Throughout February, Avadian will join as America celebrates Black History Month.
We recognize the countless contributions that Black Americans have made throughout American and Alabama history – in defending our nation, in science and medicine, in business and education, in sports and entertainment.
We acknowledge the struggle that Black Americans face as they seek to achieve equity, equality, and justice in American society, and we honor the centuries of work Black Americans have put in to propel America forward in its journey toward fulfilling its ideals.
We want to take a quick look at just a few of the men and women of Alabama whose contributions have helped shape the course of history in our state, our nation, and around the world.
Born into slavery in Gainesville, Maria Fearing (1838-1937) began her education at age 33 in Talladega County, attending classes with the youngest children in school. She then taught school in Anniston before leaving for what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo to serve as a missionary. She educated taught girls as well as built and ran a home for rescued girls and young women who had been kidnapped and sold into slavery, often bartering goods in exchange for their freedom.
While not from Alabama, Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) shaped the state’s future as the first principle for the school that became known as the Tuskegee Institute and then Tuskegee University. In addition to leading the school, Washington was also an author, orator, and an advisor to presidents as a leader in the Black community.
Tuskegee Institute was also the home to scientist and professor George Washington Carver (1864-1943). Carver was the most prominent Black scientist of the time and developed techniques to improve soil depleted by repeated cotton plantings.
Born in Demopolis, businessman A.G. Gaston (1892-1996) ran a business empire in communications, real estate, and insurance in Birmingham that helped him amass a fortune of more than $40 million.
Rosa Parks (Tuskegee, 1913-2005) was a civil rights activist, best known for her refusal to give up a seat on a Montgomery bus, leading to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. She went on to work in the Congressional office of Rep. John Conyers of Michigan.
Olympian Jessie Owens (Oakville, 1913-1980) was a record-breaking track and field athlete who won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. He once set three world records and tied another in less than an hour at a track meet in Michigan.
Born in LaFayette, boxing legend Joe Louis (1914-2020) was heavyweight champion for 12 consecutive years, the longest run of any boxer in any weight class.
Baseball Hall of Famers Satchel Paige (Mobile, 1906-1982), Willie Mays (born in Westfield in 1930), and Hank Aaron (Mobile, 1934-2021) all played in the Negro leagues before being among the earliest Black Americans to play in Major League Baseball.
Nat King Cole (Montgomery, 1919-1965) was a singer, jazz pianist, and an actor. He recorded more than 100 hit songs, acted in film and on Broadway, and was the first Black man to host an American TV series.
Gen. Daniel (“Chappie”) James Jr. (1920-1978) attended Tuskegee Institute before becoming one of the famed “Tuskegee Airmen” of the U.S. Army Air Forces. He instructed pilots during World War II and went on to become the first Black man to reach the rank of four-star general.
Born in Heiberger, Coretta Scott King (1927-2006) has been referred to as the “First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement.” The wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she was a leader in the civil rights movement. After her husband’s assassination, she led in the struggle for racial equality, founded the King Center, and lobbied to establish MLK Day as a national holiday.
Fannie Smith Motley (Perdue Hill, 1927-2016) was the first Black woman to graduate from a previously all-white college in Alabama, graduating with honors from Spring Hill College in 1956.
From Troy, John Lewis (1940-2020) was a civil rights activist who helped organize the 1963 March on Washington and a long-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
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