Being an African American is one struggle that black people have to deal with every single day of their lives. This is mainly because of the history of African Americans, especially at the time when they were slaves. However, most of these great black leaders in history fought so hard to put an end to slavery and to stop segregation.
As a result, black history month was formed. This is the month when people reflect on the past, and the whole country thinks back to the time when African Americans were discriminated against by their fellow Americans.
Regardless of being put through so much pain, the below great black leaders never stopped fighting for their rights and what they believed was right.
Thanks to them, the world is slowly becoming a better place to accommodate everyone despite their origin or race.
Famous Black leaders in History are:
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Amongst all the influential black leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is at the top of the list. He left a legacy behind that is worth celebrating and is always celebrated on the third Monday every year in January.
He is best known for preaching about non-violent means of protesting segregation in the United States. When he was assassinated at the hands of a white man, the whole world was in chaos, and riots and mourning were all over the world.
Rosa Parks
This strong woman is known for refusing to leave her seat and move to the back for a white man to have her seat. She was arrested because her act was seen as disobedience, but that did not deter her from being recognized in the list of black leaders in history.
Rosa Parks was named the “Mother of the Freedom Movement” because of her boldness. Her refusal to give up her seat to a white man sparked the civil rights movement and later died of natural causes.
Harriet Tubman
This amazing woman is also another black leader in history that we get to celebrate today. Harriet was born into slavery in 1822. She became famous for helping slaves to escape after she also escaped from slavery.
In addition to that, she is known to have served as an “underground railroad”. This was a secret path that passed through states where slaves were held, which Harriet used to help slaves to escape to the north.
Download Black Leaders History PowerPoint Presentation:
Frederick Douglas
Douglas has an autobiography where he clearly outlines his life and how he escaped from slavery. During this time, slavery was like the new normal. African Americans were used as slaves in the white lands, and heavy duties were delegated to them. No food was provided, they laboured for longer hours in the farms, women were raped and their new-born children were also turned into slaves at a very young age.
Douglas’s escape from slavery proved instrumental to the abolitionist movement and was the ultimate goal for ending slavery. In the list of black leaders in history, Douglas was the most famous black man during the civil war era.
Sojourner Truth
Just like Douglas and Tubman, Truth was also born into slavery. Later on in her life, she escaped from slavery to become an abolitionist and activist for women’s rights. Her fight for women’s rights was a result of the things she went through in her life as a slave. She did not want any other woman to go through what she went through.
In her efforts to deliver women from the oppression they faced, Truth made religion her point of focus. She is known to have played a major role in recruiting African American soldiers to fight for the north state, against the southern state in the civil war.
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is a famous name because of his involvement in the sport of boxing. This influential black leader is one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time. Ali left a mark in the boxing industry and has become a role model to many young people who want to venture into the same industry.
In the early 1960s, he changed his name from “Cassius Clay” because his name was associated with slavery and he was not happy about that. He adopted a new name “Muhammad Ali” from the Islamic tradition, and this name symbolized a new black separate movement in the United States.
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou is another inspirational black leader in history. She is one of the best-known African American authors that ever existed. Her autobiography tells how racism affected this young girl.
Being treated differently from others simply because you are of a different race is the hardest challenge that Maya had to deal with. However, she was not caged by racism, rather, this transformed her into the amazing author that she later became.
She worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to permanently put an end to segregation. Today, her works have been considered a defence and celebration of the black culture.
Shirley Chisholm
Chisholm is an African American leader in history who is celebrated for her doings. She is the first African American woman to ever serve in the United States Congress. She was very brave and outspoken and fought for the rights of women, immigrants, minorities, and the poor. She believed in equality.
Having served 14 years in Congress, she was able to open up opportunities for other influential leaders like President Barack Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warren.
The most interesting thing about Shirley is that she did not want to be remembered just as the first African American woman to do something, but she wanted to be remembered as someone who ‘had guts’ to do what is right. This is how her legacy lives on up to date.
In summary, being an African American was not something easy for many black people. They faced rejection, racism and were used as slaves to labour in white people’s farms. However, all of the above great African American leaders see through to it that there was change and black were treated with equality too. All of them fought for the black people’s rights and left a legacy worth remembering, and we celebrate these leaders not only during black history month but every day too.
