Famous Black People

The concept of the blackness of people is closely associated with their relationship with the African American culture. This term has different meanings in different parts of the world and was formerly used as one of the ways to racially discriminate the people with a black skin color. But times have seen many Blacks emerge successful and contribute to changing the face of the Black community. Let us look at some of them.

Famous Black People

Nelson Mandela: Born on July 18, 1918, in the small village of Mvezo, Nelson Mandela was the first member of his family to attend school. One of his schoolteachers gave him the name, Nelson. The political views and the values of Nelson Mandela were influenced by the principles and philosophy of life of Mahatma Gandhi. He was an anti-apartheid activist and led the African National Congress. He was convicted for crimes for which he had to spend 27 long years in imprisonment. He made a valuable contribution to the abolition of apartheid. He was the President of South Africa, the first Black to be elected to this post. He is the proud winner of more than a hundred awards including the Nobel Prize for Peace.

Harriet Tubman: Born in Dorchester County, Maryland, Harriet was a slave by birth. Her childhood years were filled with torture and misery. She was beaten by her masters and ruthlessly made to work. But she was one of those with exceptional qualities to rise against all odds of life. She escaped from captivity and led several missions of freeing hundreds of slaves. During the American Civil War, Tubman worked for the Union Army and became the first woman leading an armed expedition in the war. During the later years of her life, she actively participated in the women's suffrage movement. Her death in 1913 meant the loss of an iconic figure of American history.

Martin Luther King Jr.: Born on January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King Jr. was an American clergyman and one of the leading activists in the Civil Rights movement. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Apart from his acclaim as a great humanitarian, he was also recognized as one of the greatest orators of the history of the United States. Throughout life, he adhered to non-violent means to achieve the banishment of racial discrimination. He was the proud winner of the Nobel Prize and was the youngest person receiving it. After death, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal as also the Presidential of Medal of Freedom. With his assassination in 1968, the world lost a man of valor and a great human being.

Guion Bluford: Born on November 22, 1942, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he took up aerospace engineering. He completed a BS, then MS and later a PhD in aerospace engineering. He also took a Master of Business Administration in 1987. Soon after receiving the pilot's training, he joined the Air Force. Between 1983 and 1992, he was a part of four flights of space shuttles. His space flight in Challenger as a part of the STS-8 mission made him the first African American to cross the boundaries of Earth and explore space. This former NASA astronaut continues being held in high regard by fellow Americans, Blacks and Whites alike.

Toni Morrison: Born in February 1931, in Lorain, Ohio, Morrison was a voracious reader since her childhood. The folktales that her father narrated to her, have contributed in the making of this brilliant authoress, Toni Morrison. After a BA followed by a MA in English, she served the Texas Southern University as an English instructor. Her novel named ‘Beloved’ was a major success and the winner of several awards of her time. In 1933, Morrison won the Nobel Prize for Literature and became the first Black woman winning it. Presently, on the editorial board of the magazine, 'The Nation', she remains being one of the highly recognized Black women.

This was a glimpse of some of the famous Black people who have made a mark in their fields. This was an overview of some of those Black people who have gained a place of pride in the minds of the masses.