Black Heroes and Heroines for Black History

I’m not sure I’ve ever announced in the history of my being an insider that I was a National Geographic Kids Insider. It’s an AWESOME ambassadorship that I’ve been lucky to be a part of for the last three years. I have featured things on the blog in relation to them, but never the reason behind it. Until now. For some reason, Black History Month is laying heavily on my heart – and maybe it has been that way for the last nine or so years, but I’m interested in finding out more of the heroes that we don’t really see all of the time. We may hear about them in passing, but they aren’t highlighted like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. 

When I received The Big Book of Heroes and The Big Book of Heroines last month, I didn’t get a chance to thumb through them like I wanted. However, having a bit of time on my hands lately, I was able to peruse and learn quite a bit. Of course the chapter that hits home this month is of the civil rights leaders who helped pave the way for the important conversations we’re having lately. 

While it was my intention to share an activist each day this month with you all, I can’t. I can however share them with my children, so they can know about these heroes that walked among us. 

 

The photos, no matter how out of focus they are in this photo, are bright and the historical blurbs that accompany them gives a bit of insight into what it was like to be that person during their stance in the Civil Rights Movement. Of course there are the men that helped Martin Luther King create the most talked about push for the freedom and fair treatment of black people, but what about the women? 

National Geographic showcases them as well. 

One of my favorite stories of success is Ruby Bridges. It takes a LOT of courage as an adult to look racism in the face head on and continue about your day, yet this six year old (the age of the Twizzlers by the way) did it, probably without knowing the whole of the story. I’m sure her parents told her that it was a big day for her, and that she was doing something important, but to know that she was changing the tides of education in America is amazing. What’s not amazing is the fact that there are still battles like this needing to be fought. I’m hoping that by the time that my children are full blown adults, that all of this is merely JUST history for them.