Historian and author Carter G. Woodson is known by many as the “Father of Black History.” Tired of having Black people left out of the American story, he created the first Negro History Week in February 1926 as a time to remember our contributions to science, sports, the arts and more. Although some people still take issue with the celebration happening during the shortest month of the year, Woodson’s choice was intentional. He chose the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of former President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist and author Frederick Douglass.
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In 1976, the celebration grew to a month-long observance when former President Gerald Ford recognized the first Black History Month. Now, nearly 100 years after the first, we continue to celebrate the amazing contributions Black people have made throughout history.
You may think you’ve learned all you can about Dr. Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks, but there is so much more to our story that often gets left out of the history books and school lesson plans.
In honor of a century’s worth of celebrations of amazing Black Americans, we’re looking at some little-known Black history facts that are sure to shock you.
MLK is One of Two Americans Honored With a Federal Holiday
On November 2, 1983, then-President Ronald Regan signed a bill recognizing MLK Day as a federal holiday and a day to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebrated annually on the third Monday of January, Dr. King is one of only two Americans with their own federal holiday. The other is President George Washington.
This Ohio Native Was The First Black Woman to Earn a 4-Year Degree
Cleveland native Lucy Stanton was the first Black woman in America to earn a 4-year college degree. Stanton graduated from Oberlin College in 1850 with a literary degree. She delivered the graduation address, an anti-slavery speech entitled “A Plea For The Oppressed.”
This Man Wrote The First Published Novel by a Black Writer
Writer and abolitionist William Wells Brown made history in 1853, when his novel “Clotel,” a story about the daughters and granddaughters of President Thomas Jefferson and one of his slaves, became the first novel published by an African American writer.
George Washington Carver Was An Artist
Most people know George Washington Carver as an agricultural researcher who discovered over 300 uses for the peanut. But he was also an artist who loved painting plants. A collection of his work was featured at World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893.
A Black Man Helped Break the Watergate Scandal
You probably learned about the Watergate scandal involving former President Richard Nixon in history class. But you may not know that it was Frank Wills, a Black security guard who discovered burglars in the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate Hotel on June 17, 1972. Wills called police, who found five men hiding in the office with bugging equipment and White House phone numbers. The arrest set off a chain of events that led to President Nixon’s resignation.
The First Black Morning Show Host Got His Big Break On ‘The TODAY Show’
These days, we have Craig Melvin, Michael Strahan and Nate Burleson, but they are all walking in the footsteps of Bryant Gumbel. In 1982, he began as co-anchor of “The TODAY Show,” making him the first Black person to host an American network morning show.
Madam C.J. Walker Was an Outspoken Activist
You probably know that Madam C.J. Walker whose hair products for Black women made her the first woman to become a self-made millionaire. But you may not know that Walker did a lot of good with the money she made. Walker used her platform to be an advocate to end the lynching of African Americans. She also covered the tuition of at least six Black students at Tuskegee Institute.
Jackie Kennedy’s Wedding Dress Was Designed by a Black Woman
When Jaqueline Bouvier married then-Senator John F. Kennedy in 1953, her wedding dress got lots of attention. But what wasn’t talked about was the fact that it was created by Black fashion designer Ann Lowe, who designed for other rich families, including the Rockefellers and the Roosevelts.
There Was a Black Female Buffalo Soldier
Cathay Williams was the first African American female solider to join the Army as well as the only known Black female member of the Buffalo Soldiers, a group of all-Black Army regiments who served in the 19th Century. Although women were not allowed to serve in the military at the time, Williams enlisted as a man under the name, “William Cathay” in 1866 until health issues cut her military career short.
These Men Were Groundbreaking Black NFL Players
In 1920, Bobby Marshall and Fritz Pollard became the first Black men to play in the NFL. After his playing days were over, Pollard went on to become the first Black coach in the NFL.
A Black Man Patented the Door Lock
A Black man is responsible for making sure all of us can sleep safely in our homes at night. WA Martin, who patented the first door lock in 1889. His version, which was an upgrade to a Chinese invention that was thousands of years old, was made with a cylinder and spiral spring wrapped around a metal pin.
Before Barack Obama, There Was George Edwin Taylor
Before Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson, Barack Obama and Kamala Harris, there was George Edwin Taylor, who ran for President as a member of the National Negro Liberty Party in 1904. The son of a slave, Taylor was a journalist who eventually became editor of Wisconsin’s La Crosse Evening Star. Although he got less than 2,000 votes in the election, the fact that he was able to garner any support during a time when Black women were not legally allowed to vote helped paved the way for future Black candidates to come.
The First Black Athlete Won Olympic Gold at the 1908 Games
We know the amazing contributions that Olympic athletes like Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis, Florence Griffith Joyner and Allyson Felix have made to the sport. But you may not know that the first African American to win a gold medal at the Olympics was John Baxter Taylor, who won a gold medal at the 1908 Olympic Games in London as part of the men’s 1600-meter relay team. Unfortunately, Taylor developed a case of typhoid pneumonia and passed away just a few months after the Olympics in December 1908.
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