A Super Bowl champion and literacy advocate

 Malcom Mitchell is an unsung hero using his stardom to encourage children to read. 

Unsung heroes are all over. You just have to look for them. 

1944 Chicago Port Explosion

 During World War II black sailors were used to load ships with  bombs and some of it's most dangerous weapons (Only black sailors).  On July 17th, 1944, at Port Chicago, an explosion killed 332 people, most of them African Americans.   All of the sailors were asked to go back to work two weeks later.   Fifty of the 258 surviving sailors refused to load more bombs.  They organized and stop working August 9th, 1944.  They were ALL put on trial and found guilty of mutiny.  Through the efforts of of Thurgood Marshall, Eleanor Roosevelt and Joseph Small the men were released from prison after serving long prison sentences.  

The Smithsonian magazine recently highlighted the massive explosion and the story that changed the armed forces in an article entitled Half the Battle.

Update: Just this week (July 2024)  all soldiers were exonerated of all charges.  Read about it in Smithsonian Magazine.

Anna May Wong

The accomplishments of Anna May Wong were recently highlighted by the New York Historical Society.  She was a Chinese-American born in Los Angeles in 1905. She was sent to an all Chinese-American School after she was bullied in a predominantly white public school.  At the age of fourteen she was an extra in a movie called The Red Lantern. After this positive experience she dropped out of school to pursue a career in film.  Her first big break came when she was seventeen.  She played the lead character in the silent film The Toll of the Sea.  Success in the entertainment industry would not be easy.  In the early nineteen hundreds it was common for white actresses to play Asian characters in yellowface and Asian stereotypes were often unavoidable.  Even though her roles were limited her popularity soared.  In order to fight prejudice she adopted a free spirited flapper lifestyle and traveled to Europe.  In 1928, she accepted an offer to star in a movie in Berlin.  She stayed in Europe until 1935 starring in many feature films. She returned to Hollywood for a chance to act in The Good Earth, but the part was given to Luise Rainer, a white actress in yellowface.  After this rejection she traveled to China to reunite with her family.  At the end of her career she became the first Asian-American to star in her own television series.        

Read about her in Not Your China Doll by Katie Gee Salisbury

Monford Point Marines

Read about two Montford Point Marines who leave behind a legacy of courage and excellence.  They were recenlty highlighted by the Marine Times 

Hero Quotes

 

1921 Tulsa Riot

In 1921 there was a massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  It was the home for a thriving black community dubbed "Black Wall Street." It had hundreds of successful black business owners.  While the community thrived, racial tension mixed with envy and anger.   One false accusation caused an unnecessary massacre.  A 17 year old white girl who shared an elevator with a 19 year old black boy falsely accused him of assault.  Within days, her claim of assault turned into cries of rape.  Within 24 hours, the young black boy was arrested and the 35 square blocks of Tulsa was burned to the ground.  The fight for justice continues. CNN recently reported on how the centenarians's fight for justice continues.

Unsung Hero Book Suggestions

 

Unsung Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement

Read about more Civil Rights advocates that did their part in improving our society.   The article is  entitled Unsung Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement was published in AARP Bulletin Feb/2024.