Monday, February 18, 2013

Vise Library celebrates Black History Month: Well-known historical figures

Today we're going to look at a few well-known historical figures. These names will likely be pretty familiar,



Martin Luther King, Jr.
He was a Baptist Minister who was one of the main figures during the Civil Rights Movement   During this time, MLK traveled over six million miles and gave over 2,500 speeches on key issues.  He lead a peaceful march of over 250,000 people in Washington D.C. where he gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.  At the age of 35 he was the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

  • MLK in the Vise Library: Checkout the book King's Dream, located at 323.09 K52 S95.



Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, AL.  She was arrested for this and sparked a boycott by African-Americans against the Montgomery bus system.  The boycott lasted over a year and was lead by a young Martin Luther King, Jr.  Once the boycott was over, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the segregation laws were unconstitutional.  This was one of the first steps of non-violent protests during the Civil Rights Movement.   

  • Rosa Parks in the Vise Library: Checkout the book At the Dark End of the Street located at 323.11 M14a




W.E.B. DuBois: He moved to Nashville from Massachusetts in 1885 to attend Fisk University.  While living in the south be was exposed to the Jim Crow laws.  He became the first African American to receive Ph.D. from Harvard University.  He played a prominent role in founding the NAACP.  DuBois wrote over 17 books challenging racism and white-black relations.


  • W.E.B. DuBois in the Vise Library: Checkout the book African American Literary Theory located at 810.9 A2583


Sources consulted:
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html
http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/rosaparks/story.asp
http://www.biography.com/people/web-du-bois-9279924

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