5 Black Leaders Throughout History You Should Know

As we celebrate 100 years of Black History Month, take a look at five black leaders from throughout history that you should know. Each of them has left an enduring legacy that set the foundation for the Black leaders that followed them.

1. Carter G. Woodson — The Father of Black History

Born on December 19, 1875, to formerly enslaved parents in New Canton, Virginia, Carter G. Woodson worked as a farm laborer and coal miner to help his family while attending the all-Black Douglass High School in West Virginia. He taught and served as a school principal, then earned a B.L. degree from Berea College in 1903. Afterward, Woodson worked as a school supervisor in the Philippines under the U.S. War Department and later traveled through Europe and Asia. He added to his credentials with a master’s degree from the University of Chicago and became the second Black American—after W.E.B. Du Bois—to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. He joined Howard University’s faculty and eventually served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Woodson devoted his life to documenting and elevating African American history. In 1915, he co-founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (today’s ASALH), and in 1926 he launched Negro History Week in February, honoring the birth months of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. The observance grew during the Civil Rights era and became Black History Month—first recognized by President Gerald Ford in 1976, with Congress designating February 1986 for national observance. Woodson’s prolific scholarship, including The Mis-Education of the Negro (1933), reshaped how the nation understands history—asserting that Black achievements are not side notes, but central chapters in the American story.

2. Rita Pierson, Ed.D. — “Every Child Deserves a Champion”

A Houston, Texas native and the daughter of educators, Rita Pierson began teaching in 1972 after completing her degree at Elmhurst College. Over a decades-long career, she taught in elementary, junior high, and special education classrooms and served as a counselor, assistant principal, testing coordinator, and consultant. In every role, Pierson championed the whole child—arguing that academic success is inseparable from relationships, trust, and belonging.

Pierson’s 2013 TED Talk distilled her philosophy into a powerful call to action: “Every child deserves a champion—an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.” She encouraged students with affirmations like, “I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. I’ll be a better somebody when I leave.” Pierson passed away in 2013, shortly after her TED Talk, but her legacy words endures through thousands of educators who carry on her legacy with connection as the foundation for meaningful learning.

3. Victorine Q. Adams — “If democracy is worth fighting for, it’s worth voting for.”

Victorine Q. Adams, born April 28, 1912, graduated from Frederick Douglass High School and Morgan State College before becoming a teacher in Baltimore’s segregated schools. In 1943, she helped charter the National Council of Negro Women’s Baltimore section, inspired by the work of founder Mary McLeod Bethune. A gifted organizer, Adams founded the Colored Women’s Democratic Campaign Committee in 1946, mobilizing Black women to register, vote, and run for office. Her efforts helped propel historic victories, including Harry A. Cole, the first African American elected to the Maryland State Senate (1954), and Verda F. Welcome, the first woman elected to the Maryland State Senate (1962) and the first Black woman elected to a state senate in the U.S.United States.

Adams also built economic and cultural power. She opened The Charm Center in 1948, Baltimore’s only Black-owned and operated women’s clothing store at the time, and launched Project Beauty and Charm, a six-week course helping women cultivate poise, confidence, and presentation. In 1958, she co-founded Woman Power, Inc. to expand Black women’s political influence, community leadership, and educational engagement—welcoming men to participate through the Minute Men affiliate. Adams made history as the first African American woman elected to the Baltimore City Council, translating grassroots organizing into policy and representation.

4. Mary McLeod Bethune — Education Pioneer and College Founder

Born July 10, 1875, in Maysville, South Carolina, Mary McLeod Bethune was one of 17 children of formerly enslaved parents. She was the only sibling to attend school, walking miles to a local missionary school and then sharing what she learned with her family. Bethune earned a scholarship to Scotia Seminary (now Barber–Scotia College) and later studied at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Returning South, she began teaching with a mission: expand access to education, dignity, and opportunity for Black children.

In 1904, Bethune founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute, which later became Bethune–Cookman College (now University). She also established the National Council of Negro Women in 1935 to unify and amplify Black women’s leadership. Appointed to the National Youth Administration in 1936, she became Director of Negro Affairs by 1939, overseeing training for tens of thousands of Black youth. As the only woman in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Black Cabinet,” Bethune leveraged her close friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt to advocate for integrating the Civilian Pilot Training Program and bringing it to historically Black college and university (HBCU) campuses—steps that helped train some of the nation’s first Black pilots. Her legacy stands at the intersection of education, policy, and community organizing.

5. Vivian G. Harsh — Chicago Librarian Who Built a Landmark Black History Collection

Vivian Gordon Harsh began as a junior clerk at the Chicago Public Library in 1909, earned a B.A. in library science from Simmons College in 1921, and pursued advanced study at the University of Chicago. In 1924, she became the city’s first Black professional librarian. By 1932, Harsh was appointed head librarian of the George Cleveland Hall Branch, Chicago’s first library constructed in an African American community—at the heart of Bronzeville during the city’s Black Renaissance.

A visionary collector and community builder, Harsh developed a robust African American history and literature collection—seeded by more thanover 100 donated books from George Bentley of the NAACP’s Chicago branch—and expanded it through private gifts and her own contributions when public funding fell short. Working alongside children’s librarian Charlemae Rollins, she paired collection-building with programming tailored to community needs. Harsh was active in the YMCA, NAACP, and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (founded by Carter G. Woodson), even hosting ASNLH’s 20th anniversary meeting in 1935. Today, the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection is recognized as a world-class resource—an enduring testament to how librarianship can preserve culture, empower scholarship, and anchor a community’s memory. 

As we celebrate black leaders throughout histor, learn more about IAFC’s own Black leaders, including our first African-American female CEO, April Janney.