist movement. He spent many years during his early life suffering brutal treatment at the hands of a “Slavebreaker” and was even arrested after planning to escape in 1836. After several years passed, he succeeded in fleeing to New York, travelling via steamboat then train towards his eventual freedom. He changed his name to Frederick Douglass after marrying a woman he met in Baltimore. Frederick educated himself and attended many abolitionist meetings. He was inspired by William Lloyd Garrison, a journalist, after reading his weekly journal and listening to one of his speeches at the Bristol Anti-Slavery Society's annual meeting. Frederick once said of Lloyd, “no face and form ever impressed me with such sentiments, referring to the hatred of slavery, as did those of William Lloyd Garrison." Douglass was later asked to become a lecturer for the Society, which he did for three years. During his lifetime, he consulted with President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and was instrumental in the recruitment of Blacks for the Union Army. He also became a prominent orator and writer. He also published his autobiography and many writings of antislavery. His work was helpful in improving the lives of African Americans. Up until his passing in 1895, he continued to do his part to help fight for African American rights. (pbs.org, n.d.)
Martin Luther King Jr., who was born on January 15th, 1929, lived in a turbulent time during the segregation era in the United States. He was born in a middle-class family, and lived in Auburn Ave. in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. During this period, Auburn Ave. was also known as “Black Wall Street” because some of the country’s biggest black-owned businesses and churches were situated in that area. Having been raised in the segregated South, it came to a surprise to Martin Luther King Jr. as he saw how peacefully the races mixed up North while he was visiting a tobacco farm in the state of Connecticut. Segregation in the South was a time where people of African descent had to use separate facilities and services from the ones used by white people. They were forced to use separate healthcare, housing, employment, and education, among other things, because they were not permitted to mix with whites, due to racial discrimination. So for Martin Luther King Jr., seeing how different the way of life was up North only fueled his hatred for segregation and led him on the path to be one the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement in the 1950s, up until his assassination in 1968. (David L. Lewis, 2023)
Shirley Chisholm was another very important and prominent figure in the late 60s. She was the first African American woman that was elected to the United States Congress and she was a strong advocate for women and minorities. Shirley was born in Brooklyn, New York in the year 1924. She was the oldest of four sisters, her father was an immigrant from Guyana and her mother was from Barbados. Shirley graduated from Brooklyn College in the year 1946, cum laude, and although she initially worked as a schoolteacher, later joined several associations, including the local chapters of the League of Women Voters and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), after getting a master’s degree from Columbia University and working as a consultant to the New York City Division of Day Care. She became the second African American in the New York State Legislature and in 1964 won a seat in Congress shortly thereafter. Among other achievements she made during her lifetime, she became the first Black woman to serve on the House Rules Committee in 1977 and co-founder of the National Political Congress of Black Women. After retiring and moving to Florida, she passed away in 2005. Before her passing, Chisholm stated that she wanted to be remembered as a woman who dared to be a catalyst of change. (Debra Michals, 2015)
The hard work and dedication to the African Community that Martin Luther King Jr., Shirley Chisholm, and Frederick Douglass achieved during their lifetimes paved the way for others to continue their legacy. The theme for Black History Month in 2023 is, “Black Resistance”. The exploration of how African Americans have resisted oppression, in all its forms, by joining resistance activities and organizations and other forms of activism. Today, many continue forward fighting for change and resisting hate.
References
David L. Lewis, C. C. (2023, January 11). Martin Luther King, Jr. Retrieved from Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Luther-King-Jr
Debra Michals, P. (2015). Shirley Chisholm. Retrieved from National Women's History Museum: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/shirley-chisholm
History.com. (2022, November 30). Black History Month. Retrieved from History: https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month
pbs.org. (n.d.). People & Events: Frederick Douglass. Retrieved from PBS Africans in America: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1539.html