I am uplifted when I read about the accomplishments of Black people. I think about Dr. George Washington Carver, a scientist and inventor and the many uses he made for peanuts and sweet potatoes. Consider Dr. Charles Drew, a noted researcher whose work in understanding blood plasma led to the creation of blood banks.
We can’t ever forget Madame C.J. Walker whose name at birth was Sarah Breedlove. She was born in Louisiana and later became an activist and a successful business woman. She developed a line of hair products for Black people in 1905.
It is impossible to leave out Shirley Chisholm who, in 1968, became the first Black woman to be elected to Congress. In 1972, she became the first major-party African American to run for the presidency of the United States.
When you have a chance please read her book entitled, Unbossed and Unbought. In it you feel her courage and her strength as she became a respected leader and captured the hearts of the American people. Some years ago, I was honored to have met her and to have taken a picture with her. One of her famous quotes was, “If they don’t offer you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”
While a student at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, I had the life-changing experience of meeting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was and still is one of the most defining moments in my life. I have long believed in his approach to fairness and equality.
While some may have a different view, I believe in peaceful assemblies and non-violence. As citizens, we must use our brains and not our muscles to engage others who may not agree with us.
Dr. Carter G. Woodson and The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History created Negro History Week in 1926. The second week in February was designated as Negro History Week. The second week in February was chosen because it aligned with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
