After graduating from Shaw University, Ella Baker moved to New York City and began her career as a grassroots organizer. Joining the NAACP in 1940, the Virginia native assisted in developing some of the brightest minds in the Civil Rights Movement.
Read MoreThe black church continues to be a source of support for members of the African-American community. When compared to American churches as a whole, black churches tend to focus more on social issues such as poverty, gang violence, drug use, prison ministries and racism. A study in 1996 found that black Christians were more likely to have heard about health care reform from their pastors than were white Christians.
Read MoreOn a quest to re-frame and ignite the Civil Rights movement, Stokely Carmichael rallied people and brought the phrase “Black Power” to life. Seeking more measurable progress, Carmichael and his followers were not afraid or ashamed to require progress. Black Power spread across the US like wildfire, and people felt charged and empowered to cultivate a new vision.
Read MoreWashington’s bright mind and forward thinking led him to become the principal and leader at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in 1881. He would go on to gain national notoriety as a lecturer and influencer. While the content of his speeches promoted black growth at its heart, it would be a speech in 1895, the “Atlanta Compromise,” that rattled many black followers.
Read MoreAfter the Civil War, the Reconstruction era brought about hope and change in the form of citizenship and equality in America. Black men were given the right to vote and hold political office.
Sadly, this progress was short-lived. The rights they were granted at the start of the Reconstruction period slowly diminished. In result, a Black presence in Congress was completely eradicated by 1901, and it would take a full generation for it to be restored.
Read MoreBorn into slavery as Ida B. Wells in 1862, she was a pioneer of modern investigative journalism during the Reconstruction Era. After the lynching of her close friend, Thomas Moss, in 1892, Wells amplified her efforts on calling attention to the horrific treatment of black people through her investigative report, entitled Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases. It was her commitment to shedding light on the injustices of African-Americans that make her an admired figure in black history.
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