Black History Month: Part One

Happy February! February is Black History Month, and I think it's important for me to support and tell/ learn about my heritage so....

Every Monday in February, there will be a post about three famous African American figures. This won't just be the usual Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks. These are twelve people that (some of them) I haven't even heard of. Overall, I believe this will be a wonderful feature that I will possibly be continuing over the future years :).

1) George Washington Carver
Much of Carver's fame is based on his research into and promotion of crops as alternatives to cotton, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes. He wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops both as a source of their own food and as a source of other products to improve their quality of life. The most popular of his 44 practical bulletins for farmers contained 105 food recipes that used peanuts. He also created or disseminated about 100 products made from peanuts that were useful for the house and farm, including cosmetics, dyes, paints, plastics, gasoline, and nitroglycerin. . . .

One of his most important roles was in undermining, through the fame of his achievements and many talents, the widespread stereotype of the time that the black race was intellectually inferior to the white race. In 1941, Time magazine dubbed him a "Black Leonardo", a reference to the Renaissance Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci. To commemorate his life and inventions, George Washington Carver Recognition Day is celebrated on January 5, the anniversary of Carver's death.
~from wikipedia.org~

To learn more about George Washington Carver, go here.

2) Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was the self-given name, from 1843 onward, of Isabella Baumfree, an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man. Her best-known extemporaneous speech on racial inequalities, Ain't I a Woman?, was delivered in 1851 at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. During the Civil War, Truth helped recruit black troops for the Union Army; after the war, Truth tried unsuccessfully to secure land grants from the federal government for former slaves.
~from wikipedia.org~

To learn more about Sojourner Truth, go here.

3) Hank Aaron
After playing with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League and in the minor leagues, Aaron started his major league career in 1954. (He is the last Negro league baseball player to have played in the major leagues.) He played 21 seasons with the Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves in the National League, and his last two years (1975–76) with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League.

His most notable achievement was setting the MLB record for most career home runs at 755. During his professional career, Aaron performed at a consistently high level for an extended period of time. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is the only player to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times. . . .

Aaron's consistency helped him to establish a number of important hitting records during his 23-year career. Aaron holds the MLB records for the most career runs batted in (2,297) and the most career extra base hits (1,477). Hank Aaron is also in the top five for career hits with 3,771 (third) and runs with 2,174, which is tied for fourth with Babe Ruth. He is one of only four players to have at least seventeen seasons with 150 or more hits. He also is in second place in at-bats (12,364), and in third place in games played (3,298).
~from wikipedia.org~

To learn more about Hank Aaron, go here


Well, that's pretty much it. What do you think of this idea? Please let me know; changes, likes, dislikes, whatever. If you don't feel comfortable with leaving a comment, you can email me: walkingbutterflyfeet{at}gmail{dot}com

Happy Reading, everyone! :D