In honor of Black History Month, who are some historical figures you think people should know more about?
Kenneth Bogar, Newark, N.J.
Septimius Severus, the African emperor of Rome; Saint Maurice, the Black Knight and the patron saint of Europe; Tariq ibn-Ziyad, Moorish general who conquered southwest Europe in the year 711.
NoThando Ndzewu, Washington, D.C.
Winnie Madikizela Mandela, Robert Sobukwe, and Credo Mutwa
Chasity Anderson, St. Louis
P.B.S. Pinchback, Oscar Dunn, Hiram Revels, Robert Smalls, Ida B. Wells, Matthew Henson, George Washington Carver, Adam Clayton Powell, Ruby Bridges, Octavia Butler, Naomi Sims, Bethann Hardison, Thurgood Marshall, Jesse Owens, and Ronald McNair.
Hilda Carroll, Washington, D.C.
Bessie Coleman. She broke down aviation barriers on the ground and in the sky and was the first Black woman to hold a pilot’s license.
Brenda Matthews, Milwaukee
Harvey Gantt. He was the first African American student admitted to Clemson University. He graduated with honors in architecture and earned a master’s at MIT. He then established an architectural practice in Charlotte with a partner and became the city’s first Black mayor.
Compiled by Sarafina Wright