All Kinds of Heroes
As we enter Black History Month, my children came home with assignments to write a report on a famous and/or important African-American. Teachers always get the same reports about the same people like Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X, and Oprah.
Encourage your kids to dig deeper. There are modern political leaders like Barack Obama, Colin Powell (gulp), Al Sharpton, and Condoleeza Rice (double gulp) who deserve some attention.
More to consider:
Dr. Charles Drew
John Standard
Alice Parker
Frederick Jones
Alexander Miles
Philip Downing
William Barry
Lewis Howard Latimer
Daniel Hale Williams
Who am I forgetting?
posted by kate @ 2:37 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Alice Walker, Ray Charles, Maya Angelou, toni Morrison
Daryl Jones. Or are you trying to forget. LOL!!!
Great post. Here's my list:
Shirley Chisholm -- first African-American woman to run for president (in 1972)
bell hooks (she doesn't use capital letters) -- feminist, writer, activist
Oscar Micheaux -- silent film star, sometimes called "first African-American film star"
Elvis Mitchell -- former New York Times film critic
I was going to suggest Alice Walker, but someone else mentioned her.
Hollywood has plenty to choose from -- from the obvious and familiar (Spike Lee, Sidney Poitier, Hattie McDowell, Denzel Washington) to the less obvious and familiar (Dorothy Dandridge, Don Cheadle, Diahann Carroll, the Nicholas brothers).
This was the most fun I've had all day (yes, my life is sad). I think I'll write about African-American filmmakers and authors on my blogs now...you've inspired me!
Alan Page, former NFL star and now a Justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court. (All the more amazing because he went to law school while he was playing football.)
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