Lena Horne: Actress And Activist

Lucille Ball is an admirable woman for contributing to the world numerous times. Born on August 6, 1911, in Jamestown, New York. Lucille Ball got her start as a singer, model and film star before becoming one of America's top comedic actresses. With the 1950s TV show I Love Lucy, she became a hit. When she was 15 she convinced her mother to allow her to enroll in a New York City drama school. Despite how long it took she still never gave up and still kept working hard. She was also in 72 movies (aka that's a lot of movies). Enough with background information let's talk about what made her admirable.

Heros’ come in many shapes and forms. Tall, short, small, big, anyone can be a hero, they just have to put in the effort. Though anyone can be a good hero, a great hero is somebody who inspires others, makes a difference, and is selfless.

Viola Irene Desmond has been recognized as an important person to Canadian history because it is to commemorate and acknowledge the brave actions of a woman who took a stand against racism and segregation. Also it is important to remember and to learn from history so that history does not repeat itself. Desmond was a beautician and mentor to young black women at her beauty school. She was falsely arrested on November 8th, 1946 at Roseland Theatre in Nova Scotia. Because of this action she rose up and fought against her charges. She changed the public opinion locally and internationally about racism and also raised awareness about it. The public history vehicles for her history are in many forms. There is a stamp, an apology made, books were

Many know Coretta Scott King to be the wife of Martin Luther King Jr.- one of the most influential civil rights activists ever. However, what most do not know is the story of his wife, Coretta Scott King, and her fight for all people, peace, and one whose bravery should be recognized for many more years to come. When speaking she said, “I am made to sound like an attachment to a vacuum cleaner,....the wife of Martin, then the widow of Martin, all of which I was proud to be. But I was never just a wife, nor a widow. I was always much more than a label.”- and to that she truly was.

Rosa Parks is known for her refusal to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Due to the bus incident, it caused a citywide boycott, and helped launched a nationwide effort to end segregation in the public. She is one of the greatest people in history, for her beliefs and actions.

Every minority has had to endure the injustice and inequality that has been thrust upon them here in US. Thankfully they wouldn’t back down without a fight, and so from the 1960s onward many activist movements rose up to fight for equality and justice. One of the people spearheading the many movements was Yuri Kochiyama. She was Japanese-American but supported all minorities. Since after WW2 she was involved heavily in activist movements. In 1995 she gave a speech to the Asian American Convocation at Brown University. In it she addressed the current issues of racial inequality and what should be done. At the time the issue of racism was still a problem and that’s why she wrote the speech, in order to address the problem and inspire change to

Marian Anderson was a driven African American singer. "We don't take colored" (Collins 106). Marian was deprived of singing in many places because of the color of her skin. She was always well behaved and never wanted conflict so she never would argue. Marian never gave up in her dream of becoming a singer. "She became the first black performer ever invited to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York" (Collins 111). Anderson spent a lot of her career traveling and performing across the United States.

In the story of Ruby Bridges, Ruby possessed character traits to help her through this time. Her actions helped propel the Civil Rights Movement throughout the country. Others played a part in helping Ruby. I think all of them were interested in doing what was best for Ruby. All the protestors affected Ruby. Ruby had an effect on them in the end.

The Harlem Renaissance paved a way for African American success. As Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said, “When I was 17, I worked in a mentoring program in Harlem designed to improve the community. That's when I first gained an appreciation of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African-Americans rose to prominence in American culture. For the first time, they were taken seriously as artists, musicians, writers, athletes, and as political thinkers” (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).The Harlem Renaissance showed the rest of the world what they were feeling and what it was like in Harlem at the time. It also shared some of the African American culture and arts through their poems and short stories. Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston both played a huge part in the

Truth is powerful and it prevails, as did Sojourner Truth. The feminist and abolitionist leader deserves to be commemorated with a monument. The ex-slave and mother of 5 was a traveling preacher and the first female, African-American abolitionist speaker. The prominent activist became famous when she filed a lawsuit fighting for her son who had been illegally sold into slavery, and won, resulting in her becoming the first African-American woman to win a court case against a white man. She was then recruited as a lecturer on the anti-slavery circuit, earning a reputation as a powerful speaker for abolition and women’s rights. Furthermore, the activist targeted issues such as alcohol and tobacco use.

Aretha Franklin was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She sang about women’s rights as she believed women were being treated unfairly during the time that she sang. She also spoke about African Americans rights because she believed they were being discriminated against. She became a role model for other minorities and many other artists followed in her footsteps. She was a very powerful icon during her time, and her songs such as “Respect” encourage minorities to speak up for their rights.

Rosa Parks’s influence on the fight for equality was arguably the most impactful of all the leaders in the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks first embarked on her Civil Rights journey by becoming involved with the NAACP. The author of the History website page on Rosa Parks claims, “in December 1943 Rosa also joined the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, and she became chapter secretary” (Rosa Parks). Rosa started out as a follower, but became dedicated to the organization so she ran for a board position. About ten years later, the famous Rosa Parks story took place in Montgomery. The author of the Rosa Parks page emphasizes that, “By refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus in 1955, black seamstress Rosa Parks (1913—2005) helped initiate the civil rights movement in the United States” (Rosa Parks). Simply put, Rosa inspired the rest of the African American communities around the United States to protest through boycotts whenever they had the chance to do so. Determined to get the bus segregation law overturned, Parks and her fellow NAACP

I have learned over the years that when one 's mind is made up, this diminishes knowing what must be done does away fear. According to reference.com Rosa Parks went to jail in December, 1, 1955. Rosa Parks says never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right. Rosa was on the bus and tried to kick Rosa out of her seat because he thought he could because she was black. Rosa refused to move out of her seat and then the bus driver called the cops on Rosa.

-------- I attribute my success to this – I never gave or took any excuse. ---------

Social change movement is defined as the alteration of mechanisms within the social structure characterized by changes in cultural symbols, rules of behavior, social organizations, or value systems . In this context, the rule of behavior is the most readily recognizable aspect of social change attributed to an individual. Organized groups working towards a common injustice (such as police brutality), to create change (Arab Spring) or to provide a voice to those disenfranchised (civil rights movements) then become a formidable movement. Historical examples that have come to embody social changes they advocated for include Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. Contemporary examples of social changes include “Black Lives Matter” a movement aimed at ending police brutality in the U.S. and the Arab Spring which was a series of protests that began in Tunisia and spread to the Middle East and North Africa resulting in the ousting of rulers in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen .