Black History: The Beginning
We owe the celebration of Black History Month, and more importantly, the
study of black history, to Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Born to parents who were
former slaves, he spent his childhood working in the Kentucky coal mines
and enrolled in high school at age twenty. He was taught to read by family
members and put himself through high school. He graduated from Berea
College in Kentucky in 1903 and later went onto earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. He was hired to teach
English in the Philippines and studied romance languages through correspondence courses. After
returning to the U.S., he began teaching at Dunbar High School in Washington, DC. In 1912 he
earned a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University. He was the second African American to earn a
Harvard doctorate. Woodson was an active promoter of black education. The scholar was disturbed
to fmd in his studies that history books largely ignored the black American population-and when
blacks did figure into the picture, it was generally in ways that reflected the inferior social position
they were assigned at the time. Woodson was always one who acted on his ambitions. He decided
to take on the challenge of writing Black Americans into the nation's history. He founded the
Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now called the Association for the Study of
Afro-American Life and History) in 1915, and a year later he founded the widely respected the
Journal ofNegro History, the Associated Publishers, and Negro History Bulletin.
In 1926, he began promoting Negro History Week during the second week of February to bring
national attention to the contributions of alack people throughout American history, and to
celebrate the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass - two men who greatly
influenced the Black American population. In the 1960s it became Black History Month.
Americans have recognized black history annually since 1926, first as ''Negro History Week" and
later as "Black History Month." What you might not know is that black history had barely begun to
be studied~r even documented-when the tradition originated. Although blacks have been in
America at least as far back as colonial times, it was not until the 20th century that they gained a
respectable presence in the history books.
Other significant dates in February denoting Black American history include:
•
February 23, 1868
The birth ofW. E. B. DuBois; co-founder of the NAACP
•
•
February 3, 1870
February 12, 1909
•
•
February 1, 1960
February 21, 1965
The 15th Amendment passed, granting Blacks the right to vote
NAACP founded in New York City
Black students from A&T State University sat in at Woolworth's
Malcolm X shot to death by three Black Muslims
George Washington Carver was a plant scientist who
made great contributions to the field of agricultural
chemistry. He created more than three hundred prod­
ucts from peanuts, soybeans, and sweet potatoes.
Carver received many honors and awards for his work.
Many institutions, museums, and schools are named
in honor of George Washington Carver.
George Washington Carver
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lewis Howard latimer, who was a patent expert, a
draftsman, and an inventor, made the first drawing of
the telephone. However, the telephone was patented
in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell. In 1881, Latimer
invented and patented a method of making carbon fil­
aments for Edison's lightbulb. latimer worked and
made patents for Maxim Weston (Westinghouse) and
Edison Electric (General Electric) Companies.
Lewis Howard Latimer
Dr. Mae Jemison was the first African American
woman in space. She was accepted as a NASA
astronaut in 1987, and in 1992 she was selected to
fly in the space shuttle Endeavor as a mission spe­
dalist Dr. Jemison was responsible for conducting
experiments during the shuttle mission.
Dr. Mae Jemison
Rosa Parks is known as the IImother of the Civil
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Rights movemenl She was arrested, fingerprinted,
jailed, and fined $14.00 in 1955 in Montgomery,
Alabama, because she refused to give up her seat on
a city bus to a white man. Parks's courageous stance
made it possible for African Americans to sit in any
available seat on a bus intended for public transport.
Rosa Parks
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Garrett Morgan. One of Morgan's inventions was
the automatic stop sign, better known as the traffic
light He later invented the traffic light to control the
flow of traffic at an intersection. Morgan also
invented the gas mask (breathing mask) used by fire­
fighters in the early 1900s Today, Morgan's inven­
tions are still helping to save lives all over the world.
Garrett Morgan
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Dr. Daniel Hale Williams was the first person to per­
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form open-heart surgery. A six-man operating team
assisted Dr. Williams, who worked in a small operating
room without the use of modern medical facilities,
X rays, or blood transfusions. Dr. Williams opened the
patient's chest, exposed the beating heart. and stitched
the knife wound. Dr. Williams was also the founder of
Provident Community Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.
CJg Dr. Daniel Hate Wiltiams
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Sarah .Breedlove Walker, known as /lMadame C.
J. Walker," invented a hair softener and straighten­
ing comb. In doing so, Walker became the first
African American woman to become a millionaire.
Sarah Breedlove Walker
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Jackie Robinson, in 1947, was the first African
American to play for a Major League baseball team,
the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was named Rookie of the
Year that year and two years later was designated the
National League's Most Valuable Player. In 1962,
Robinson became the first African American to be
inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Jackie
Robinson was more than a good baseball player... he
was GREAT!
~o Jackie Robinson
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a minister, civil
rights leader, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
King believed in equal rights and worked very hard for
the benefit of African Americans. He said that all
people should be treated equally and with respect.
Nine years after his death, the United States honored
him with the Congressional Medal of Freedom and
declared his birthday a national holiday.
Dr. Martin L1ItRer King, Jr.
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Jan E. Matzeliger invented the shoe-lasting machine.
This machine could sew the upper part of a shoe to
the sole, thereby producing thousands of pairs of
shoes in one day. By hand, skilled workers were able
~g to make only forty to fifty pairs of shoes per day.
MatzeUger's invention caused the shoe industry to
increase production from one million to eleven million
pairs a year.
Jan E. Matzeliger
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Joseph Winters invented the fire escape ladder. His
invention was given a patent on May 7, 1878. The fire
escape ladder was durable, simple, inexpensive, easy
to handle, and occupied little space. Also, it contained
a tamper-proof alarm.
Joseph Winters
President Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is the President-elect of the
United States of America, and the first African-American to be elected President of the
United States. Obama was the junior United States Senator from Illinois from-January 3,
2005 until his resignation on November 16, 2008, following his election to the_
Presidency.
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GREENVilLE COUNlY
-UMAN
iELATIONS
Striving to improve thequaJlty of life in
Greenville Courrtyby promoting positive
community relatiDrls and equal opportunity
For moreinformati'>n(ln the Human Rel~tions
Commis:siprhits I!etvices and its dasses,pleasc
contact us at 'Www.greenvillecounty.otgf
Human_RelatioDsl~'8(i4.467.'109S.
The Conunissioll is currently made up of twelve jndividual~.
that serve volunt<lrily for thr~e.ye<lr tel1ns. They $ervein
3,Tj(\Q.vi$ory capacity, working with the Execut.h':lll Dir~tor
to establish policy and direction oftheagency. Our current
commissioners,t1:lcir bylaws, and the legislation related to
the Commiss~on .an be seen on the web site by dickipg on
"Commissionef;$."
"rue Executive Director ofthe. Human Relations Commission
IS a GreenvilIe County Department Hearl and is accountable
tOt all currentGteenvlIle Cb.U:l'Ity policies. procedures and
practices. The entire staffis cr()ss~trained to counselcltents Ilnd
coordinate the.ac.tivities of the Commission.
Greenville County Human
Relations CDmmission
301 University Ridge
Suite 1600
Greenville, SC 29601
864.457.7095 Office·
864.467.5965 Fax