Keep in mind that learning about these leaders is only the start—and learning about Black history shouldn’t be limited to just the month of February. If you’re looking for somewhere to start, bring the whole family on board and pick up some children’s books that celebrate inclusivity and self-acceptance (these are a few of our favorites!) or educate yourself about a prominent civil rights activist (here are five resources to help you learn more about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.). As you read through these quotes, reflect on what the words mean to the Black community, and how you can use them to further educate yourself. A Brooklyn native, Yvette Clarke currently serves as a U.S. Representative for the state of New York. She created the Multicultural Media Caucus and is a co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls. As a Black Muslim minister, Malcom X was heavily involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. He was assassinated on February 21, 1965, in New York City. While Michelle Obama is best known for being the first Black First Lady of the United States, she is also an attorney and author. Her best-selling book Becoming ($12, Target) has sold over 14 million copies worldwide. After being born into slavery in 1818, Frederick Douglass escaped and became a leader of the abolitionist movement, which is outlined in his book My Bondage and My Freedom ($14, Barnes & Noble). He became known for his autobiographies about life as an enslaved person, and in 1872 he became the first Black man nominated to be the Vice President of the United States. Perhaps most famous for his I Have a Dream Speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister and civil rights leader in the mid-1900s. In 1963 he helped organize the March on Washington where he delivered the iconic speech and in 1964 he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his anti-racism work. He was assassinated in 1968 while organizing a national civil rights occupation of Washington D.C. Dr. Mae Jemison is an engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. In 1992 she became the first Black woman to travel to space. To help kids learn about her, pick up a copy of the book Mae Among the Stars ($14, Target). In 2009, attorney and former senator Barack Obama was sworn in as the first Black President of the United States. He served two consecutive terms. Learn more about his life and his presidency by reading his book, A Promised Land ($35, Barnes & Noble). George Washington Carver was one of the most notable scientists of the early 1920s. As a professor at the Tuskegee Institute, he worked to create methods that would prevent soil depletion—an important movement in the agricultural community. Thurgood Marshall was a lawyer and civil rights activist when he became the first Black member of the U.S. Supreme Court. He served on the Supreme Court from 1967 to 1991. Jesse Owens was an American track and field star known for his personality and athletic ability. At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, he won four gold medals, making him the most successful athlete at the games. As a poet and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou is known for her powerful and moving words. Her most notable work, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ($8, Barnes & Noble), is a New York Times bestseller and was nominated for a National Book Award in 1970. Asa Philip Randolph was a civil rights activist who headed the 1963 March on Washington. He is credited with leading the activism that led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to ban discrimination in the defense industries during World War II, and President Truman to ban segregation in the armed forces. Harriet Tubman was an escaped enslaved woman who became an abolitionist and political activist in the late 1800s and early 1900s. She was active in the Underground Railroad movement and is credited with conducting 13 rescue missions that freed approximately 70 enslaved people. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was a sociologist, writer, historian, and civil rights activist. He was the first Black man to earn a doctorate from Harvard and became a founder of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) in 1909.
