hall of history
BLACK.
The Hall of History includes biographical summaries of major Black figures, as well as articles covering several historical events. Our goal, as one student puts it, is "to show the world that Black history matters all the time."
HISTORY.
There are lots of figures in history who deserve to be remembered, studied, and appreciated. Students selected those they felt have left, or will leave, a tremendous impact. The truth is clear: Black history is full of leaders and heroes.
MATTERS.
Politicians, athletes, musicians. Their legacies are undoubted and their impacts profoundly important. As Maya Angelou once noted, "The more you know about your history, the more liberated you are."
KAMALA HARRIS.
Kamala Harris was born on October 24th, 1964 in Oakland, California. Her father was Jamaican and her mother of Indian descent. Kamala earned her law degree in 1989 from an historically Black college. Kamala recalls that “growing up my mother was intentional about raising my sister [and me] to be strong women.” Kamala Harris is the first female and Black person that has become Vice President. As VP, she plans to handle Covid-19 effectively and work to support everyday people. She has advocated for an end to police brutality and serious investments in communities of color all around the United States.
FOR THE PEOPLE.
"You are capable of anything. A lot of African Americans get stereotyped and told we won’t be anything. Kamala gives us hope that whatever you set your mind to . . . it’s possible."
CONWAY HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR
NAACP.
A LASTING LEGACY OF HOPE.
The NAACP stands for National Association for the Advancement of Colored People which is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation. It became an organization on February 12, 1909 in New York. A deadly riot in Springfield, Illinois was the “tipping point” that led to the creation of the NAACP. The organization helped end segregation in the US, they also created the Legal Defense Fund challenge to end segregation in public schools. Over the course of more than a century, their tireless work on behalf of Black Americans has created an undoubted legacy of advocacy and progress.
"all i remember is that i was not going to walk off that bus voluntarily. . ."
You may know the story of Rosa Parks, the woman who defied segregation laws by refusing to give up her seat for a white man, but she wasn’t exactly the first. Claudette Colvin was the first black woman who refused to give up her seat to a white person at the age of only 15.
Ms. Colvin, at the time, was an alleged pregnant teen who was asked to give up her seat; she refused and was then arrested in 1955. Claudette Colvin is now an 81 year old retired nurse aid.
"There will always be someone who has done something that gets forgotten, therefore we should always do our research carefully."
CONWAY HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR
muhammad ali.
Born on January 17, 1942, Muhammad Ali is a famous public figure due to his boxing career, philanthropy work, and social activism. When he was 12 years old, his bike was stolen and he told a police officer that he wanted to beat up the thief that stole his bike. The police officer, Joe Martin, told him, “Well, you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people.” His bike being stolen increased his interest in boxing, something which he would later stake his fame on.
historical knockout.
In 1964, he joined the Black Muslim group Nation of Islam and became a Muslim. Muhammad Ali also refused to fight in the Vietnam War due to his religious beliefs. Because of this, he was arrested for committing a felony and almost got his world title and boxing license taken. He was sentenced to five years in prison, but remained free. In his career, he had 37 knockouts and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Due to health issues, Ali had to retire but continued with philanthropy work.
activist. triumphant.
Medgar Wiley Evers was born in Decatur, Mississippi on July 2, 1925 to Jesse and James Evers. After growing up in a farming family, Evers enlisted in the Army in 1943. During his years in the Army, he fought in France and Germany during World War 2 before being honorably discharged in 1946. Eventually he entered Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Alcorn State University) located in Lorman, Mississippi in 1948. During his senior year, he married fellow student Myrlie Beasley and graduated in 1952.
In 1954, Evers was named as the NAACP's first field secretary for Mississippi. Evers also joined the struggle to bring Emmett Till’s killers to justice, though they were ultimately acquitted. Evers was shot and killed on June 12, 1963 by white supremacist and Klansman Byron De La Beckwith from Greenwood, Mississippi.
Evers left a lasting legacy of fighting for civil rights, equality for all Americans, and he did it all in a time that was full of hatred. He deserves to be remembered.
HERO TO MILLIONS.
To this day, Jim Brown (Cleveland Browns) is seen as one of the greatest football players of all time by many people. In 1988, Brown founded the Amer-I-Can organization, which helped combat gang violence. He also founded what is now known as the Black Economic Union, which helps African Americans financially. Jim Brown is still influencing the youth to this day by showing them that they can do whatever they want no matter the circumstances: “I’m a fighter. And everything I’ve ever gotten, I’ve had to fight for."
A TRUE KING.
B.B. King was born 1925. He was born in a rural part of Mississippi on a plantation where his parents were sharecroppers. His mother died when he was nine. He was raised in an African American church learning gospel music and the rhythm that goes with it. His preacher gave him an old guitar and his life changed forever as a result of the musical device. He would earn money by standing on street corners and playing for dimes. King taught himself to play by ordering instruction booklets and practicing.
IN NAME AND HISTORY.
In 1947, B.B. King decided to pursue a career by hitchhiking to Memphis where he stayed with his uncle. A hit came in 1951 when he recorded “Three o'clock Blues”. King is known throughout the world to this day. His unique guitar style attracted thousands to listen during his life. The most notable are Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix to name a few. His influence spans over 60 years. If you ever visit Memphis make sure you go to Beale Street where you can see and feel his rhythm today.
the legacy of a giant.
Emlen Tunnell was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania on March 29, 1924. Tunnel played football at Radnor High School where he was inducted into the schools Hall of Fame in 2003. He enrolled at and played football for The University of Toledo, where he played half a season before he suffered a neck injury. This neck injury held him back from enlisting in the Army and Navy during WW2 so instead he served in the Coast Guard. After the war, Tunnell enrolled at the University of Iowa where he set a single game receiving record. He left in January of 1948 so he could make money for school. In July of the same year he became the first African American to sign with the New York Giants. In between his signing with the Giants and his retirement in 1962 he set many NFL records and in 1967 was named the first African American in the NFL Hall of Fame.
ARKANSAS HERO.
AMERICAN LEGEND.
Minnijean Brown-Trickey was born September 11, 1941 in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was one of the nine children that integrated a segregated Arkansas high school in 1957. This group was called “The Little Rock Nine” and gained Minnijean and the others with her a place in American history. She was just 15 years old at the time. Minnijean and eight other Black students faced an angry mob to desegregate Central High School. On Labor Day, the governor called the National Guard. Minnijean and the others thought they were going to be protected until the first day of school when they saw that the troops were trying to keep them from going to school.
On the day of their arrival, Minnijean and her peers were told they had to leave for their own safety. The students waited three weeks to go back to school since the mob was a danger to them. In those three weeks they faced phone threats, bomb threats, and many other terrors. Minnijean described going to school as a nightmare. They had to face an angry mob and dealt with the other students in school who were racist and hateful.
Despite the challenges of integration, the story of the Little Rock Nine is a reminder of how privileged we are to go to school peacefully. Education is a right, and for many it was earned through challenging fights in history.
malcolm x. extraordinary.
Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1945 in Omaha, Nebraska. Malcolm was a minister, human rights activist, and a primary leader in the Black Civil Rights Movement. He was also part of the Islamic religion, and was a spokesperson for them. He was known for his way of preaching that advocates for more aggressive, direct action that was contrary to Martin Luther King’s speeches. At the height of his popularity and controversy, he was assassinated at one of his rallies. People have speculated that is was the Imam at the time, who called for his death since he had recently left the Islamic faith. Nevertheless he was still an instrumental part to the African American Civil Rights Movement, and left an important and meaningful legacy.
empower the movement.
During the Civil Rights Era, churches were an essential part of the movement. Churches served as safe havens where African Americans could meet with neighbors, friends, and family without fear. They were places where organizations like the NAACP could hold mass meetings.
Some of the more famous churches like Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and First African Baptist Church in Savannah hosted famous civil rights missionaries like Martin Luther King Jr. First African Baptist Church is the oldest continuously operating African American church in North America.
While some churches were louder with their ideas and actions, other churches like St. James AME Church in Columbus was quieter when it came to the movement. St. James refused to host King for fear of violence and instead brought pastor J.W. Hurley and quietly made critical changes within the social structure of Columbus.
WORDS HAVE POWER.
Robert Abbott was born in 1870 and died in 1940. He was the founder of The Chicago Defender. Abbott’s story begins with him founding The Chicago Defender five years after the end of the Civil War. The success of one of the most important black newspapers in history made Abbott one of the most prominent post-slavery black millionaires. Abbott was also a catalyst for the Great Migration at the turn of the 20th century.
The Chicago Defender’s rise in stature and circulation was in large part due to Abbott's personal triumphs and natural determination. The paper encouraged African Americans to abandon the South and head north in order to establish better lives for themselves. Following the Great Migration, Abbott also began reporting on issues affecting black people in the early 20th century. This included topics like Jim Crow segregation, the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, and the 1919 Chicago Riots.
EDUCATION. HUMAN RIGHT.
James Meredith, US Air Force Veteran and native of Mississippi, was rejected numerous times from the University of Mississippi while enrolled at the all-black Jackson State College. In 1961, the NAACP helped Meredith file a lawsuit alleging the University of Mississippi of racially discriminating. The case was eventually taken to the Supreme Court, which ruled in Meredith’s favor in September 1962.
When Meredith arrived on campus, though protected by US Marshalls, over 2,000 students formed a mob to block his way. Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent 31,000 federal troops to ensure he received his education. James Meredith graduated the following year and wrote a memoir about his experience entitled Three Years in Mississippi. Meredith continued his activism for civil rights while attending Columbia Law School.
