February is #BlackHistoryMonth . To mark this month, each day I'll highlight an African-American individual who made a difference during his or her times--and left a legacy for the history books.
I'll start with Dorie Miller. In 1939, he enlisted in Navy as mess attendant--1 of the few positions open to African-Americans. On Dec. 7, 1941, he was stationed in Hawaii on USS West Virginia. He ran on deck after Japanese attack & helped defend ship, earning Navy Cross in 1942.
I'll start with Dorie Miller. In 1939, he enlisted in Navy as mess attendant--1 of the few positions open to African-Americans. On Dec. 7, 1941, he was stationed in Hawaii on USS West Virginia. He ran on deck after Japanese attack & helped defend ship, earning Navy Cross in 1942.
I'll start with Dorie Miller. In 1939, he enlisted in Navy as mess attendant--1 of the few positions open to African-Americans. On Dec. 7, 1941, he was stationed in Hawaii on USS West Virginia. He ran on deck after Japanese attack & helped defend ship, earning Navy Cross in 1942.
Here's a picture of Miller receiving the Navy Cross from Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (an honor that came about partly because Afr-Am papers like the Pittsburgh Courier publicized his heroism). Tragically, Miller would die less than two years later, in the Battle of Makin Island.
Here's a picture of Miller receiving the Navy Cross from Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (an honor that came about partly because Afr-Am papers like the Pittsburgh Courier publicized his heroism). Tragically, Miller would die less than two years later, in the Battle of Makin Island.
Here's a picture of Miller receiving the Navy Cross from Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (an honor that came about partly because Afr-Am papers like the Pittsburgh Courier publicized his heroism). Tragically, Miller would die less than two years later, in the Battle of Makin Island.
Most know Jackie Robinson was 1st to break @MLB’s color barrier. Do you know the 2nd? Larry Doby. @Indians slugger succeeded despite having to stay in separate hotels, eat separately on road, & face hostility from some of his teammates. #BlackHistoryMonth https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/doby-larry
Arthur Ashe overcame segregation in his native Richmond, VA to become 1st Afr-Am man to win US Open, Australian Open, & Wimbledon. He later became an activist on many issues, including AIDS, from which he died in 1993. #BlackHistoryMonth @TennisHalloFame: https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/arthur-ashe
Patricia Roberts Harris achieved a lot of “firsts”: first African-American woman to serve as an Ambassador (Luxembourg), Cabinet Secretary ( @HUDgov and what we now know as @HHSGov), and @Howardlawschool Dean. https://www.biography.com/people/patricia-roberts-harris-205630 #BlackHistoryMonth
Phillis Wheatley was 1st African-American to publish a book. Born in 1753 & kidnapped from West Africa in 1761, she was sold into slavery in Boston. Educated in classics, she began writing poems and was published in 1773. #BlackHistoryMonth @PWACleveland: http://www.pwacleveland.org/bio/ 
Phillis Wheatley was 1st African-American to publish a book. Born in 1753 & kidnapped from West Africa in 1761, she was sold into slavery in Boston. Educated in classics, she began writing poems and was published in 1773. #BlackHistoryMonth @PWACleveland: http://www.pwacleveland.org/bio/ 
Phillis Wheatley was 1st African-American to publish a book. Born in 1753 & kidnapped from West Africa in 1761, she was sold into slavery in Boston. Educated in classics, she began writing poems and was published in 1773. #BlackHistoryMonth @PWACleveland: http://www.pwacleveland.org/bio/ 
Hiram Revels was an educator and a minister who, on February 25, 1870 became the first African-American member of the U.S. Senate as a Republican from Mississippi. #BlackHistoryMonth https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/First_African_American_Senator.htm
Blind Lemon Jefferson (1893-1929) was one of the most important early blues musicians; he had a huge influence on T-Bone Walker and Lightnin' Hopkins, among others. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/blind-lemon-jefferson-mn0000050205/biography My fav: "See That My Grave is Kept Clean": #BlackHistoryMonth
RIP, Frank Robinson: 14x @MLB All-Star, @baseballhall member, & long-time @Reds/ @Orioles star was 1st African-American manager in the major leagues & the 1st to win MVP awards in both the AL & NL. #BlackHistoryMonth https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2019/02/07/oriole-hall-of-famer-frank-robinson-dies-at-83/
Orioles Hall Of Famer Frank Robinson Dies At 83

He was the first player to win MVP awards in both leagues and the first African-American manager in MLB. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a Baltimore Oriole in 1982.

https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2019/02/07/oriole-hall-of-famer-frank-robinson-dies-at-83/
Born into slavery in GA in 1848, Susie Taylor was secretly educated as a child. In Civil War, Union forces asked & she agreed to teach "adults who came to me nights, all of them so eager to learn to read, to read above anything else." #BlackHistoryMonth https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/susie-king-taylor-1848-1912
Judy Reed was the first African-American woman to hold a patent. On September 23, 1884, @uspto granted Patent No. 305,474 for a “dough kneader and roller.” #BlackHistoryMonth https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates/uspto-recognizes-inventive-women-during-womens-history-month
Sherman “Jocko” Maxwell is thought to be the 1st African-American sports broadcaster, reporting scores/news starting in 1929. He was “never paid by any radio station. Only Ballantine Beer, a sponsor, paid him for his work—$7 per spot.” #blackhistorymonth https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/baseball-history/jocko-maxwell-voice-of-negro-leagues
William Coleman ranked 1st in his class @Harvard_Law in 1946. He later became 1st African-American Supreme Court clerk & worked with Thurgood Marshall to litigate civil rights cases. In 1975, Pres. Ford appointed him Secretary of @USDOT. #BlackHistoryMonth https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/william-t-coleman-jr
. @ProFootballHOF member Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard was 1 of 1st 2 Afr-Amer players and 1st Afr-Amer coach in @NFL, starting with Akron Pros. As Coach @TonyDungy said, “He was a pioneer, and you can’t measure that in statistics." #BlackHistoryMonth https://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/articles/2007-08-10/fritzs-fame
The discrimination he endured during WWI military service motivated Charles Hamilton Houston for rest of his life. He became a lawyer; as Dean of Howard Law starting in 1929, he inspired many (incl. Thurgood Marshall) & led charge toward Brown v. Board in 1954. #BlackHistoryMonth
On this #ValentinesDay and during this #BlackHistoryMonth , a useful reminder that Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway sang more beautifully than any of us. The timeless ballad "The Closer I Get to You":
Henry Lewis (1932-96) broke color barriers when it came to symphony orchestras. He made history when, as a teenager, he became 1st African-American instrumentalist to play with @LAPhil. He made it again when, in 1972, he became 1st to conduct @MetOpera. #BlackHistoryMonth
Rebecca Lee Crumpler (1831-95) was 1st African-American woman to earn a medical degree. In an 1883 book, she wrote that she “early conceived a liking for, and sought every opportunity to relieve the sufferings of others.“ #BlackHistoryMonth @NIH @nlm_news: https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_73.html
“She never met a stranger.” @USArmy Lt. Col. Karen J. Wagner, a 17-year vet, hoped to teach overseas or host a cooking show someday. She was killed at Pentagon during 9/11 terrorist attacks. This marker sits outside @MedicineMuseum, which I visited today. http://projects.washingtonpost.com/911victims/karen-j-wagner/#BlackHistoryMonth – bei National Museum of Health and Medicine
“She never met a stranger.” @USArmy Lt. Col. Karen J. Wagner, a 17-year vet, hoped to teach overseas or host a cooking show someday. She was killed at Pentagon during 9/11 terrorist attacks. This marker sits outside @MedicineMuseum, which I visited today. http://projects.washingtonpost.com/911victims/karen-j-wagner/#BlackHistoryMonth – bei National Museum of Health and Medicine
“She never met a stranger.” @USArmy Lt. Col. Karen J. Wagner, a 17-year vet, hoped to teach overseas or host a cooking show someday. She was killed at Pentagon during 9/11 terrorist attacks. This marker sits outside @MedicineMuseum, which I visited today. http://projects.washingtonpost.com/911victims/karen-j-wagner/#BlackHistoryMonth – bei National Museum of Health and Medicine
“She never met a stranger.” @USArmy Lt. Col. Karen J. Wagner, a 17-year vet, hoped to teach overseas or host a cooking show someday. She was killed at Pentagon during 9/11 terrorist attacks. This marker sits outside @MedicineMuseum, which I visited today. http://projects.washingtonpost.com/911victims/karen-j-wagner/#BlackHistoryMonth – bei National Museum of Health and Medicine
Charles Drew (1904-50) was 2nd in his med school class @mcgillu. He later got a doctorate @Columbia, in which he made groundbreaking proposal for blood/plasma banking, & spent years training future doctors @howardmedical. #BlackHistoryMonth @AmChemistry: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/african-americans-in-sciences/charles-richard-drew.html
Charles Drew (1904-50) was 2nd in his med school class @mcgillu. He later got a doctorate @Columbia, in which he made groundbreaking proposal for blood/plasma banking, & spent years training future doctors @howardmedical. #BlackHistoryMonth @AmChemistry: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/african-americans-in-sciences/charles-richard-drew.html
Charles Drew (1904-50) was 2nd in his med school class @mcgillu. He later got a doctorate @Columbia, in which he made groundbreaking proposal for blood/plasma banking, & spent years training future doctors @howardmedical. #BlackHistoryMonth @AmChemistry: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/african-americans-in-sciences/charles-richard-drew.html
Charles Drew (1904-50) was 2nd in his med school class @mcgillu. He later got a doctorate @Columbia, in which he made groundbreaking proposal for blood/plasma banking, & spent years training future doctors @howardmedical. #BlackHistoryMonth @AmChemistry: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/african-americans-in-sciences/charles-richard-drew.html
“Ironically, the Red Cross excluded African Americans from donating blood, making Drew himself ineligible to participate in the very program he established.” This changed, but donors/recipients stayed segregated; Drew called it “unscientific and insulting to African Americans.”
The grandson of former slaves, Percy Julian (1899-1975) became renowned chemist who "synthesize[d] important medicinal compounds [like cortisone & progesterone] from abundant plant sources, making them more affordable to mass-produce." https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/percy-lavon-julian #BlackHistoryMonth
As if that wasn't enough, early on, "Julian attracted attention for synthesizing the drug physostigmine, used to treat glaucoma" & "refined a soya protein that became the basis of Aero-Foam, a foam fire extinguisher used by the @USNavy in World War II." https://www.britannica.com/biography/Percy-Julian
Percy Julian | American chemist

Percy Julian, American chemist, synthesist of cortisone, hormones, and other products from soybeans. Percy Julian attended De Pauw University (A.B., 1920) and Harvard University (M.A., 1923) and...

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Percy-Julian
But Julian faced racism & violence. He moved to exclusive Chicago suburb of Oak Park "to prevent his two children from experiencing the fear that he’d known in the Jim Crow South." But in 1950, his house was firebombed. In 1951, dynamite was thrown at it. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-flashback-percy-julian-chemist-oak-park-20190206-story.html
Born in Virginia during segregation, Mary Jackson (1921-2005) did well in school & later became the first African-American female engineer at NASA. Her work as a "human computer," and others', featured in the 2016 movie "Hidden Figures." https://www.biography.com/people/mary-winston-jackson-120616 #BlackHistoryMonth
If jazz is the quintessential American musical form, Miles Davis (1926-91) was the quintessential jazz musician. His album "Kind of Blue," recorded 60 years ago, set the standard for the art form and remains an all-time great work. #BlackHistoryMonth
Charles Young was 1st Afr-Am superintendent of a National Park. Born into slavery in 1864, he later became 1 of 1st Afr-Ams to go to West Point. In 1903, in @USArmy, he was ordered to @SequoiaKingsNPS and tapped as Acting Superintendent. https://www.nps.gov/seki/learn/historyculture/young.htm #BlackHistoryMonth
Iris Rideau is 1st African-American woman to have owned & operated a winery in U.S. Having grown up poor, she was motivated—“I never want to experience poverty again. That is what drives me.”—& achieved success in business, then started @rideauvineyard in 1997. #BlackHistoryMonth
Marlon Green was the 1st African-American to be a pilot for a major U.S. commercial airline. It wasn’t easy; the @usairforce vet applied to Continental Airlines in 1957 and was rejected. Only after Supreme Court vindicated him in 1963 did he get his shot. #BlackHistoryMonth
The 6 long years between applying and the court decision were hard. Continental had branded him a “troublemaker,” and he “didn’t have another skill to fall back on.” The struggle “took a lot of life out of me and my family.” Via @airspacemag’s @tonyr_vr: https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/aviations-jackie-robinson-16161631/?all
Aviation's Jackie Robinson

It took a Supreme Court decision, but in 1963 Marlon Green finally broke into the majors.

https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/aviations-jackie-robinson-16161631/?all
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