Content provided in partnership with
The dream keepers: 12 people who changed your life
Ebony, Nov, 2005
AS individuals, they could not have been more different: Male and female; young and old, Black and White, poor and privileged.
But as a group, they heeded the call for freedom and equality.
As a group, they understood the significance of basic human rights and the Civil Rights Movement. As a group, they vowed to do the work and walk the talk and make that sacrifice--sometimes the ultimate sacrifice--to steer the entire nation down the path of "justice and liberty for all." They had no assurances that social change was coming, but they forged ahead because they believed.
But as a group, they changed your life and helped redefine what it means to be a Black or a White American.
- Most Popular Articles in News
- The Ten Best Laptop bags
- Tata plans cheapest-ever car for Indian market
- GLOBALIZATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT OF THE THIRD WORLD
- Corn is good for you; Corn is not only a tasty treat, but also a cereal that ...
- THE 50 BEST STYLISH HANDBAGS TO CARRY
- More »
On these pages, EBONY salutes this select group of visionaries who represent the greatness that the human race can achieve.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
Considered to be the greatest civil rights leader ever, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led the Freedom Movement that created a new South and new North, and increased the boundaries of freedom for all Americans. As the leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and citywide movements in Birmingham, Memphis, Chicago and other localities, he won victories that advanced the cause of Black and White Americans, including, most notably, students and women. He helped to lead the 1963 March on Washington, where he made his famous I Have a Dream speech. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at age 35 and garnered worldwide acclaim, which is evidenced by the city streets, schools and museums named in his honor.
Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993)
The first African-American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court (1967-1991), Thurgood Marshall, the great-grandson of a slave, worked tirelessly as a fighter for civil rights throughout his life. As the lead attorney for the NAACP and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, he was the mastermind behind litigation strategies that included ending racism in housing, transportation and education, as evidenced by his most famous court victory, that of Brown v. Board of Education. As associate justice of the Supreme Court, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, Marshall continued to be an unwavering voice for equal protection of the law and for affirmative action until his retirement from the bench in 1991.
Rosa Parks (Feb. 4, 1913-)
On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a Montgomery, Ala., seamstress and activist on her way home from work, refused to give up her seat to a White man on a city bus. Her single, silent protest helped spark the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and jump-started what became the Freedom Movement. The boycott helped overturn racial segregation on public transportation in Montgomery and throughout the South. Parks inspired tremendous change for Black Americans through quiet and resolute courage. She later moved to Detroit, where she worked for U.S. Rep. John Conyers until her retirement in the mid-1980s. She continues to be an endearing and enduring symbol of the Civil Rights Movement.
Jackie Robinson (1908-1993)
Seven days before the publication of the first EBONY, Jackie Robinson signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers, which sent him to the Montreal farm club, and later (April 15, 1947) made him the first Black player in Major League Baseball in modern times. He answered the call of Branch Rickey, the team's president and general manager, who said: "I want a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back!" Robinson responded to racial taunts and insults with superb play on the field that won him Rookie of the Year and later Most Valuable Player awards.
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)
The 35th president of the United States used the Oval Office to advance the Civil Rights Movement, using federal troops to protect freedom riders. He was an active supporter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. On June 11, 1963, the president ordered Alabama Governor George Wallace to stop preventing Black students from attending the University of Alabama. That night, Kennedy delivered a major televised address on Civil Rights. "It ought to be possible ... for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to race or color," he said.
Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908-1973)
Two of the most significant and far-reaching actions taken by President Lyndon Baines Johnson was signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and his War on Poverty, The new law brought an unprecedented federal intervention into local affairs, especially in the South. After the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, counties that failed to register 50 percent of the voting age minority population would be in civil rights violation. The law worked. Most Southern states realized that they had reached the end of the line in their efforts to retain a segregated society, and voluntarily opened their registration lists to Blacks.
John H. Johnson (1918-2005)
John H. Johnson, founder of EBONY and Jet magazines, changed the national media, presenting positive images of Black America that most of the world had never witnessed. EBONY and Jet magazines chronicled Black America's sacrifice and success, illustrating that even if underemployed or undereducated, Blacks could still be upwardly mobile. Through his innovation, he showed Blacks and Whites how a more inclusive and diverse America would look and thrive. In business, Johnson convinced mainstream corporations to recognize the power of the Black dollar, and showed them that it would be to their benefit to advertise in Black media. Johnson, who grew up in poverty in Arkansas, also understood the unique needs of the Black consumer, as evidenced by the launching of Fashion Fair Cosmetics, the world's first major cosmetics company for women of color. Perhaps even more significant is Johnson's personal story of achieving against the odds, a story that continues to serve as inspiration for every Black man, woman and child who dares to dream. Through EBONY, Jet, and Fashion Fair Cosmetics, Johnson showed the world that Black America is progressive and relevant, and that Black is beautiful.
