In honor of Black History Month, here is a list of impactful and prominent Black change-makers.
Ilhan Abdullahi Omar is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district since 2019. Omar is the youngest of seven children, born in Moddishu, Somalia, on Oct. 4, 1982. At the age of 8, Omar and her family were forced to flee from the Somali Civil War to a refugee camp in Kenya, before moving to the United States in 1995. When Omar was sworn into the House of Representatives, she worked on a repeal of a 181-year-old ban on head coverings on the House floor, which allowed her to wear her hijab on the House floor. Recently, there have been calls for her deportation by Republican politicians and she faced a recent attack in her town hall in January.
Don Lemon is an American journalist and is known for his coverage as a CNN anchor. Born in 1966 and raised in Louisiana, Lemon built a career in local news before joining CNN in 2006. After several years of working as a weekend news anchor and investigative journalist at local stations, his biggest opportunity appeared in the early 2000s when he was hired by NBC News in New York. Eventually, Lemon began anchoring “CNN Tonight” in 2014, setting a new precedent for the network by being one of the first black and openly gay men to anchor on national television. Additionally, Lemon also made appearances in films and TV shows such as Zoolander 2, Into the Storm, Black-ish and more. On Jan. 30, Lemon was arrested and received federal civil rights charges over his coverage of an anti-immigration enforcement protest at a Minnesota church. He continues his pursuit of journalism and defends against any charges of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
Faith Ringgold was an American author and artist born Oct. 8, 1930, in New York. After developing an interest in art in high school, she went on to receive a degree in fine arts and education in New York public schools until the 1970s. She began a series of paintings in 1963 known as the “American People,” portraying the civil rights movement from a female perspective. Throughout the 1970s, Ringgold became a frequent speaker at feminist art conferences and pursued the racial integration of the art world in New York. Later, Ringgold and one of her daughters became the founders of the advocacy group, Women Students and Artists for Black Art Liberation. In the 1980s, she began to shift to “story quilts,” where she combines paint with quilted fabric and powerful storytelling. Eventually, these pieces were turned into a children’s book, “Tar Beach” in 1992, which was named a Caldecott Honor Book. In 2022, the New Museum, New York City, held an exhibition of her work titled “Faith Ringgold: American People.” She died on April 13, 2024, leaving her impenetrable mark on the world of art.
Stacey Abrams, born on Dec. 9, 1973, in Madison, Wisconsin, was raised in Mississippi and later on moved to Atlanta with her family. Her political career began in 2002 when she was appointed Deputy City Attorney of Atlanta. Abrams was then elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2007 and became Georgia House Minority Leader in 2011. After a failed, yet close, campaign for Georgia Governor, which she believed was caused by voter suppression, she founded the Fair Fight 2020 organization that sought to ensure civic engagement for Black communities. During the 2020 election, many political analysts credited the organization with a Democratic win in Georgia by registering underrepresented communities. Currently, Abrams is continuing her work as a voter rights activist.
