This Week in Black History: Great African American Achievements

What amazing events took place in African American history this week? Click the gallery below to learn more about black culture, history, and contributions to American society you may not know.

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This Week in Black History February 1-7, 2010

February 2, 1995
Dr. Bernard Harris, Jr. became the first African American to walk in space, fulfilling his childhood dream.

NASA / AP

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This Week in Black History February 1-7, 2010

February 1, 1865
According to the African American Registry: "John Rock became the first African American attorney to practice before the Supreme Court. Rock was formerly a dentist and justice of the peace in Boston."

This Week in Black History February 1-7, 2010

February 1, 1948
Recording artist Rick James was born James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. in Buffalo, New York. Considered one of the top pop songwriters and balladeers of the '80s, James also starred in an episode of 'The A Team' playing himself.

This Week in Black History February 1-7, 2010

February 5, 1934
Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron was born in Mobile, Alabama. Aaron is a legend for transitioning from playing in the Negro Leagues into baseball's mainstream, while at the same time maintaining a consistently high level of play during his lengthy career.

This Week in Black History February 1-7, 2010

February 1, 1902
Writer James Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri. One of the most influential artists of the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes is famous for celebrating black life in his works and incorporating jazz into the aesthetics of his art.

This Week in Black History February 1-7, 2010

February 2, 1995
Dr. Bernard Harris, Jr. became the first African American to walk in space, fulfilling his childhood dream.

This Week in Black History February 1-7, 2010

February 7, 1966
Comedian, actor and director Chris Rock was born in Andrews, South Carolina, but raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. After some false starts, Rock's career took off after his stand-up special 'Bring the Pain' (1996), for which he won two Emmys.

This Week in Black History February 1-7, 2010

February 7, 1883
Music great Eubie Blake was born in Baltimore, Maryland. The Library of Congress states: "Eubie Blake was one of the most important figures in early-20th-century African American music, and one whose longevity made him a storehouse of the history of ragtime and early jazz music and culture."

This Week in Black History February 1-7, 2010

February 4, 1913
Civil rights icon Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. Among the hundreds of honors she received for her service to humanity, Parks was given the Medal of Freedom Award by President Clinton in 1996.

This Week in Black History February 1-7, 2010

February 4, 1999
African immigrant Amadou Diallo was killed by four New York City police officers in the vestibule of his apartment while unarmed. The officers never faced charges for the incident.

This Week in Black History February 1-7, 2010

February 6, 1945
Reggae legend Bob Marley was born Nesta Robert Marley in the village of Nine Mile in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. An artist whose works have had a deep, international influence, Marley's 'Exodus' (1977) was named the best album of the 20th century by Time magazine.

This Week in Black History February 1-7, 2010

The Origins of Black History Month

Carter G. Woodson was a coal miner and child of former slaves with enthusiasm for the historical documentation of the African-American experience. He decided as a young man that our stories needed to be recognized. After earning a Ph.D. from Harvard University in history, Carter became a Howard University professor. He then co-founded and financed the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915, with the lofty goal of having it both publish and fund research and writing projects about black history. After resigning as a professor, Woodson dedicated all of his time to the association, as well as to publishing books and resources about the black experience. One notable quarterly he edited was The Journal of Negro History, which was distributed worldwide.

In 1926, Woodson established Negro History Week, as it was called by the black fraternity Omega Psi Phi, to celebrate the achievements of Afrian-Americans. Woodson chose the second week of February because it marked the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Through Woodson's promotion of the celebration in The Journal of Negro History, and by creating and distributing educational kits for children, Negro History Week gained in popularity. In 1976, it evolved into Black History Month.

Learn more about the past and current activities of Woodson's organization, now called the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History.

Source: Henry Louis Gates & Cornel West, 'The African American Century' (Touchstone 2002)