Every February, we honor Black History Month to recognize Black contributions to society and how this long history has shaped America and the world.
2023 Theme: Black Resistance
“This is a call to everyone … to study the history of Black Americans’ responses to establish safe spaces, where Black life can be sustained, fortified, and respected.”
Black Resistance Forges Change
Black resistance has long forged the world’s progress to equality, equity, and inclusion.
The 2020 Black Lives Matter movement around the globe brought attention to racism that still exists today. It also raised awareness of Juneteenth, which became a national holiday in June 2021.
Rosa Parks helped initiate the Civil Rights Movement when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955. Her activism inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led thousands of nonviolent demonstrators to Montgomery, Alabama’s capital. This historic 54-mile route, 3-day trek from Selma to Montgomery forged the way for the Voting Rights Act.
Contributions to Healthcare
Bessie Blount Griffin was a pioneer physical therapist, scientist, and inventor. She invented a device to help World War II veterans who struggled to eat. Her invention consisted of a tube that delivered individual bites of food to the patient at their own pace.
Daniel Hale Williams, MD, performed one of the world’s first successful heart surgeries. Dr. Williams opened Provident Hospital in Chicago in 1893, the first interracial and Black-owned hospital.
Judith Cadore, MD, is a family practitioner in Texas passionate about eliminating healthcare disparities. Patients travel to see her from up to 100 miles away.
Louis T. Wright, MD, developed a technique for vaccinating soldiers against smallpox in 1917.
Mary Mahoney is credited as America’s first Black professional nurse and became one of the first Black members of the American Nurses Association.
Percy Julian, an influential chemist, developed a drug for glaucoma in 1935. He established his own laboratory and founded the Julian Research Institute.
Solomon Fuller, MD, pioneered Alzheimer's research and advanced the study of many other neurodegenerative diseases, including schizophrenia and manic depression.
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