Black History Month: 50 Black Stars To Represent Each State

Black History Month is the celebration of the African diaspora, especially African-American history which is observed in February every year in the United States and Canada, while in Ireland, Netherlands, and United Kingdom, it is observed in October.

In states, Black History Month reflects more than 400 years of Black History and pays tribute to generations of African-Americans and their centuries-long battle. Today, while the “black lives matter” debate is still on the table, Afro-Americans have successfully smashed through one of the United States’ highest glass ceilings.

First, we witnessed a Black President in The Oval Office for two consecutive terms and now we see the first female, Black Vice-President in the White House, only a heartbeat away from leading the United States.

However, their success story is actually the greatest, longest, and most violent struggle of African Americans, whose once-inferior legal status was even written into the text of the Constitution. There’s not a single state that hasn’t been part of this struggle. Here, we have put together a collection of 50 Black Stars, one for each state that provides a legal and moral foundation for others through their contribution in politics, music, sports, literature, and other social services for humanity.

1. Alabama: Claudette Colvin

Claudette Colvin, the first person to be arrested for rebelling against apartheid, was born in 1939 in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1955, while traveling on a bus, Colvin took a stand and refused to give up her seat to a white person and subsequently got arrested when she was only 15.

2. Alaska: Blanche McSmith

Although born in Texas in 1920, Blanche McSmith was elected as the first black representative of the Alaska legislature 4 decades later.

3. Arizona: Dr. Rick Kittles

Dr. Rick Kittles is a big name in the world of Genetics. His best work is an exploration of the ancestry of African-Americans by the use of DNA testing.

4. Arkansas: John Cross, Jr.

John Cross Jr. was born in Haynes, Arkansas in 1925. Cross was serving as a pastor at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, when the church was bombed by an American white supremacist hate group- KKK, killing 4 young girls. Cross presided over the funerals of 3 of the girls and continued his sermons despite the obvious life threat.

5. California: Kamala Harris

Kamala and Biden celebrate election victory

Kamala Devi Harris is United States’ first female vice president, the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, and the first African American and first Asian American vice president. Born in California in 1964, Harris made history by becoming the first person of color elected as district attorney of San Francisco, California in 2004 and most recently by taking oath as the first female, Black vice-president of United States.

6. Colorado: Larry Dunn

Larry Dunn was born in Denver, Colorado in 1953. For 11 years, he played keyboard for “Earth, Wind & Fire” and helped create the band’s 1975 hit “Shining Star.”

7. Connecticut: Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.

Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1908. Powell wrote his name in the book of history by becoming the first Black representative of the state of New York and proposed many bills that were eventually included in the Civil Rights Act of 1965.

8. Delaware: Clifford Brown

Clifford Brown was born in Delaware in 1930. He started playing trumpet in jazz ensembles and soon became an icon of jazz music. Since 1989, Clifford Brown Jazz Festival is celebrated every year in Wilmington, Delaware to honor his memory.

9. Florida: Esther Rolle

Esther Rolle was an American actress, born in 1920, in Florida. Rolle played the role of Florida Evans, on the CBS television sitcom Maude and later got her own spin-off show called “Good times.”

10. Georgia: Cynthia McKinney

In 1955, Cynthia was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She rose to become the first black representative of Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992.

11. Hawaii: Barack Obama

Barack Obama was born in the state of Hawaii in 1961. In 2008, he changed the destiny of African Americans and all people of color by becoming the first black president of the United States of America. Obama completed 2 whole terms of Presidency and is still popular in people even after leaving office.

12. Idaho: Victor Wooten

Victor Wooten, a shining star of jazz music, was born in Mountain Home, Idaho in 1964. Wooten was voted one of the top bassists of all time by a Rolling Stone reader poll and is a five-time Grammy-winning musician.

13. Illinois: Lorraine Hansberry

Lorraine Hansberry was born in 1930 in Illinois and became the youngest American to receive a New York Critics Circle award. “A Raisin In The Sun,” by Lorraine was the first play written by a Black playwright that was staged on Broadway.

14. Indiana: Major Taylor

Born in 1878 in Indianapolis, Indiana, Taylor was the first black person to become a champion in a sport and held seven world records by the time he retired and was one of the richest athletes in history.

15. Iowa: Charity Adams Earley

Iowa was born in South Carolina in 1918, but she rose to fame in Iowa when she became the first black female officers of the Women’s Army Corps and the first black woman to be commissioned by the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.

16. Kansas: Hattie McDaniel

Born in 1895, in Wichita, Kansas, Hattie McDaniel was an actress who made history when she became the first black person to win an Oscar.

17. Kentucky: bell hooks

Noted cultural scholar, award-winning author, and black feminist who goes by the namesake of her great grandmother, bell hooks, Gloria Jean Watkins was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky in 1952. The bell hooks Institute is created at Berea College for comprehensive studies into her work.

18. Louisiana: Madam C.J. Walker

Born Sarah Breedlove in 1867 in Near Delta, Louisiana, Madam C.J. was the first self-made millionaire American woman. Walker achieved the milestone by inventing and selling her hair products and also donated huge charities to several black organizations.

19. Maine: William Burney

William Burney was born in Maine in 1951 and became the first black mayor of the town in 1988.

20. Maryland: Thurgood Marshall

Born in 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland, Marshall became the first black Supreme Court Justice of the U.S. in 1967.

21. Massachusetts: Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley was originally born in Senegal in 1753 and sent to Boston, Massachusetts as a slave, where she was constantly exposed to books. Her enthusiasm for books made her the second woman and the first black person to have their poetry published in 1773.

22. Michigan: Carole Anne-Marie Gist

Anne-Marie Gist was the first black Miss USA who won the title in 1990. Gist was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1969.

23. Minnesota: Toni Stone

Toni Stone was born in 1921 in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1953, Stone joined the San Francisco Sea Lions against all odds and became the first woman to play in a professional men’s baseball league.

24. Mississippi: Fannie Lou Hamer

Fannie Lou Hamer was born in 1917 in Montgomery County, Mississippi. She was the most active civil rights activist and advocate, who rose her voice for Black rights despite being assaulted, arrested, and shot.

25. Missouri: Maya Angelou

Angelou was born in 1921 in St. Louis, Missouri. She is a famous author and  poet, well known her for work “Still I rise.” She is also an active civil rights activist.

26. Montana: Geraldine Travis

Travis was born in 1931 in Albany, Georgia, and became the first black person elected as Montana’s State Legislature in 1974.

27. Nebraska: Malcolm X

Malcolm Little was born in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, who later changed his last name to “X” to symbolize the loss of his African identity. Along with being a fiery civil rights icon, X was responsible for the popularity of the “any means necessary” philosophy which emphasizes going to any length to protect your rights.

28. Nevada: Kelvin Atkinson

Kelvin Atkinson was born in Illinois in 1969. Kelvin was the first gay black man to represent Nevada’s legislature and later made history when he and his partner became the first gay couple to marry in Nevada.

29. New Hampshire: Myrna Adams

Myrna Adams made history at the University of New Hampshire by becoming the school’s first administrator in 1969. She aided black students through financial aid and advisement.

30. New Jersey: David Dinkins

Dinkins was born in 1927 in Trenton, New Jersey. He became the first black mayor of New York City in 1989 and also has a building in Manhattan named after him.

31. New Mexico: Sheryl Williams Stapleton

Sheryl was born in 1958 in Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In January 2017, she became the first black woman to serve as New Mexico Legislature’s floor leader.

32. New York: James Baldwin

James Baldwin was an author renowned for the literary masterpiece “Giovanni’s Room.” Baldwin was born in New York in 1924 and being gay himself, he was also an LGBT and civil rights advocate.

33. North Carolina: Moms Mabley

Moms Mabley was born in 1894 in Brevard, North Carolina. Mabley made a name in the otherwise male-dominated field of Comedy and was the first female comedian who performed at Apollo Theater.

34. North Dakota: Rosemary Sauvageau

Rosemary Sauvageau ran for beauty pageants and came 2nd in 2010 and 2011. She finally made history by becoming the first black Miss North Dakota in 2012.

35. Ohio: Dorothy Dandridge

Dorothy Dandridge was born in 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio. She was an actress, singer, and beauty icon and became the first black woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for best actress for her film “Carmen Jones.”

36. Oklahoma: Ralph Ellison

Ralph Ellison was born in 1914 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was the writer of the classic 1953 National Book Award winner in fiction “Invisible Man” and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969.

37. Oregon: Geraldine Avery

Geraldine Avery was the first black person to become a police matron in Oregon in 1954.

38. Pennsylvania: Bayard Rustin

Rustin was an active yet lesser-known civil rights activist, born in 1912 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He was an acquaintance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and was the reason behind Martin’s commitment to non-violence.

39. Rhode Island: Ruth Simmons

Ruth was born in 1945 in Texas. In 2001, she became the first black person to serve as president of Brown University, Rhode Island, and run an Ivy League University.

40. South Carolina: Althea Gibson

Althea Gibson was born in 1927 in Silver, South Carolina. She became the first female professional tennis player, the first black person to hold a number of titles in the sport, and the first black person to win Wimbledon and the French and U.S. Open.

41. Tennessee: DeFord Bailey

DeFord Bailey was born in 1899 in Smith County, Tennessee. Bailey grew up to be one of country music’s first black notable musicians.

42. South Dakota: Oscar Micheaux

Oscar Micheaux was born in Illinois in 1884. Micheaux moved to South Dakota where he wrote several iconic books. He produced both silent and speaking films and is considered the first black successful filmmaker.

43. Texas: Barbara Jordan

Barbara was born in 1936, in Houston, Texas. She was the first black person and the first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. Congress when she became a House Representative in 1973.

44. Utah: Abner Leonard Howell

Born in 1877 in Louisiana but raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, Howell was a skilled football player who led the University of Michigan’s Wolverines team to success.

45. Vermont: Alexander Twilight

Alexander Twilight was born in 1795 in Corinth, Vermont. He was the first American college graduate and the first black person to serve in a U.S. state legislature after his 1836 election to the Vermont General Assembly.

46. Virginia: Ella Fitzgerald

Ella was born in 1917 in Newport News, Virginia. She perused her career as a jazz singer after leaving her home at the age of 15 and won 13 Grammy awards. She is known as “The First Lady of Song” and also won the National Medal Of Arts by Ronald Reagan in 1987.

47. Washington: Yolanda Gail Devers

Devers was born in 1966 in Seattle, Washington. She was a track and field athlete and received gold medals in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics’ track and field segments, despite being diagnosed with Graves disease in 1990.

48. West Virginia: Katherine G. Johnson

Katherine G. Johnson was born in 1918 in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 by Barack Obama. She also did significant work at NASA and played a crucial role in the first successful space exploration by an American with her stellar mathematical abilities.

49. Wisconsin: Al Jarreau

Alwin Lopez Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1940. He was the first vocalist to earn three Grammys in three different categories and 6 Grammys in total.

50. Wyoming: Vernon Baker

Vernon Baker was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1919. In 1997, he became the only living black WWII veteran to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his military service.

Advertisement