Everything around us has an interesting story to tell. These stories or histories are sometimes passed on to us by the previous generations, through books or sometimes through stories. But a lot of these histories fail to tell the littlest details possible.
For example, when it comes to the African American history, you might be thorough with the line “I have a dream” by Martin Luther King Jr. But that was not all. There are a lot of different stories that have shaped the current stand of African Americans and their rights.
So, here we come up with some little known and interesting facts about the history of African-Americans
Muhammad Ali, the boxing champion was actually denied an autograph by one of his boxing idols as a child. And when he succeeded as a boxer he promised himself to never to deny anyone for an autograph request.
The first all-black Californian township was Allensworth which was both founded and financed by African-Americans. The township was built in 1908 to establish a sufficient city where African-Americans can lead a good life.
Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated on his friend Maya Angelou’s birthday. Maya did not celebrate her birthday after and that and also sent flowers to his widow till her last breath.
The famous African-American performer Josephine Baker was when sent to France, She smuggled military information to French Allies during World War II by pinning the secrets inside her dress.
“We Are the World” was originally written by activist Belafonte as a hope that the single would help raise the money for famine relief in Africa. The song was a huge success and brought millions of dollars for the help.
The first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt denied the segregation rules at Southern Conference on Human Welfare at Alabama as she sat next to African American activist Mary McLeod Bethune. She even referred to Bethune as one of her closest friends.
There was a reason for the legendary singer James Brown to perform in front of televised audience in Boston just a day after Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. He is given the credit for preventing further riots and protests post King’s assassination.
Rosa Park was actually not the first person to give up the bus seat in Alabama. There were actually several women before her who refused to give up their seat. The credit is also given to a 15-year-old school girl, Claudette Colvin.
Jack Johnson was the first African American man to win the World Heavyweight Champion Boxing Title in 1908. He was a continuous winner from 1908 to 1915.
John Mercer Langston was the first black man to become a lawyer when he passed the exam in Ohio in 1854. He also became one of the first African Americans to be elected in a public office in America when he was elected for the post of Town Clerk for Brownhelm in 1855.
Thurgood Marshall was the first African American to be appointed to the US Supreme Court by the President Lyndon B Johnson. He served the court from 1967 to 1991.
There has been an exponential growth of African American population in America. In 1870, the Black population in US was 4.8 million which has increased to 43.8 million according to 2018 census data.
