What is Black History Month?

Black History Month is an opportunity to highlight, celebrate and recognize Black peoples’ role and influence in history and the present day. It grew out of Negro History Week – founded by Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans, as American history often leaves out the important contributions made by Black people that should be acknowledged and celebrated.

We encourage you to expand your knowledge and research additional Black individuals that have contributed to society.

https://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/exhibits-and-collections/

“EVERY GREAT DREAM BEGINS WITH A DREAMER. ALWAYS REMEMBER, YOU HAVE WITHIN YOU THE STRENGTH, THE PATEINCE, AND THE PASSION TO REACH FOR THE STARS TO CHANGE THE WORLD.”

HARRIETT TUBMAN

BL BLACK WALL STREET

Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was located in the city’s Greenwood neighborhood and founded by a wealthy Black businessman, O.W. Gurley. It consisted of all Black-owned businesses, In 1921, the community was attacked by white Tulsans who were threatened by the community’s prosperity. They were provided with weapons by city officials and police officers and even flew planes to bomb the neighborhood, resulting in potentially hundreds of deaths.The violent event, now known as the Tulsa Race Massacre, prevented Black Wall Street from ever fully recovering. Black business owners were prevented from claiming insurance damage from the intentional damage because the press publicized the event as a “riot.” Residents fled the city or remained with fewer resources. The city and participating Tulsans downplayed their role in the violence and ultimately buried it.Learning More: With the 100-year anniversary of the massacre, Tulsa created a Centennial Commission to fully assess and educate about the massacre.

Chadwick Aaron Boseman (1976-2020)

• Boseman graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C., earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in directing in 2000. He furthered his education by attending the Oxford Mid-Summer program at the British American Drama Academy in London. Upon return to the United States, he studied at the New York City Digital Film Academy.

• His career was dedicated to exploring and highlighting the contributions of influential Black Americans (such as James Brown, Thurgood Marshall and Jackie Robinson), as well as the experiences of Black Vietnam War veterans.

Henrietta Lacks• In 1951, Henrietta Lacks visited Johns Hopkins Hospital;

one of the few hospitals to treat Black residents in the area. She was later diagnosed with cervical cancer. Dr. George Gey unethically and without her permission, collected and studied Henrietta’s cervical cells. Henrietta’s cells were the only cells to survive, doubling every 20 to 24 hours.

• Her cells were nicknamed “HeLa” cells, were instrumental in developing the polio vaccine, and are still used to study the effects of toxins, drugs, hormones and viruses on the growth of cancer cells without testing on humans.

• Her family received some compensation for the use of her cells as a philanthropic gift in October 2020, despite decades of biomedical companies profiting from them.

• Learning More: A book and HBO movie of the same name (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks) highlight the difficulties faced by her family after learning what happened to her.

Oscar Robertson Oscar Robertson, also known as the Big “O,” was raised in Indiana and attended and played basketball at Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis.

He has many basketball accolades including but not limited to:

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame 1960 U.S. Olympic Basketball Team Voted one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history

Learning More: He successfully fought for reform of the NBA’s draft rules and higher salaries for all players while president of the National Basketball Players Association. This video from the NBA highlights his contributions in this role.