Everyday People, Extraordinary Heroes Week 1 2 3 4

For that person that is first to lend a helping hand, yet last to accept an award. For the one that gives from the heart, then rejects to being on the front page of the newspaper. For the one that will work even when no one is around because it is important to get the job done... not who's watching you get the job done. We celebrate those every day individuals that have made an impact in our communities, changed our history, and left behind a revolutionary roadmap for all to follow. For each week we will highlight five influential individuals and their story, giving you a glimpse of what we mean when we say, "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Heroes."

Everyday People, Extraordinary Heroes of Week 2: Marcus Garvey 1887 – 1940 The Black Moses Born in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, in 1887. Garvey incorporated a shipping company, the Black Star Line. He created the largest black political movement in history, establishing hundreds of branches of his Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)., created in 1914, throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa. The UNIA would act as a benevolent association with the goal of building a technical college in Jamaica similar to Booker T. Washington’s Tuskegee Institute. News of relevance to black nationalism was aired in the pages of his internationally circulated newspaper, the Negro World. In addition to the Black Star Line and the Negro World, the UNIA’s Negro Factories Corporation, which operated a chain of businesses in Harlem, would employ over a thousand Harlemites in the early 1920s. The UNIA unveiled a flag with three bars, of red, black, green, that has now become a ubiquitous symbol in black popular culture for black cultural nationalism.

Rev. Samuel "Billy" Kyles Civil Rights Leader After Memphis sanitation workers went on strike in February 1968 due to low pay and poor working conditions, Kyles led the effort to gain community support for the striking workers. He organized nightly rallies and raised money before scheduling a major rally for April 3, 1968. Kyles persuaded the Reverend Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. to come to Memphis and speak at the event. Kyles accompanied King and his entourage that day and was on hand when King was assassinated in the early evening. Kyles is widely believed to be the only living person to have been with King during his dying hour. Kyles has maintained his involvement with civil rights work since the 1960s. He is a member of several civic and professional organizations. Kyles is a founding member of the National Board of People United to Save Humanity (PUSH), the executive director of Rainbow/PUSH-Memphis and the executive producer of Rainbow/PUSH WLOK Radio. Kyles also worked on Jesse Jackson's 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns and was a delegate to the First African National Congress. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve on the Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad.

Major Taylor Champion Cyclist Major Taylor was the first internationally known African-American athlete. During the turn of the last century, track cycling was one of the most popular sports in America. Crowds would pack into velodromes to cheer on their heroes as they raced, and Major Taylor was the best cyclist out there. But, despite his exceptional talent, he had to fight prejudice every step of the way. Born Marshall Walter Taylor on November 26, 1878 near Indianapolis, Indiana, the son of poor, rural African-American parents, Taylor was raised and educated in the home of the white Indianapolis family who employed his father. At the age of 13, Taylor went to work for a bike shop, performing bicycle tricks in a soldier's uniform, which earned him the nickname "Major." In 1895, Taylor moved to Worcester, Mass. with his employer at the time, well known bicycle racer, Louis "Birdie" Munger, who coached him for his first professional races. Taylor was a force on the racing circuit from the start. His first professional race was a six-day race at Madison Square Gardens. He finished eighth. Just finishing a six-day race is a feat. In 1898, just two years after beginning his career and only 18 years old, he became the American champion. The next year, in Montreal, Taylor, who was then 19, became only the second African-American athlete to win a world championship in any sport by winning the 1-mile sprint title. He dominated in the US, then went to Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, defeating the best cyclists Europe had to offer. Taylor was also the 1-mile record holder, and three time U.S. sprint champion (1898, 1899, 1900).

Hallie Quinn Brown Mar 10, 1850- Sept 16, 1949 Educator, Lecturer, Reformer Daughter of former slaves, Hallie Brown grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Chatham, Ontario. She graduated from Wilberforce University in Ohio and taught in schools in Mississippi and South Carolina. In 1885 she became dean of Allen University in South Carolina, and studied at the Chautauqua Lecture School. She taught public school in Dayton, Ohio, for four yeas, and then was appointed lady principal (dean of women) of Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, working with Booker T. Washington. From 1893 to 1903, she served as professor of elocution at Wilberforce University, but served on a limited basis as she lectured and organized, traveling frequently. She helped promote the Colored Woman's League which became part of the National Association of Colored Women. In Great Britain, where she spoke to popular acclaim on African American life, she made several appearances before Queen Victoria, including tea with the Queen in July, 1889. She also spoke for temperance groups and represented the United States at the International Congress of Women, meeting in London in 1899. She took up the cause of woman suffrage and spoke on the topic of full citizenship for women as well as civil rights for black Americans. In 1925 she protested segregation of the Washington (DC) Auditorium being used for the All-American Musical Festival of the International Council of Women, threatening that all black performers would boycott the event if segregated seating were not ended. Two hundred black entertainers did boycott the event and black participants left in response to her speech.

Ronald McNair 1950 - 1986 NASA Astronaut Born October 21, 1950, in Lake City, South Carolina. Died January 28, 1986. He is survived by his wife Cheryl, and two children. He was a 5th degree black belt Karate instructor and a performing jazz saxophonist. He also enjoyed running, boxing, football, playing cards, and cooking. Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978, he completed a 1-year training and evaluation period in August 1979, qualifying him for assignment as a mission specialist astronaut on Space Shuttle flight crews. He first flew as a mission specialist on STS 41-B which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on February 3, 1984. Challenger culminated in the first landing on the runway at Kennedy Space Center on February 11, 1984. With the completion of this flight, he logged a total of 191 hours in space. Dr. McNair died on January 28, 1986 when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, also taking the lives of the spacecraft commander, Mr. F.R. Scobee, the pilot, Commander M.J. Smith (USN), mission specialists, Lieutenant Colonel E.S. Onizuka (USAF), and Dr. J.A. Resnik, and two civilian payload specialists, Mr. G.B. Jarvis and Mrs. S. C. McAuliffe.

Charles Drew 1904 - 1950 The Blood Man Charles Drew (1904-1950) was born on June 3, 1904 in Washington, D.C. Charles Drew excelled in academics and sports during his graduate studies at Amherst College in Massachusetts. Charles Drew was also a honor student at McGill University Medical School in Montreal, where he specialized in physiological anatomy. Charles Drew researched blood plasma and transfusions in New York City. It was during his work at Columbia University where he made his discoveries relating to the preservation of blood. By separating the liquid red blood cells from the near solid plasma and freezing the two separately, he found that blood could be preserved and reconstituted at a later date. Charles Drew's system for the storing of blood plasma (blood bank) revolutionized the medical profession. Dr. Drew also established the American Red Cross blood bank, of which he was the first director, and he organized the world's first blood bank drive, nicknamed "Blood for Britain". His official title for the blood drive was Medical Director of the first Plasma Division for Blood Transfusion, supplying blood plasma to the British during World War II. The British military used his process extensively during World War II, establishing mobile blood banks to aid in the treatment of wounded soldiers at the front lines. In 1941, the American Red Cross decided to set up blood donor stations to collect plasma for the U.S. armed forces. After the war, Charles Drew took up the Chair of Surgery at Howard University, Washington, D.C. He received the Spingarn Medal in 1944 for his contributions to medical science. Charles Drew died at the early age of 46 from injuries suffered in a car accident in North Carolina.

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