Five Impactful Figures in Black History Discussed in ‘In Class With Dr. Carr’
As the “largest Africana studies class in the world,” online platform Knarrative offers a variety of courses on Black history and culture, including “In Class With Dr. Carr.”
In “In Class With Dr. Carr,” Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and host of the “The Karen Hunter Show,” Professor Karen Hunter, join the Associate Professor of Africana Studies and the Chair of the Afro-American Studies at Howard University, Dr. Greg Carr, to talk about the stories of influential figures who have helped write Black history.
Here are five impactful figures they’ve discussed throughout the class’ run.
- Claudette Colvin (40): Roughly nine months before Rosa Parks solidified her place in history with her bus boycott, on March 2, 1955, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat for a white woman. Colvin was inspired by the Black figures she was learning about, such as Sojourner Truth, at Booker T. Washington High School and was thinking heavily about the role of segregation in her life. Arrested and charged with three crimes, Colvin was supported by civil rights activists, including Rosa Parks who encouraged her to take part in NAACP Youth Council meetings. Eventually, Colvin was charged with the one crime that wouldn’t allow her legal team to challenge the segregation law- assault.
- Octavius Catto (53): As an activist in the 19th century, Octavius Catto challenged segregation and fought for civil rights. Having graduated as valedictorian at the Institute for Colored Youth and immediately joining the teaching staff, Catto was an intellectual who was well versed in subjects such as English, upper-level mathematics and classical languages like Greek and Latin. As he became increasingly political and joined groups such as the Union League Association, Catto successfully advocated for public transportation access for Black Americans in Philadelphia and voting rights. On Election Day in 1871, Catto was murdered by a white voter who was part of a group of white voters that had come out to instigate a street fight to prevent Black voters from exercising their rights.
- Peseshet (54): Alive during the Old Kingdom Era of Ancient Egyptian history, Lady Peseshet is cited as the first woman physician that’s been recorded- a title that’s often been misattributed to Merit Ptah. Listed as “overseer of the physicians,” her name was found in the tomb of Akhethotep, an Ancient Egyptian official who held many titles.
- Rev. C.L. Franklin (76): Born in Sunflower County, Mississippi, Rev. Clarence LaVaughn Franklin went on to become known as the Baptist minister with the “Million-Dollar Voice.” Serving as a pastor at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit for most of his career, Franklin garnered national attention for his preaching, specifically his preaching voice and style. Although his main pulpit was at New Bethel Baptist Church, Franklin traveled across the U.S. to give his sermons to his followers. As Franklin’s popularity grew, he was able to release recordings of his famous sermons, such as “The Eagle Stirreth Her Nest,” and get airtime on radio. During the Civil Rights Movement, Franklin also became heavily involved in activism, helping organize the 1963 “Walk to Freedom” in Detroit.
- Paul Robeson (58): Famous for his baritone voice, Paul Robeson was a multi-talented athlete, actor, singer and civil rights advocate. Throughout his college career at Rutgers, Robeson enjoyed success as a football player as he was named in the College All-America Team twice. Robeson then went on to attend Columbia Law School where he met his wife Eslanda Cordozo Goode, the first Black woman to lead a pathology lab, and became a lawyer. After a white secretary refused to take dictation from him, Robeson left law to focus on spreading Black history and culture through the arts, becoming an actor and a singer. For his activism efforts, which included his fight to obtain equal rights for Black Americans, Robeson became a target for the House Committee on Un-American Activities. The fight against the U.S. government eventually helped cost Robeson his career. His last public appearance was at a benefit dinner by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1966.
