February Black History Month Bellringers

Jackie Joyner-Kersee:
1.) Jackie is teh younger sister of Olympic track and field star Al Joyner and is a track and field athelete herself.
2.) She was the first American woman to win a gold medal in the long jump at the 1998 Olympics.
3.) She is regarded as on of the greatest femal athletes in history, since she overcame her asthma and poor background to become a world heptahlon record holder.

Elijah McCoy:
1.) Was an invetor; helped make engines move more smoothly and safely.
2.) By the end of his life he had recieved 57 different patents for his inventions.
3.) In 1872 he recieved the first patent for a llubricator for steam engines.

Booker T. Washington:
1.) Didn't know his last name during role call, so made up the last name Washington; last name was really Taliaferro, so he became Booker T. Washington.
2.) In 1895 he gave his famous "Atlanta Compromise" speech.
3.) Tuskegee Institute became an important role in black education while under Booker's leadership from 1881 to 1915.

Louis Armstrong:
1.) His date of birth is not exactly known.
2.) He became entranced with music at an early age and tried to make a career out of it.
3.) His song "West Side Blues" is considered by many to be on of the greatest jazz records ever made.

Muhammed Ali:
1.) He had three world heavyweight boxing championships during his career.
2.)  He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
3.)  He began boxing at the age of twelve after his bicycle was stolen.

Harriet Tubman:
1.) Sher guided approximately three hundred other slaves like herself to freedom in the North via the Underground Railroad.
2.) She is one of the most famous anti-slavery leaders during the years leading up to the Civil War.
3.) In 1849 after hearing rumors that she was going to be sold, Tubman escaped to Pennsylvania  alone and with no help.

Tiger Woods:
1.) At the age of eight he won the first of six Optimist International Junior World Titles in golf.
2.) In 1997 when he was 21 Tiger Woods became the first person of African or Asian descent to win a major golf championship.
3.) His parents gave him a sawed-off putter to practice with as soon as he could stand up on his own.

Maya Angelou:
1.) Born Marguerite Johnson, her older brother gave her the nickname "Maya."
2.) She appeared in an off-Broadway play Calypso Heatwave in 1957 and recorded an album of calypso music.
3.) In January 1993 Angelou became the first poet since Robert Frost (in 1961) to take part in a presidential inauguration ceremony when she wrote and read "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Bill Clinton's inauguration.

Jesse Owens:
1.) Entering grade school, Owens had the nickname J.C. but the teacher misheard and wrote Jesse, which stuck.
2.) Black team track members like Jesse could not dine in restaurants or use the restroom facilities when the team went to and from meets.
3.) Owens recieved gold in he 1936 Olympic Games for the long jump of 26 feet and 5 and 1/4 quarter inches. He won four gold medals overall.

 

 

Whoopi Goldberg:
1.) She was born under the name Caryn Elaine Johnson.
2.) She is widely known as a comedian and black spokesperson.
3.) In New York City she was raised and born on November 13, 1949.

Lena Horne:
1.) From an early age Lena wanted to be a performer, even against her family's wishes.
2.) She was hired when she was 16 at Harlem's Cotton Club.
3.) In 1947 she married white bandleader Lennie Hayton, but their marriage was kepy secret for three years due to racial pressures.

Duke Ellington:
1.) At the age of seven he began taking piano lessons.
2.) His nickname 'Duke' is from a friend from school calling himt hat for his fancy clothes and manner.
3.) Known for his composing, piano playing, and bandleading skills.


Benjamin Banneker:
1.) When he was younger he self-taught himself astronomy.
2.) Had a stamp made in his honor.
3.) He spent most of his life on his family's farm.


Hank Aaron:
1.) He was recruited by the Milaukee Braves.
2.) In Mobile, Alabama he was born on February 5, 1934
3.) Baseball wan't even intergrated until he was a teenager.


Ida Bell Wells-Barnett:
1.) She was born a slave in Mississippi.
2.) She was a journalist and aslo fought for racial justice.
3.) Her parents and most siblings passed away from yellow fever when she was young.

Mae Jemison:
1.) Mae was the 1st African American woman accepted into the astronaut training program.
2.) She recieved a B.S. in chemical engineering.
3.) Jemison in 1922 recieved Ebony Black Achievement award.

Marshall Thurgood:
1.) He was a lawyer.
2.) Out of 32 cases he has he won 29 of them.
3.) In 1930 he enrolled in Harward University.