Celebrating Black History Month

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Celebrating Black History Month Feb 27th 2022, 12:16, by Post Staff For Black History Month 2022, The Post looks back at some of the most influential figures in the recent past. Media files: newspress-collage-21142599-1645788171416.png (image/png) Frederick Douglass escaped slavery in 1838 and became one of the most prominent leaders in the abolitionist movement. He famously recounted his experience in his autobiography, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave," in 1845. In addition to campaigning for the abolition of slavery, Douglass was also an early supporter of the women's suffrage movement - and the only black person to attend the Seneca Falls Convention. After the Civil War, Douglass continued to fight for equal rights in the reconstruction era, and eventually became the first black person to run for Vice President in 1872. Hattie McDaniel was born in 1893 to Wichita, Kansas. Both of her parents were slaves, and her father fought in the Civil War for the Union. McDaniel is best remembered for being the first black person to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mammy in 'Gone With the Wind.' Her entire career was affected by segregation. She was unable to attend the premier of 'Gone With the Wind,' as it was shown in a whites-only theater, and she was forced to sit at a segregated table out of view at the Oscars Award Ceremony when she won. Paul Robeson was born in 1898 in New Jersey. During the Harlem Renaissance in New York, Robeson became renowned in black intellectual circles for his theater performances and his baritone voice. A supporter of social causes long before the Civil Rights Movement, Robeson was heavily monitored by the FBI and eventually called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Robeson was blacklisted in the entertainment industry. Although his films and records were pulled from circulation after his blacklisting, Robeson is still remembered for maintaining his firm stance in the face of McCarthyism, as well as his considerable contributions to music and theater. Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was one of the most influential jazz musicians in the 20th century. Ellington became nationally recognized in the 1920s, when he began playing as the house bandleader at Harlem's legendary Cotton Club. He collaborated with numerous other musicians, including Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, and Count Basie. One of the most prolific American composers, Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions throughout his lifetime, making his body of work possibly the largest in jazz history. Many of his songs have become standards today, such as "Take the A Train." Louis Armstrong was one of the first black musicians to achieve international fame and recognition. Born in New Orleans in 1901, Armstrong began playing the trumpet as a child. He cut his teeth working on riverboats on the Mississippi, until eventually moving to Chicago to apprentice under legendary jazzman Joe "King" Oliver. Armstrong is considered one of the greatest soloists and improvisers of all time. His later years saw him crossing over into the world of pop music and starring in many feature films, including 'High Society' with Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Grace Kelly as well as 'Hello, Dolly!' with Barbra Streisand. One of the greatest legal minds of the 20th century, Thurgood Marshall was born in Baltimore in 1908. As a lawyer, Marshall famously founded the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, which helped fight major civil rights cases in the courts. Marshall argued many important cases before the Supreme Court, including Shelley v. Kraemer and Brown v. Board of Education. In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Marshall for a seat on the Supreme Court, where he served until his retirement in 1991. In the above photo, Marshall answers questions at his confirmation hearing before the Senate. Jesse Owens, one of the greatest track and field athletes of all time, was born into a family of poor sharecroppers in Alabama. Owens is credited for breaking three world records and tying a fourth in under one hour at the 1935 Big Ten track meet. At the time, his performance was lauded as "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport." Owens is perhaps best remembered for his incredible performance at the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany. Owens won 4 gold medals - for the 100 meter sprint, the 200 meter sprint, the 4 x 100 relay, and the long jump. Rosa Parks is sometimes considered the "First Lady of the civil rights movement." In 1955, Parks refused a Montgomery, Alabama bus drivers order to vacate a row of seats for a white passenger. Parks was arrested for civil disobedience and violating the state's segregation laws. Parks' protest helped inspire the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The NAACP chose Parks to see her case through to the Supreme Court, but in 1956 the Browder v. Gayle decision made Alabama's segregation law unconstitutional. Parks devoted the rest of her life to advancing the cause of civil rights. One of the most recognizable athletes of the 20th century, Jackie Robinson is probably most known for breaking the color line in professional baseball when he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Robinson played in six World Series throughout his professional career, and helped lead the Dodgers to their 1955 World Series win. Additionally, Robinson won the very first Rookie of the Year award in 1947 and the National League MVP award in 1949. Every MLB team has since retired his number, 42. Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton began playing professional sports after first attending college at Xavier University of Louisiana and serving in the army during World War II. For most of the 1940s, Clifton played basketball for the New York Rens and the Harlem Globetrotters. In the off-season, he played first base for the Negro League's Chicago American Giants. The New York Knicks approached Clifton in 1950, and he then became the second black player to sign an NBA contract. Clifton led the Knicks to their first ever appearance in the NBA Finals. Clifton retired in 1962 and is remembered as one of the greatest Knicks in history. A native of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, Shirley Chisholm grew up going back and forth between New York City and her father's native country of Barbados. After spending her early career as a teacher and political activist, Chisholm ran for New York State Assembly in 1964 in Brooklyn. Chisholm became the first black women elected to the United States Congress in 1968 - a seat which she held continuously until her retirement in 1983. She also became the first black woman to run in a major party's presidential primary in 1972. Malcolm X was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1946 for larceny and breaking and entering. It was here that he joined the Nation of Islam, a group of black Muslims lead by the charismatic Elijah Muhammad. After receiving parole in 1952, Malcolm X took a leadership role in the movement. He advocated for black empowerment and black separatism, which often put him at odds with Martin Luther King Jr. X left the Nation of Islam in the 1960s. After embracing mainstream Sunni Islam, he went on the Hajj to Mecca. He was assassinated in 1965. The mosque he preached at in New York, now known as Masjid Malcolm Shabazz, is still active today and continues to play a major role in Harlem's black community. Born to poor sharecroppers on a South Carolina farm, Althea Gibson grew up to become one of the greatest tennis players in history. In 1956, Gibson won the French Open Singles Event - making her the first black person to win a tennis Grand Slam event in history. In total, she won 11 Grand Slam tournaments in her professional career. In 1964, Gibson also became the first black woman Ladies Professional Golf Association tour. In this photo, Gibson waves the winner's plate after winning the women's singles event at Wimbledon in 1958. Sidney Poitier moved to New York City to become an actor at age 15. He auditioned for the American Negro Theater in the 1940s, but his big break didn't come until he was cast as high school student Gregory Miller in the 1955 film "Blackboard Jungle." Poitier quickly became one of Hollywood's great leading men in the late 50s, and became the first black person nominated for Best Actor at the 1958 Academy Awards for "The Defiant Ones." In this photo, Poitier places his hands on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1967 - the same year he won Best Picture at the Academy Awards for "In the Heat of the Night." Maya Angelou was one of the most recognizable poets of the 20th century. A powerful voice for civil rights, decolonization, and black feminism, she became internationally recognized for her autobiographical work and contributions to the culture of the Civil Rights Movement. Angelou is perhaps best known for her first collection of poetry, the autobiographical 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.' The collection explores the poet's experiences with racism and trauma. In 1993, Angelou read a poem at the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton - making her one of only a handful of poets to recite their work at a presidential inauguration. Martin Luther King Jr, the icon of the Civil Rights Movement, was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929. King's leadership in the Civil Rights Movement began when he took helm of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. The 385-day boycott lead to national media attention - as well as death threats and bombing attempts against King and his family. The boycott ended successfully after the Browder v. Gayle ruling in 1956. After Montgomery, King became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization of black ministers dedicated to fighting discrimination, segregation, and racial injustice. King's efforts lead to his arrested and imprisonment, where he wrote his legendary manifesto known as 'Letter from Birmingham Jail.' In 1963, King helped organize the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which gave him perhaps his largest platform to speak to the American people. King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial, speaking to hundreds of thousands who showed up in support. The march was seen as a resounding success, and instrumental in getting the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed. King was assassinated in March of 1968. The tragedy was felt across the nation. King left behind a remarkable legacy, and his commitment to nonviolent resistance continues to inspire activists across the world to this day. Lorraine Hansberry grew up in a family dedicated to the cause of civil rights. In 1940, her father Carl August Hansberry successfully challenged a racist housing law in Woodlawn, Chicago. Lorraine pursued a career as a playwright, and in 1959 became the first black woman in the United States to have a play performed on Broadway. Her first play, "A Raisin in the Sun," was nominated for four Tony Awards in 1959 and adapted into a movie starring Sidney Poitier a year later. Hansberry wrote several more plays and essays after her initial success. Her life was cut tragically short in 1965 after contracting pancreatic cancer. Toni Morrison was born and raised in northern Ohio, where many of her novels would eventually be set. Morrison published her first novel, 'The Bluest Eye,' in 1970. The groundbreaking novel explored ideas of generational trauma, sexual assault, and an inferiority complex carried by black children in America. She gained national attention after publishing her third novel, 'Song of Solomon,' in 1977. Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1987 with her novel 'Beloved,' which was later made into a movie starring Oprah Winfrey. She later won the Nobel Prize in 1993, and President Barack Obama awarded her a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. Sam Cooke was born to a reverend in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1931. He grew up singing gospel music, and began a career recording Christian music in the 1950s. In 1957, Cooke made the then controversial move to secular music. He fully embraced pop music in the 1960s, recording 30 Top 40 hits through 1964. Cooke became involved in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, and is perhaps best remembered for recording the civil rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come" in 1964. Cooke's life and career were cut short in December, 1964 when he was shot and killed in Los Angeles. Nina Simone originally dreamed of becoming a concert pianist. Her whole community helped pitch in to send her to Julliard School in Manhattan. Simone adopted her stage name when she began playing piano in an Atlantic City nightclub, in part to disguise herself from her religious family. Simone built up a loyal fanbase on the nightclub circuit due to her unique mix of classical, jazz and blues music, as well as her deep, unique voice. During the Civil Rights Era, Simone became an outspoken advocate for black causes. She became friends with many influential black thought leaders, including Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin, and Malcolm X. James Brown, "the Godfather of Soul," began singing and playing piano, guitar, and harmonica at an early age. He met the other members of his first band, the Famous Flames, while incarcerated at a juvenile detention center. Brown saw success as a solo performer in the 1960s, with many hit singles including "I Got You (I Feel Good)." Brown is remembered for his energetic live performances, which are documented on albums such as 'Live at the Apollo.' In the late 1960s, he began experimenting with a new genre: funk. Brown recorded some of the earliest funk hits, such as "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine." John Lewis became involved in the Civil Rights Movement while attending college in Nashville. Lewis became an organizer with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He began organizing sit-ins to protest segregated restaurants in the city and engaging in what he famously called "good trouble." Lewis became nationally known due to his involvement with the Freedom Riders, a group of activists who planned to travel across the south on buses to protest segregation. The Freedom Riders were violently attacked by members of the Ku Klux Klan, and Lewis was imprisoned for 40 days at the Mississippi State Penitentiary for disorderly conduct. Lewis's later life saw him embrace a career in politics. He served on the Atlanta City Council from 1981 to 1986, then ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986. Lewis was re-elected 18 times, and held the seat until his death in 2020. Wilma Rudolph was one of the first Americans to become an international star as an Olympic sprinter. In 1956, Rudolph competed in her first Olympic Games. She finished with a Bronze medal in the 4 x 100 meter relay. Rudolph dominated in her second Olympics in 1960. She won three gold medals in the 100 meter individual, 200 meter individual, and in the 4 x 100 meter relay. Rudolph became one of the first television stars of the Olympic Games, where she became renowned as the "fastest woman in the world." She was also the first American to win 3 golds in one single Olympic Games. Often considered one of the greatest standup comedians of all time, Richard Pryor began his career performing in the Greenwich Village comedy scene in the 1960s. As the decade progressed, he began incorporating more and more controversial material. He later became a major figure in the 1960s counterculture. In the 1970s, he began a successful career writing for television and performing in movies. Pryor was a guest host on the first season of 'Saturday Night Live,' and became the first black person to host the show. He continued to release standup material throughout the 70s and 80s, leading to Jerry Seinfeld calling him "the Picasso of our profession." Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, The Greatest began training as an amateur boxer at age 12. At age 18, Ali was already an international star after competing and winning a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Italy. At age 22, Ali won the world heavyweight championship in an upset victory against Sonny Liston in 1964. As a black athlete in the public spotlight, Ali became an icon for the 1960s counterculture and the civil rights movement. In 1966, he refused to be drafted for the Vietnam War - which he opposed as a conscientious objector. He was found guilty of draft evasion in 1966, and was subsequently stripped of his boxing titles. His conviction was eventually overturned in 1971, and his titles were restored. After retiring from the sport in 1981, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's syndrome in 1984. Ali died in 2016 at age 74. One of the most recognizable voices in 20th century music, Aretha Franklin was born in 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee. Known as the "Queen of Soul," she became dominant in many genres across the course of her long career, including pop, R&B, and gospel. Throughout her legendary career, she won 18 Grammys. She recorded 17 top ten singles, and 20 number one R&B singles. She was awarded with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and became the first woman inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Lusia Harris was born to Mississippi sharecroppers in 1955. Between 1975 and 1977, Harris lead Delta State University to win three women's National Championships. During that time, she also competed in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, where the US women's team won a silver medal for the first women's basketball competition in the games. Harris scored the first points in Olympic women's basketball history. Harris is also remembered for becoming the first and only woman to be drafted by the NBA, when she was selected by the New Orleans Jazz in 1977. Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana in 1958. Jackson first became a child star as a singer in the Jackson 5. The group signed with Motown in 1968, where they produced four number one singles in a row - "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save," and "I'll Be There." Jackson began his solo career in 1979 with the release of 'Off the Wall.' He solidified his legacy as the King of Pop with his followup, 'Thriller,' which became the best selling album of all time with 70 million copies sold worldwide. In 2021, it was certified 34 times platinum. Jackson's videos also helped popularize and elevate the platform, which gave legitimacy and prestige to MTV. Jackson died in 2009. He is remembered as one of the greatest selling musicians of all time, with an estimated 400 million album sales worldwide. He received 15 Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.

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