16 Feb Celebrating Black History Month
All across America, February is celebrated as Black History month. Some of the most famous names you may hear this month include Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, President Barack Obama, and George Washington Carver. While you may know the reasons they are famous, you may not know these lesser known facts about each.
- Martin Luther King Jr. was named Michael King Jr. after his father Michael King. While on a trip to Germany, his father decided that they both should change their names to Martin Luther after the German Protestant Reformer. When they got home, that’s exactly what they both did.
- The story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott may not have been originally told correctly. According to history.com, “Parks was sitting in the front row of a middle section of the bus open to African Americans if seats were vacant. After the “whites-only” section filled on subsequent stops and a white man was left standing, the driver demanded that Parks and three others in the row leave their seats. While the other three eventually moved, Parks did not.” Apparently, she did not stay seated because her feet were tired as you may have heard. She said in her autobiography that she was just “tired of giving in”.
- Our president Barack Obama’s first name Barack means “One Who is Blessed” in Swahili. In high school, he was given the nickname O’Bomber by his teammates due to his awesome skills on the court. (per boomsbeat.com)
- George Washington Carver may be most known as the “grandfather of peanuts”, he was also the first African-American to enroll at what is today Iowa State University. He also became the school’s first African-American faculty member after graduation.
Do you have any facts you would like to share in regards to Black History Month? Please list them below in the comments section.
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