ST BACK
fit
rn Tfrui
In Ulnl
Long before black Americans made headlines on the playing field, they were
making history. Lots of it. In fields like medicine, exploration, industry, and on the
field of battle.
The names of these early "all-stars" probably aren't on the tip of your tongue.
That's because they aren't in most history books either.
A black man was the first to reach the North Pole. Matthew Henson, a
member of Commodore Perry's expedition, raised the flag there in 1909.
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a black surgeon, performed the world's first suc
cessful heart operation almost one hundred years ago.
In 1761, Benjamin Banneker designed and built the first striking clock.
It was also the first clock made entirely in America.
And, on a September morning in 1864, thirteen black soldiers earned ,
Congressional Medals of Honor. They led the Union Army's successful assault o
Chaff in's Farm, a Confederate stronghold on the outskirts of Richmond, Virginia.
There are thousands of stories like these.
Enough to fill a library.
And, thanks to efforts
like Black History Month, someday
they will.
i 0f
I