The time has come where society recognizes the accomplishments African American people have done throughout history and usually we recognize the greats like Rosa Parks who knew that enough was enough and refused to stand and be discriminated against after a tiring day. Or Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. who lead the Civil Rights movement – giving a voice and words to thousands who couldn’t, putting a new meaning to the word courage. But while these activists did do amazing things there are hundreds of African American’s who have made astounding discoveries and changed the course of history as well such as:

• Bessie Coleman – (1921) the first African American Female pilot.
• Frederick Douglass – (1872) escaped from slavery and became a leader of the abolitionist movement, later becoming the first African American to be nominated for Vice President of the United States on the Equal Rights Party ticket.
• Daniel Hale Williams – (1893) The first person to open the chest cavity successfully without the patient dying of infection as well as the first person to perform an open heart surgery.
• Fred Jones – (1935) Developed a refrigeration system for trucks
• Garrett Morgan – (1923 & 1877) The inventor of a traffic signal and gas mask.
• George Washington Carver– Invented 300 derivative products from the peanut.
• Lewis Latimer – (1881) Invented an improved light bulb.
• Madam C.J. Walker – Created a black hair products empire and became the first African American woman millionaire.
• George Crum – (1853) Invented the potato chip.
• Alice Augusta Ball – (1915) Extracted chaulmoogra oil for the treatment of Hansen’s disease (Leprosy) which became known as “The Ball Method” leading Dr. Arthur Dean to continue her research after her death, improving the method to be known as “The Dean Method”.
• Willie Hobbs Moore – Became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Physics on vibrational analysis of secondary chlorides.
• Mary Edmonia Lewis – The first African American and Native American woman to achieve international fame and recognition as a sculptor in Rome, Italy.
• Jack Johnson – (1908) The first African American man to hold the World Heavyweight Champion boxing title.
• John Mercer Langston – (1855) Became the first lawyer in Ohio then went on to be one of the first African Americans to be elected to public office in America as the Town Clerk in Brownhelm, Ohio.

Thanks to Abraham Lincoln and the 13th Amendment (starting on February 1, 1865) all of these accomplishments, along with many others, were possible for African American men and women of not only then but as well as the growing world of today. By 1926, with the help of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, “Negro History Week” started moving through colleges and organizations. By 1976, President Gerald R. Ford officially recognized Black History Month, calling upon the public to “Seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” Now 41 years later we still celebrate Black History Month, now along with Canada and the United Kingdom, celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans but also encouraging anyone who has a dream to never stop pursuing it.