Black American history: A Look at Lesser-Known Historical Figures
Carter G. Woodson
(1875 – 1950)
Because he was born to former slaves, Carter G. Woodson’s formal education did not come easily. After his grueling days working on the family farm and later in the coal mines of West Virginia, Woodson would come home and teach himself basic school subjects. After enrolling in high school at the age of 20, then graduating within two years, Woodson was hungry for more knowledge and a better life. He went on to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in literature before becoming the second Black American to earn his doctorate at Harvard University.
In 1925, Woodson sought to find ways to bring the Black community into its rightful place in American history. In hopes to raise awareness of these neglected histories, he proposed there be a week in which Americans would recognize their fellow Black Americans’ accomplishments. The event was first celebrated during a week in February, 1926 that also encompassed the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, and Frederick Douglass, a former escaped slave who became a renowned social reformer, abolitionist, and writer. The week-long celebration was a success, and was extended to a month in 1976 when President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” Black History Month is now recognized not only across the United States, but also in Canada and the UK, earning Woodson the title “Father of Black History.”
Bessie Coleman
(1892 – 1926)
Bessie Coleman was working as a manicurist at a barber shop in Chicago when her brothers went to fight in World War I. When they came back from their stations in France, they told Coleman stories of their time at war, teasing her about how French women were allowed to pilot airplanes and she was not. Upon hearing these stories, Coleman decided that she wanted to become a pilot. She applied to multiple flight schools across the nation, but none would take her because she was a woman of color. So, she decided she would go to France where she would be allowed to fly. Coleman dedicated her nights to learning French so she could apply to Caudron Brothers' School of Aviation in Le Crotoy, France where she eventually received her international pilot’s license on June 15, 1921 from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. This put her on the historical map for becoming the first Black female pilot as well as the first Native American female pilot.
Known for performing tricks during her flights, Coleman’s nicknames were; “Brave Bessie,” “Queen Bess,” and “The Only Race Aviatrix in the World.” She toured the country giving flight lessons and performing in flight shows, all the while refusing to speak or perform anywhere that was segregated or discriminatory against people of color. Coleman’s goal was to encourage African Americans and women to learn how to fly, which she did until her early and tragic death during an airplane malfunction in 1926.
Granville Woods
(1856 – 1910)
After quitting school at the young age of 10 to help his impoverished family in Ohio, Granville Tailer Woods took up a variety of industrial jobs such as an engineer in a railroad machine shop, an engineer on a British ship, a steel mill worker, and a railroad worker. Realizing early on that the world was advancing at a rapid pace, Woods moved to New York City to take courses in engineering and electricity. After returning home to Ohio, Woods took a job at the Springfield, Jackson, and Pomeroy Railroad Company. He was then employed by the Dayton and Southeastern Railway Company as an engineer. During that time, he established his own career as not only an engineer but also as an inventor, too.
His time working at these companies would serve him well, as this is where he began to think about arguably his most important invention: the Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph. This multiplex telegraph made it possible for railway stations and trains to communicate with each other, preventing crucial miscommunication errors that resulted in train accidents. Woods would go on to obtain over 50 patents of which included an egg incubator, the automatic brake, and improvements to other technologies such as the safety circuit, telegraph, telephone, and phonograph, earning him the nickname “Black Edison.”
Mae Jemison
(1956 – )
Mae Jemison grew up watching NASA’s Apollo Program air on TV. She was fascinated by it all – the engineering, the science, the concept of space – but she was disappointed by the lack of female astronauts. Inspired by Nichelle Nichols’ character Lieutenant Uhura on the TV show Star Trek, Jemison swore that she would travel to space one day. However, before that day would happen, Jemison would achieve many milestones, including obtaining a bachelor’s in African American studies and a doctorate from Cornell Medical School. While getting her doctorate, Jemison also worked at a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand and became fluent in Russian, Swahili, and Japanese. After earning her degree, she went on to practice general medicine and joined the Peace Corps as a medical officer in Africa. After she returned to the states two years later, she opened her own private medical practice.
