Column: Pay homage to 'first' blacks in history - Opinion - USATODAY.com: Every February, thousands of students write their Black History Month essays about Martin Luther King Jr., Sojourner Truth and sometimes even Medgar Evers. These are very prominent African Americans in U.S. history. There are many others who sometimes get mentioned, but there are those who will never be mentioned. They are the people who were the first to do something in their city. They are your neighbors.
Take a moment and think of the very first African American hired to drive a city bus. It doesn't seem like anything earth-shattering now, but think of how it was when the event happened. Think about how nervous he was, and it was a male. Think of how he must have felt when he picked people up, how they talked disrespectfully about him. Think about how he must have felt when no one would eat lunch with him. This man could have been your neighbor or at least your friend's grandfather. This man was African-American history.
Think of the very first African-American policeman in your area. In some areas, he may not have been allowed to carry a gun. He could only arrest people who looked like him. There was no one for him to talk with on his lunch break. He, too, could have been your neighbor or someone's father whom you knew.
