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.