Noticing these folks' contributions is fine. I just question calling them leaders.
A closer look: Forgotten leaders key links in black history
By Brendan Kearns
DAILY BRUIN CONTRIBUTOR
[email protected]
Each February, Black History Month provides an opportunity to celebrate the historical achievements of black individuals.
It is a month founded on the principle of inclusion, acknowledging figures whose contributions have long been neglected in the United States. But with most attention focused on a select few blacks, a large number of significant contributors remain forgotten by the most of the general public.
While figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Malcolm X are frequently honored as pillars of black achievement, others equally deserving of recognition continue to wallow in anonymity.
For many UCLA students, this limited perspective on black history is instilled as early as elementary school.
"The emphasis was always on Martin Luther King or Harriet Tubman – those were the only people we heard about," said Sarah Moore, a second-year psychology student.
But beyond the famous names students learn in second grade lie several individuals – such as Ella Baker and Garrett Morgan – whose significant contributions are not as easily forgotten as their names.
Ella Baker: A unique voice in the Civil Rights Movement
The story of the Civil Rights Movement is often mistakenly depicted as an "all-boys affair" that was generally led, organized and articulated by males.
Rosa Parks - whose role was more as a symbolic impetus than a leader - excluded, there are almost no female figures considered when most students think of the Civil Rights Movement.
"I'm sure there are plenty of female leaders, but we don't hear about them," said Che Soto-Vigil, a fourth-year international developmental studies student.
An activist who dedicated her life to civil rights and social justice, Ella Baker is one of the female leaders who proved pivotal to the fight for equality.
"She was a driving force in the movement from the beginning," said Dr. Mary Corey, a lecturer in the history department.
Baker was an instrumental figure in several civil rights organizations throughout the 1940s and '50s; her emphasis on grassroots activity would establish a foundation for later growth in the movement.
"A lot of back-breaking work was done by people like her (who believed) in grassroots organization," Corey said. "She believed that charismatic stars are not what was needed."
But arguably Baker's greatest contribution came in 1960, when she played a crucial role in the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
SNCC was a decentralized organization practicing the direct-action tactics long-advocated by Baker. It played a pivotal role in the voting registration and social reform activities in the early to mid-1960s.
The organization also attracted non-minorities to the Civil Rights Movement.
"It engaged young, white, affluent students all over the country," said Corey, who was a member of the UCLA branch of SNCC while she was an undergrad during the 1960s.
Though SNCC would ultimately turn toward a less inclusive approach to civil rights activism as the decade wore on and the "black power" ideology rose to prominence, Baker's early impact and the organization she helped create would help shape the future successes of the Civil Rights Movement.
He changed the nature of war,
firefighting ... and traffic
Many, if not most, of the famous blacks lauded each February are leaders who participated in the long battle for abolition, desegregation and civil rights.
Such an emphasis on figures who fought for these causes can lead to the simplified - and false - notion that the achievements of blacks are primarily centered around a battle to better their condition in the United States.
This view discounts many of the other contributions made by those of African descent that - through areas such as science - improved the state of not only blacks, but all people.
Garrett Morgan made the world safer for those fighting both fires and opposing armies with his creation of an innovative gas mask.
His invention was introduced to the world July 25, 1916, when he used his gas mask to personally rescue several men trapped during an explosion.
Able to endure the heat of a burning building and the rigors of warfare, Morgan's invention made an instant impact on American firefighting techniques and the United States efforts in World War I, saving an incalculable number of lives.
A second important invention of Morgan's is undoubtedly familiar to anyone who has driven a car - the traffic signal.
In the early 20th century, roads were often a chaotic mix of automobiles, horse-drawn carriages and bicycles. There was nothing to maintain a sense of order on the road, and accidents were a common occurrence.
After witnessing one such collision, Morgan was determined to improve the situation, and soon the traffic signal was born.
Alex Tucker, president of UCLA's Black Faculty and Staff Association, said that a better understanding of minority contributions, like Morgan's traffic signal, can illuminate the diversity that characterizes the modern world.
"As a person, you drive a car, and you don't think about it," he said. "Acknowledging the figures behind these inventions, you begin to see the world and how it comes together with different ethnicities' contributions."
Why forgotten?
Scholars offer many views on the reasons certain figures are remembered while others, such as Baker and Morgan, recede into anonymity.
"Much of it has to do with social style," Corey explained.
Neither Baker nor Morgan were charismatic speakers, and this may contribute to the lack of attention they receive in the public consciousness.
Posted by P6 at February 7, 2004 06:06 AM
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