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Lander University Library Services

Lander Diversity Advisory Council: Unsung Black Heroes

This resource guide is sponsored by the Lander University Diversity Advisory Council.

Unsung Heroes of Black History Month
February 1 - 28

Library Services and the Diversity Advisory Council are honoring some of the lesser-known heroes of Black history this month.

Explore these library resources to learn more about their incredible achievements.

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, Heart Surgeon

Man wearing suit

Did you know that February is also American Heart Month? Dr. Williams established the country's first interracial hospital in 1891, the Provident Hospital. In 1893, he gained national attention when he became the first doctor to successfully perform open heart surgery, on a stabbing victim who had been rushed to the hospital. His patient, a young Black man named James Cornish, lived another 50 years. In 1913, Dr. Williams became the first African American to be inducted into the American College of Surgeons.

Source: Daniel Hale Williams. (1992). In Contemporary Black Biography (Vol. 2). Gale. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1606000260/BIC?u=landerulib&sid=bookmark-BIC&xid=864f58f4

Shirley Chisholm, U.S. Congresswoman

George Jackson, Prison Rights Activist

Ella Baker, Civil Rights Organizer

Bayard Rustin, Civil Rights Organizer

Bessie Coleman, Aviator

Matthew Henson, Arctic Explorer

Book cover

Matthew Henson: Co-discoverer of the North Pole

Children's Room - Literature PZ20G635.H4 L58 2001

Book cover

One More River to Cross: The Stories of Twelve Black Americans

Children's Room - Literature PZ 20 E 185.96 .H355 1992