Black Trailblazers of the 19th Century excelled across professions and multiple disciplines. Success stories include men and women. Among the wide range of disciplines are performing arts, business, culinary arts, cosmetology, politics, publishing, engineering and sciences.
The following are just a few of our favorite stories about Black Trailblazers who inspired 19th-century America.
Du Bois Exhibit Won Gold At Paris Expo 1900
The Du Bois Exhibit won a gold medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle, April 15 to November 12, 1900. William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B.) Du Bois designed the extensive multimedia exhibit, using factual information to shatter racist stereotypes of the day. He collaborated with Thomas Calloway, a lawyer and primary organizer of the exhibit and Daniel Murray, the Assistant Librarian of Congress.
The Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900 was the largest in history at 543 acres with nearly 50 million visitors from around the world. A sociological display within the Palace of Social Economy, the Du Bois exhibit included approximately 500 photographs of black Americans at work, leisure, worship, home, and school. It also featured close to 60 leading edge infographics charting African American advancement, along with bound volumes of nearly 400 patents by Black Trailblazers and a bibliography of 1,400 titles. He organized the documents into albums for Georgia specifically and the U.S.A. in general. READ MORE
Sissieretta Jones Graced Carnegie Hall
Sissieretta Jones was considered one of the greatest operatic sopranos of her time. She performed across Europe, Africa, India and Latin America. She sang at the White House and Madison Square Garden with Anton Dvorak conducting. In 1892 she became the first African-American woman to headline Carnegie Hall.
In spite of their success as Black Trailblazers, Jones and her troop endured racism across America. In 1896 the Supreme Court legalized racial segregation in the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. African American audience members were sometimes forced to sit in upper galleries, even if the better seats were empty. READ MORE
Schomburg Collections Celebrate Black Achievement
Schomburg Collections planted seeds that continue to inspire, educate and grow to this day. Initially started in the late 1800s by Afro-Puerto Rican Historian Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, the vast assemblage features a wide range of works by Black Trailblazers including intellectuals, chefs, scientists, artists and more. His collections fueled early activism, fed the Harlem Renaissance and remain a powerful resource at the Schomburg Center of the New York Public Library.
Schomburg was born to a mother from St. Croix, Virgin Islands, with African roots, and a white father of Puerto Rican and German descent. Educated in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, he said that a grade-school teacher told him Black people had no history or heroes, and had made no significant contributions to the world.
Driven to prove that belief wrong, Schomburg dedicated his life to gathering a robust body of evidence to the contrary. READ MORE
Former Slave Abby Fisher Won Culinary Kudos
Black trailblazer Abby Fisher honed her culinary skills and repertoire of recipes over a lifetime. Talented, ambitious and clever, she built a highly successful pickling business in San Francisco at a time when women could not vote and were still scorned for wearing pants and riding bicycles.
A successful entrepreneur, she earned her reputation as a caterer and chef to the rich and famous. With their help, she published What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Southern Cooking. Her achievements are more profound considering she learned to cook on plantations where she was born into slavery in the 1830s.
With the success of her cookbook she joined culinary professionals including Fannie Merritt Farmer, but without the privilege of a formal education in the domestic arts and science movement. READ MORE
Marie Selika Williams Gave White House Recital
Marie Selika Williams was considered one of the great coloratura sopranos of the late 19th century. As a leading singer of her day, she was the first African American woman to perform at the White House in 1878.
It was a time of struggle for all women seeking professional lives. The road for African American women was even more difficult. Despite her reputation and talent, Marie Selika Williams had difficulty obtaining quality management. She was known to organize her own tours and concerts. Because black artists with classical training were not welcomed to the American operatic stage until the late 1930s, many went to Minstrel shows. Marie Selika Williams remained among Black Trailblazers and true to her training. READ MORE
The Colored American Magazine Showcased Talent
The Colored American Magazine was launched in Boston on May 19, 1900. It was one of the first monthly magazines created to showcase Black Trailblazers, achievements, culture and politics. The Colored American Magazine often referenced itself as “the only high-class illustrated monthly in the world devoted exclusively to the interests of the Negro Race.”
In its beginning years, it strove to create a literary and political climate to engender a Black Renaissance. According to the publishers, the magazine was “Devoted to literature, science, music, art, religion, facts, fiction and traditions of the Negro Race.” It was “A Cooperative Journal by prominent Negro statesmen, scientists and teachers, along with other celebrated authors.” READ MORE
Female Moses Harriett Tubman Led Civil War Raid
Harriett Tubman was known as the female Moses for leading more than 70 slaves to freedom before the Civil War. During the war she was a nurse and a spy behind enemy lines for the Union Army. Working with Colonel James Montgomery in the 1863 raid on Combahee Ferry, the female Moses was instrumental in leading more than 750 slaves to freedom. READ MORE
Madame C.J. Walker: America’s First Self-Made Female Millionaire
Madame C.J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove McWilliams Walker (December 23, 1867 – May 25, 1919), is widely regarded as the first female to become a self-made millionaire in the United States. In the early 20th century (as the Victorian Era was coming to an end), she and her partner, Marjorie Joyner, revolutionized the hair care and cosmetics industry for African American women
“There is no royal flower-strewn path to success,” she said, “and if there is, I have not found it – for if I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard.”
Walker’s dynasty included a broad offering of cosmetics, licensed Walker Agents, Walker Beauty Schools. a factory, and hair salon. She later developed a laboratory to conduct ongoing product research and development. READ MORE
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