A Salute to Black History Makers

Each year, Black History Month serves as an opportunity for us to take the time to recognize the important contributions that Black Americans have made to our nation and culture.

As part of our Bank-wide celebration, we are pleased to feature profiles of outstanding individuals who not only shaped history—they made history.

Vernon Jordan

Born into a rigidly segregated Atlanta in 1935, Vernon Jordan was an American business executive and attorney who played a key role in the civil rights movement.

Following his graduation in 1957 from DePauw University—where he was the only Black student in a class of 400—Jordan earned his law degree from Howard University and served on a team of lawyers who successfully desegregated the University of Georgia.

In 1970, Jordan took on the role of director of the United Negro College Fund. He later became a close friend and advisor to President Bill Clinton throughout his two terms, before returning to private life where he pursued a highly successful career with multiple corporations and investment firms.

Barack Obama

Born in Honolulu Hawaii in 1961, former President Barack Obama is a leading statesman within the Democratic Party and most notably served as the first Black President of the United States from 2009 to 2017.

Upon graduation from Columbia University in 1983, Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago before attending Harvard Law School, where he became the first Black student to lead the Harvard Law Review. He then went on to become a prominent civil rights attorney and academic, teaching Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago.

During his Presidency, Obama presided over the passage of the landmark Affordable Care Act, nominated Sonia Sotomayor—the first Hispanic American Supreme Court Justice—and signed a major international climate agreement, among many other historic achievements.

Carlotta Walls LaNier

Carlotta Walls LaNier, born in 1942, is the youngest of the Little Rock Nine, a group of African-American students who, in 1957, became the first Black students ever to attend Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas.

In recognition of her incredible courage and commitment to the cause of racial justice, LaNier received the Springarn Medal from the NAACP in 1958.

Later, in 1999, she and the rest of the Little Rock Nine were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President Bill Clinton. Most recently, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2015.

John Lewis

John Robert Lewis was an American politician and activist who served 17 terms in the US House of Representatives, where he was known as the “conscience of the Congress.”

Lewis was instrumental in the struggle for civil rights, participating in the 1960 Nashville sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, and was chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee from 1963 to 1966. He also played a key role in organizing the March on Washington in 1963, where he delivered stirring remarks to a crowd of more than 250,000 people.

Throughout his celebrated career, Lewis was at the forefront of efforts and actions to end legalized segregation and promote racial justice in the US.

Marian Wright Edelman

Marian Wright Edelman is an American activist for civil rights and children’s rights. Born in Bennettsville, South Carolina in 1939, Edelman later attended Spellman College in Atlanta.

Due to her academic achievement, she was awarded a Merrill scholarship which allowed her to continue her studies at the Sorbonne University and the University of Geneva. In 1960, she was arrested—along with 77 other students—during a sit-in at a segregated Atlanta restaurant.

Today she is best known as the founder and president emerita of the Children’s Defense Fund, and has influenced leaders including Martin Luther King and Hillary Clinton.

Colonel Charles Young

Charles Young, born into slavery in 1864, was the third African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Among other notable achievements, he was the first Black US national park superintendent, the first Black miliary attaché, the first Black man to achieve the rank of colonel in the US Army, and the highest-ranking Black officer in the regular army until 1922.

Upon his death, Young received a full military funeral and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. In 2020, he was posthumously promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.

We hope these stories inspire you to continue your own study of Black history in America!