My Black History Month Commendations
Although I honor these individuals 24/7, let’s showcase these great people!
This list does not go in any particular order and I have not depicted all the black people I honor and enjoy reading and learning about. That story would go on for days. Throughout history there have been millions of amazing people!
You will catch a theme in this story. It’s the same theme of everyone I talk about in any story.
Honor.
I give honor where honor is earned. And it is earned by fighting. This list will be of black men and women who stood in what they knew to be right and just, no matter what anyone else said; not peers, not members of their own race, and not the media. Anyone who is influenced by external factors cannot be great.
1. Melvin B. Tolson: He was a black scholar who stood for black rights, equal to, not greater, than white rights. By the Texas Historical Association he was known as a Lincoln Republican.
2. The highly civilian-decorated Reverend & Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Martin Luther King Jr., Ph.D., Nobel Peace Prize Awardee, Springarn Medal Awardee, & the Presidential Medal of Freedom Awardee. In accordance with Melvin, Dr. King, stated, “Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.” (March for Integrated Schools, April 18, 1959). Dr. King’s philosophy and activism was rooted in the mix of Christian Theology and the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi (let’s be a little educated and not confuse the two. The reason Jesus was was quiet in certain situations was based solely on that it would not have mattered at the time, but He was not quiet when pushing for justice, as Dr. King portrays).
3. June Bacon-Bercey: She was the first African-American to earn an undergraduate degree in meteorology from UCLA
4. Dr. Patricia Bath: Ophthalmologist known for inventing the Laserphaco Probe, a tool used in cataract surgery, and the first Black female doctor to receive a medical patent
5. Dr. Beth Brown was an American astrophysicist and the first black woman to obtain a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Michigan
6. Dr. Gloria Twine Chisum was an experimental psychologist known for creating protective eyewear for pilots suitable for extreme conditions
And to all the hundreds of black women who have been pioneers in their fields and been humble though it all, God bless them! May we learn how to be pioneers, as well, and showcase the power of God. There are hundreds of black women who were in the Firsts Club. For the record, I coined the Firsts Club. The Firsts Club is what it sounds like, the greatest club of all time. The pioneers and the geniuses of their fields.
Last thing about black women. Black women have proved themselves in every field, from nursing to space flight trajectory mathematics. They did not ask for handouts, they asked for a fair shot. They did not ask for an extra second on the clock, they asked to merely run in a fair and equal battle, just as Dr. King talked about.
7. Katherine Johnson was a NASA mathematician who helped calculate the flight path for NASA’s first manned space mission in 1962. Her life and career was depicted in the movie “Hidden Figures.”
8. Actor Denzel Washington: An actor known for giving God the glory for his success
9. Dr. Monique Mendes was the First Black Woman to Receive a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester
10. Rosa Parks:
“I was fortunate God provided me with the strength I needed at the precise time when conditions were ripe for change. I am thankful to Him every day that He gave me the strength not to move.”
That quote gives me good-vibe goosebumps. She was so tough!
11. Carl Brashear, the first African-American U.S. Navy Diver. And he did it with one leg
12. The Great Les Brown
13. Actor Bernie Mac
14. Westinghouse High School Wall of Fame for Swimming, James “Jim” Ellis
15. Actor Terrence Howard
16. Actor Eddie Murphy
17. Actors Key and Peele, of course
18. Actor Cuba Gooding Jr.
19. Bass Reeves was an American law enforcement officer. He was the first black deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi River
20. Sheriff David Clarke
21. Harriet Tubman was the black woman who scouted for the 2d South Carolina Volunteers in the Civil War
22. Kearyn Bolin
23. In 1870 Hiram Revels of Mississippi became the first African American senator (Republican), Democrats following in the next century
24. Dr. Leah Wright Rigueur: She is an historian published in the Princeton Press.
And finishing us out:
25. Carol Miller Swain, Ph.D. is a retired professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University. In her career, she earned an associates degree from Virginia Western Community College. A Bachelors: magna cum laude B.A. in criminal justice from Roanoke College. Two Masters: master’s degree in political science from Virginia Tech and in 2000 she earned a Master of Legal Studies from Yale Law School. While an undergraduate at Roanoke College, she organized a scholarship fund for black students that by 2002 had an endowment of $350,000. She finished a Ph.D. in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989.
Thank you for reading! Thank you for the 50 claps!! Thank you for sharing your positive comments that keep the conversation moving!!!
