Photo Credit: Afro Newspaper/Gado/Getty Images
Every February, communities come together to honor the most historic and iconic moments, inventions, and contributions in Black culture. This celebration is referred to as Black History Month.
As we often recognize the efforts of freedom fighters and literary leaders like Madam CJ Walker and Maya Angelou, we also want to recognize those frontrunners – new, old, or in progress – who were born during the month their culture is remembered and cherished.
From Langston Hughes to Sherman Hemsley, the list of Black history makers born during Black History Month is endless, so each day we’ll honor those who were born throughout the 28 days of February.
Today, we recognize those born on Feb. 4.
Rosa Parks (b. 1913 – d. 2005)
Photo Credit: Angel Franco
Dubbed the Mother of the Freedom Movement by the United States Congress, Rosa Parks is known as the face of an era that brought the Black community together to fight for their basic human rights – like being able to sit wherever one would like on a bus. Parks is remembered for refusing to give up her seat to a white man after being ordered to do so by the bus driver, whose name was James F. Blake. Though she wasn’t the first to person to resist bus segregation, the (NAACP) believed Parks was the best person to lead a court challenge after his arrest of civil disobedience.