Heroes & Heroines
Profiles in African American History
Our Heritage Series, “Celebrate the Champion We Have in Common,” features 10 leaders.* They exemplify a diverse range of thinking, methods and applied problem solving to the struggle for human dignity. While their methods, religions, and eras differ, their commitment to the freedom struggle based on faith in G-d and love of their people provide the common point of departure in the long journey from Africa, through the Diaspora and American slavery to freedom and New Africa! The leaders' biographies are presented below:
Sister Clara Muhammad (1899-1972), the namesake for the largest national private Islamic elementary school system in America , Clara Muhammad was the wife of Nation of Islam founder, Elijah Muhammad. Sister Clara was a pioneer in private elementary school education. Against the hostility of local city and county officials, she withstood the threats of jail to teach her children and others in her home. She helped establish the Muhammad University School System in 1934, now the Clara Muhammad Schools. Her legacy of commitment to quality education for the poorest of the poor is revealed in today’s Sister Clara Muhammad Schools present in over 40 major cities throughout the U.S. and boasting ivy league alma mater.
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) Born Isabella Baumfree, Sojourner Truth was born a slave and later become a celebrated abolitionist, women's rights advocate, and advisor to President Abraham Lincoln. Through the power of her eloquent oratory, she spoke to the conscience of America to shame those upholding the institution of slavery and the degradation of women's rights. As a defender of the freedom struggle for African-American dignity, she was spat upon, beaten, stoned, and threatened with death. She was the first prominent black woman to be directly associated with the women's suffrage movement. She delivered her famous 1851 "Ain't I a woman" speech before the Women's Rights Convention in Ohio helping to lift the pride and self-worth of black women.
Frederick Douglas (1817-1895) was born a slave. An abolitionist and civil rights leader, Douglas was an eloquent orator, writer and author, publisher, African Methodist Episcopal preacher, advisor to Presidents, recruiter for the Civil War, Marshall of Washington, D.C. and Minister to Haiti. Douglas nearly lost his life fighting segregation. He is one of the most well known leaders of his era, perhaps because of his famous literary works, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. He was instrumental in the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation. More than a symbol of freedom, he was a great conscience and voice of justice in 19th Century America .
Marcus Moziah Garvey (1887-1940) was the leader of the one of the most famous black nationalist organizations, the United Negro Improvement Association, an economic empowerment and back to Africa movement. The Jamaican born immigrant was a forerunner to Elijah Muhammad and other nationalists preaching separatism and economic development for America' blacks. At the height of his mission, Garvey had a following of 2 million supporters and an empire of black businesses including newspapers and steam liners. He preached that blacks should return to Africa because American whites would never treat blacks justly.
Dr. Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950) was the son of former slaves. He became a world traveler, teacher, principal, Harvard graduate, academic dean, publisher and Father of Black History. He started the Journal of Negro History and served as its editor and founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life to research and celebrate black history. One of his greatest contributions is his text, The Negro in Our History. His life’s work and publications led the way to modern Black studies as Dr. Woodson dispelled the notion that Blacks’ only claim to history was slavery. He ensured America learned about the magnificent contributions and achievements of Blacks. African American History Month is a legacy of Dr. Woodson, for he first proposed and founded Negro History Week in 1926 to honor the achievements of African Americans. He selected a date that included the birthdays of Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln.
W. E. B. Dubois (1868-1963). His full name was William Edward Burghardt Du Bois. A graduate of Fisk and Harvard University, Du Bois help found the Niagara Movement, and later the NAACP. Author, newspaper editor, civil rights activist, and brilliant writer, Du Bois was considered the most outstanding African American intellectual of his time. He was a forerunner to the Malcolm X philosophy, "by any mean necessary" in dealing with the African American condition. His writings particularly in The Souls of Black Folk placed him in tactical opposition to the great Booker T. Washington. Douglas who wrote the first sociological study on African Americans, railed against accommodation as a method for gaining true freedom and dignity. He proposed the famous talented tenth theory that the exceptional men of the black race should lead and save the less educated.
Mary McCloud Bethune (1875-1955) was born a slave and the 15th child of seventeen children. As young as ten years old, she walked five miles to attend school. But Mary loved education and knew instinctively that the rights of women, like men, include access to a liberal education. She received a scholarship to the present North Carolina Barber-Scotia College for African American Women, later attending Chicago ’s Moody Bible Institute. She did not have the luxury of simply studying as she did laundry and cleaning to pay for tuition and room and board. Eventually, she returned South to teach and form the Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in Florida , now the Bethune-Cookman College , where she served as President. An advisor to U.S. Presidents, she was a life-long fighter for the dignity of women and all people, founding the National Council of Negro Women and serving as NAACP Vice President.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) popularly referred to as the Dreamer from the famous I Have a Dream speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial, the Nobel Peace Prize winner was a visionary acting upon faith, conviction, reason and the law to prick America’s conscience of her duty to her ex-slaves. He rose to leadership after aiding the late heroine Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Improvement Association. The most visible face of the Civil Rights Movement, the young Baptist minister through the Southern Christian Leadership Conference helped usher in legislation that created unprecedented opportunities for African Americans and others. Dr. King galvanized an entire generation through non-violence to demand equal rights for all including access to education, housing, and the political process.
Honorable Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975) was once called the most powerful black man in America. The son of a Baptist preacher who became disenchanted with the conundrum of racism, injustice and the hypocrisy of the church, built and led the Nation of Islam. Elijah preached racial separation and nationalism commingled with a pseudo Islam inspired by the mystic Fard Muhammad. In the mold of Garvey, Elijah’s mix of self help, race pride, and moral values produced miraculous results for many in America ’s ghettos. He was a builder of men as evidenced by his disciples, Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, Muhammad Ali and W. Deen Mohammed. Before his death, he realized the saving grace for his followers as he welcomed the new message of Al-Islam from his son W. D. Mohammed.
Imam Dr. W. Deen Mohammed (1933-2008) as leader for millions of American Muslims, he dedicated his life to building bridges of interfaith respect and racial harmony. The son of Elijah Mohammed, the Imam led the miraculous transition of Black Muslims and the Nation of Islam to true Islam dispelling false notions of race and religion to make his community a new world leader for the proper understanding and practice of Al-Islam. Author, scholar, business leader, and advisor to Presidents, Imam Mohammed founded The Mosque Cares, the Collective Purchasing Conference and served as an International President of the World Conference on Religion and Peace. He was the first Muslim to deliver an invocation on the floor of the U.S. Senate. He inherited the struggle for dignity and economic justice through the African American saga and Islamic influence woven into the history of blacks both before and after American slavery. His promotion of universal human excellence continues to transpose a legacy of leadership onto the world stage.
Our Heritage Series make excellent greetings for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorations, African-American History Month, Saviors Day, and Juneteenth Celebrations. Stay tuned for more editions in the Heritage Series.
*Celebrate the Champion We Have in Common is the title of a literary work by the late Imam Dr. W. Deen Mohammed.
