By Kailey Thomas
February is Black History Month. Besides being a federally recognized celebration of the contributions African Americans have made to our country, it is also a time to reflect on the continued struggle for racial justice. In honor of Black History Month, below are some influential and notable African Americans that have impacted the world.
1. Richard Allen~ Richard Allen founded the first AME (African Methodist Episcopal) church. It was located in Philadelphia and was opened in 1794. Something incredible about Richard Allen is he was actually born into slavery but bought his freedom in the 1780s. After buying his freedom, he joined a church called St.Georges, but left due to racial inequality. It was there when he decided to form his own church. This goes down in history because it was the first church for African Americans, and later many more would come, following his lead.
2. Rudolph Fisher ~ Rudolph Fisher was born on May 9th, 1897. He was mainly a physician; however, he was also a radiologist, novelist, short story writer, dramatist, musician, and orator. This was a lot of accomplishments for an African American at the time. He was passionate about music as he played the piano very well, and toured with Paul Robeson. He wrote multiple short stories, two novels and contributed articles to the N.A.A.C.P., all before his death at 37. The names of his books are, The Conjure Man Dies, The Walls of Jerico, The City of Refuge, The Short Fiction of Rudolph Fisher, and Joy & Pain.
3. Paul Robeson~ Paul Robinson was born on April 9th, 1898, in Princeton, New Jersey. He was a baritone concert singer plus a gifted stage and film actor. He became famous and internationally known due to his cultural music performances as well as his place in political activism. He went to college at Columbia University and at Rutgers-New Brunswick. He also mastered various languages, including Arabic, English, Russian, and Chinese. He changed the world by using his music to share different cultures and benefit his era’s labor and social justice movements. He also sang songs that promoted world peace as well as human rights in 25 languages.
4. Frances Harper ~ Frances Harper was born free on September 25, 1825, in Baltimore, Maryland. She was an abolitionist, suffragist, poet, teacher, public speaker, and writer. One of her poems is named “Signing the Pledge”. She lectured across America during a time when women rarely spoke in public. She helped organize and held office in several national advocacy organizations. She also helped slaves on the journey along the Underground Railroad to Canada. In 1894, she co-founded the National Association of Colored Women, an organization dedicated to highlighting extraordinary efforts and progress made by black women.
5. Sojourner Truth~ Sojourner Truth was an abolitionist born in 1797. She was born into slavery, spoke Dutch and English, and escaped with her daughter, who was a baby in 1826. In 1851 she started a lecture tour where she gave her famous “Ain’t I a woman?” speech, challenging all forms of racial and gender discrimination. She collected thousands of signatures petitioning to provide former slaves with land. Among the quotes attributed to this remarkable individual is the saying, “It is the mind that makes the body.”