[UPDATED FOR 2024]
February is here, which means it’s Black History Month.
If you’re looking for an impactful way to celebrate Black Americans’ achievements this year, we’ve put together 15 fascinating facts you can share to join the conversation and broaden the reach of this important dialogue.
Consistency is key. Posting every other day can raise engagement, followers, and mentions. We’ve made it easy with a month full of links and 280-character count soundbites!
Related: How to Elevate Your Next Event with Social Media.
15 Fascinating Facts
- Martin L. King Jr. improvised the most iconic part of his “I Have a Dream Speech.” Onstage near Dr. King, singer Mahalia Jackson reportedly kept saying, “Tell ‘em about the dream, Martin,” which could have been the inspiration. #BlackHistoryMonth http://bit.ly/2CXbkt0
- The NAACP chose Rosa Parks as the face of the anti-segregation movement because she was deemed less polarizing than Claudette Colvin, who refused to give up her bus seat nine months before Parks. #BlackHistoryMonth http://bit.ly/1NU5Z4E
- Jerry Lawson was a self-taught engineer who invented the video game cartridge. He was one of only two Black members of the Homebrew Computing Club – a club that included Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. #BlackHistoryMonth http://engt.co/2c2EbPo
- Lonnie G. Johnson was a NASA engineer and a toymaker who invented the Super Soaker. #BlackHistoryMonth http://bit.ly/2AQ2Q0T
- Harriet Tubman is best known as an underground railroad "conductor," but she was also a Union spy who freed 750 slaves in one night during the Combahee River Raid. She is the only woman to plan and lead a Civil War military operation. #BlackHistoryMonth https://s.si.edu/3UaysL7
- In the 1880's, Jan Ernst Matzeliger invented an automated shoemaking machine that could produce seven hundred pairs of shoes a day – compared to the fifty pairs a day a worker could. This helped lower shoe prices at a time when many couldn’t afford shoes. #BlackHistoryMonth
- 2008 marked the year Usain Bolt became the first man to win three world records at a single Olympic event. #BlackHistoryMonth
- Barack Obama attended Harvard Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude. He was the first Black editor of the Harvard Law Review. #BlackHistoryMonth http://bit.ly/2EtPny1
- Aretha Franklin was not only the first Black woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she was the first woman. #BlackHistoryMonth
- Cathay Williams was the one and only female Buffalo Soldier. In 1866, she posed as William Cathay to enlist in the 38th infantry and served for two years before a doctor discovered she was a woman, leading to her discharge. #BlackHistoryMonth http://bit.ly/2msTmV2
- Jackie Robinson not only became the first Black man to play on a major sports team, but during college at UCLA, he was the first student to letter in four different sports in one season. #BlackHistoryMonth http://bit.ly/2mt3oHT
- Bessie Coleman was the first Black woman to become a pilot. Fascinated with the stories of returning World War I pilots, she went to France in 1920 to pursue her dream of flying. She was awarded her international pilot's license in June 1921.
- Matthew Henson, the first Black Arctic explorer, was navigator, craftsman, and "first man" to Robert Peary. Henson planted the American flag at the North Pole in 1909. #BlackHistoryMonth http://bit.ly/1QSB1WF
- Daniel Hale Williams, the first person to successfully conduct open-heart surgery, also opened the first racially integrated hospital in 1891. #BlackHistoryMonth
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday was made into a national holiday with the assistance of Stevie Wonder, with special lyrics from his "Happy Birthday" song. #BlackHistoryMonth https://bit.ly/3OkfAp4
Related Tailoring Social Media Content for Different Platforms.
And there you have it: 15 posts to engage, enlighten, and entertain your audience. For extra bonus points, tag Ironmark and we’ll repost you!
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