Written By My Granddaughter

At the beginning of the second week in February, we come together to remember the African Americans who have influenced our society today. This is known to us as Black History Month, or African American History Month. Without a doubt, segregation had been an issue until around 1954, when a series of Supreme Court decisions were passed making it illegal.

While segregation was happening, there was also sexism, meaning men would often be viewed as the more important sex. With both these issues unfolding, many African American woman and men weren’t viewed as equal. That meant that if they came across an amazing discovery, or created a tool to help with worldwide problems, most often the whites would try to take the credit or deny it even happened. For example, a woman named Patricia Bath, born November 4th, 1942, made a stunning discovery. She was the first African American woman doctor to earn a patent for a medical reason. Know why? Well, she had found a laser eye surgery tool that helped restore vision. It was an amazing new instrument, and although everyone knew she had discovered it, other researchers tried desperately to take all the credit, and not surprisingly, they were white men. But luckily Patricia was persistent. She wasn’t at all fond of the idea of not getting the credit she deserved. Soon enough her persistence paid off, and she was given the credit for her invention. Patricia Bath is now an important person in our history.

Now let’s take a moment to remember one more person who played an important role in black history. Her name was Rosa Parks. One day she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus. She claimed, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Like Patricia, her persistence bothered others, but she kept being persistent. Even when she landed in jail, she never gave up. Rosa Parks is also a person to remember.

Black History Month is a reminder that all people are equal and deserve credit for their actions and discoveries. Without Patricia Bath, it may have been a much longer amount of time before there was a way to fix cataracts. Without Rosa Parks it may have been a much longer amount of time before buses were integrated.

Please celebrate the rest of this month with us, and remember that sometimes, you just need a chance.

Sources: www.Wikipedia.com.  www.biography.com