A list of African American leaders whose actions helped bring change

Although Black History can and should be recognized every month, February is a great time as it is the season of love. Amidst the considerable challenges faced by the black community, it’s easy to dwell on the negative and be hateful, but alongside the struggles, there has been so much to love, so many achievements and milestones, and so many notable people who helped lead us to where we are today. Delving into education, inventions, social movements, and protests, let’s explore some maybe lesser known African American leaders whose contributions have shaped our journey.

Those who lead us through education:

Daniel Hale Williams: In 1891, Daniel Hale Williams established the nation’s first interracial hospital. The facility functioned as the nation’s first black nursing school.

Hallie Quinn Brown: A lifelong educator and advocate of women’s rights, established a scholarship program for women’s education in the 1880s to encourage more women to pursue higher education.

Dorothy Height: A well-known civil rights activist, Dorothy Height had the ear of President Eisenhower in urging him to desegregate schools. President Bush awarded her with a Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.

(Source: onlinecollege.org)

Those who lead us through social movements: 

Ida B. Wells: A devoted feminist and journalist, Wells exposed the atrocities of Black American lynchings in the Jim Crow South through her investigative work. (Source: oprahdaily.com)

Bree Newsome: American filmmaker, activist, and speaker from Charlotte, North Carolina, and Oakland Mills Alumni. Her most well-known act of civil disobedience occurred on June 27, 2015, when, in the wake of the Charleston church shooting, she removed the Confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina State House and was subsequently arrested. (Source: Wikipedia.org)

Those who lead us through inventions and innovations:

Garrett Morgan: A Black inventor and the son of enslaved parents, created several important innovations with only an elementary school education, such as the gas mask and an improved sewing machine. But Morgan’s most significant creation was the  three-light upgraded traffic signal, created in 1923. (Source: Historical.com)

Mary Van Brittan Brown: Co-Inventor of the Home Security System in 1966. She created an early security system for her own house. With her husband gone, she spent a lot of evenings alone at home in Queens, New York, and she felt uncomfortable because of the high crime rate in her area. So, she invented a tool to help ease her mind. (Source: History.com)

Ernest Everett Just: Just was an internationally recognized biologist who changed how cells are studied and co-founded the Omega Psi Phi fraternity at Howard University, which would later create what is today known as Black History Month. (Source: history.com)