12 Unknown, Influential African Americans

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12th and Frederick Douglass was born on February 14th.

Lincoln and Douglass were two great Americans who helped to shape and define this country, and, as a result, their birthdays were celebrated independently in circles and communities since the mid-to-late 1800’s.

It is thought that Carter G. Woodson embraced the importance of the second week in February when he introduced “Negro History Week” to celebrate the invaluable contributions of African Americans. In 1976, this week-long commemoration was transformed into “Black History Month” as we know it, today, when President Gerald Ford formally extended the observance to “honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

In this 60-minute experience, scholars will be introduced to 10 little-known or lauded African Americans through a brief bio of each, a quote each were known for, and a short video exploring the impacts each had on society.

The challenge for scholars comes after each introduction, where they are asked to pause, share their initial reactions to the contributions of that individual, and then explore how that individual’s influences on society impacts them or their family, personally, in a large or small way.

Asking scholars to make a personal connection to these unknown, influential African Americans allows scholars to build concrete links to the past that highlight the relevancy of these ground-breaking individuals still experienced today.

The last two individuals scholars are asked to create connections with are chosen by the scholars, themselves, with the help of a website celebrating African American “Firsts” in a variety of categories. Firsts in “Business & Labor,” “Civics,” “Education,” “Medicine & Health,” “Sports,” “The Arts,” “The Media,” “The Military,” “The Sciences,” and “Religion” are all included. Students are encouraged to choose folks in areas of their own interests.

Choose this “12 Unknown, Influential African Americans” activity to allow your scholars to make the celebration of “Black History Month” relevant and uniquely important to the lives they live in the 21st Century.

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