28 facts for 28 days of black history

byline : jimmy saling

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        28 Facts for 28 days of Black History

Black History month is the topic of discussion and celebrated throughout the month of February.

However not as many people are educated in Black History as perhaps should be.

Being educated in a variety of different cultures histories can create better understanding and bridge a better rapport between different races and religious beliefs.

With that in mind and this being Black History Month here are 28 different historical facts for the 28 days of February.

1. Black history month was created in 1926 by African American historian,scholar,educator and publisher Carter G. Woodson.
2. Known originally as Negro History Week it didn't become a month long celebration until the the year of the country bicentennial of 1976.
3. The month of February was chosen because of the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
4. In 1908 a group of black leaders joined together to form a civil rights organization and on Feb 12,1909 the N.A.A.C.P. was founded on the same date of the centennial anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln.
5. In 1908 Jack Johnson became the first black man to become boxing’s world heavyweight champion. He held the title for seven years undefeated.
6. John Mercer Langston became the first black man to pass the bar and became a lawyer in 1854 . In 1855 he was elected town clerk becoming one of the first black men ever elected to public office.
7. Mr. Langston was also the great uncle of none other than Langston Hughes . The famed poet of the Harlem Renaissance .
8. Thurgood Marshall was the first black man appointed to the supreme court of the U.S. He served from 1967 to 1991
9. George Washington Carver was a developer of 300 deviated products including cheese, milk , coffee , flour , ink , dyes , plastics , wood stains, soap , medicine oils and cosmetics.
10. From  Feb. of 1870 to March of 1871 Hiram Rhodes Revels was the first African American to serve on the United States Senate representing the state of Mississippi.
11. Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman elected to the house of representatives in 1968 for the state of New York.
12. Mrs. Chisholm broke barriers again in 1972 becoming the first black candidate for a major political party and the first female candidate for president of the United States.
13. In 1870 the population of black people in the U.S. was 4.8 million. In 2007 the population of black people including those of more than one race rose to 40 million .
14. In 1940 Hattie McDaniel was the first black performer to win an academy award for her portrayal of a loyal slave in “Gone with the Wind.”
15. Dr. Mae Jemison became the first black woman to go into outer space aboard the shuttle “Endeavor” in 1992. She was co-investigator on a bone cell experiment .
16. Charles Haley was the first person to ever win 5 superbowls. Tom Brady was the second. Haley was on championship team in both the 80s and 90s.
17. In 1960 a young black girl named Ruby Bridges passed a test to enter an all white school called “William Frantz” . She would grow up to become a great leader and activist for black civil rights pertaining to education.
18. Oscar Holmes was the first black man to become a Navy Air Traffic controller in 1942 . He also became the first blackman to be commissioned a Navy officer and would later become the very first black Navy pilot.
19. David Walker was a writer who released a pamphlet calling for the end of slavery by any means necessary. This would end up making him one of the most feared and wanted men of the 19th century.
20. Kru People were a tribe in West Africa that were known by slave traders for their rebellion and fighting to avoid slavery. This made their value to slave traders low because it was difficult to ensure they were worth it. in the 1800s Kru People would in fact take their own lives or die in battle before becoming property of slave owners.
21. Captain Gail Harris became the first black woman to become an intelligence officer in 1976. She also became the first woman to become an instructor at the Armed Forces Intelligence Training Center in Colorado.
22. Dr. Rebecca Lee became the first black woman to earn a doctor of medicine degree and the only African American to graduate from her medical school in 1864.
23. in 1954 the National Negro Network was founded becoming the first ever black owned radio network in U.S. history.
24. The 1970s sitcom “Sanford and Son” became a television hit paving the way for other black sitcoms that followed for years to come. The series is celebrating its 45th anniversary and remains a cultural iconic staple in television history.
25. The phrase “Uncle Tom” is known as a derogatory title given to a person that is said to have sold out their race.  However the term reaches back to the 1700s according to some scholars who say that the name is a variation of a common West African name . It was also used during the Spanish and Portuguese Empires to describe a mixed person that appeared more black than white.
26. Founded in 1911 and now with over 150,000 members worldwide the fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi was formed
27. The first ever collegiate football game between two black colleges took place. Biddle College (now known as Johnson C, Smith College) played against Levingtons College in 1892.
28. In 1956 the Birmingham Bus boycotts led by minister and civil rights activist Dr. Fred Shuttlesworth actively protested until 1958 in Alabama and while it wasn't as effective as other protests in the south the movement laid the groundwork for a lot of black civil rights activists.

    Black history is more than just a history of a race. The accomplishments of the black men and women throughout history and how it shaped and molded the world today. It goes to show how all history is important to have knowledge of . If you don't know your history or others history can you really move forward?