Black/African-American History Month 2025

Black/African-American History Month is February 1 - February 28.

Black/African-American History Month LibGuide: Linked in this guide hosted by FCPS is essential information about the study and celebration of Black/African-American History Month.

Black History is Brilliant

[ bril-yuhnt ]

adjective

  • Exceptionally clever or talented

Katherine JohnsonKatherine Johnson, Mathematician & Computer Scientist

Born in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va, Katherine Johnson was the daughter of a teacher and a farmer/janitor. From a young age, she excelled in mathematical equations. She graduated early from high school at the age of 14 and was one of the first African Americans to enroll in the mathematics program at West Virginia State University, where she graduated in 1937. 

Johnson became a teacher until 1953 when she joined the Langley Research Center as a research mathematician for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Even after NASA began using electronic computers, John Glenn requested that she personally recheck the calculations made by the new computers before his mission as the first American to orbit the Earth. She continued to work at NASA until 1986. Johnson’s calculations were critical to the success of the Apollo Moon landing program and the start of the Space Shuttle program. Johnson’s story is featured in the 2016 film Hidden Figures, which was nominated for three Oscar Awards. 

Johnson received many awards during her 101 years of life, including NASA’s Lunar Spacecraft and Operations Group Achievement Award and NASA’s Apollo Group Achievement Award. In 2015, she received the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from President Barack Obama. She also was the co-author of 26 scientific papers, leaving a brilliant legacy in the fields of math and science for future generations.

Reginald F. Lewis, American Businessman

Born in 1942, Reginald F. Lewis was an American businessman. He was one of the wealthiest African-American men in the 1980s, and the first African American to build a billion-dollar company, Beatrice Foods. In 1993, Forbes listed Lewis among the 400 richest Americans, with a net worth estimated at $400 million.

In January 1993, Reginald’s remarkable career was cut short by his untimely death at the age of 50 after a short illness. Even after his death, Lewis’ philanthropic endeavors continue. During his illness, he made known his desire to support a museum of African American culture. In 2002, the Vice President of his foundation read an article in The Baltimore Sun describing a museum of Maryland African American History and Culture slated to be built near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The Reginald F. Lewis Museum is the largest African American museum in Maryland and features more than 11,000 square feet of permanent and temporary exhibition space, a two-story theater, and classrooms.

Lawyer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, Chairman, CEO, husband, father, son, brother, nephew, cousin, friend— Lewis lived his life according to the words he often quoted to audiences around the country: “Keep going, no matter what.”

Nikki GiovanniNikki Giovanni, Poet, Writer, Activist, Educator

Nikki Giovanni, an American poet, writer, activist, and educator, was born Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. in Knoxville, TN. When she was 4, her family moved to Lincoln Heights, Ohio, so her parents could work at Glenview School. Growing up, illness frequently prevented her from attending school, so she became an avid reader. She started her college studies at her grandfather's alma mater, Fisk University, in Nashville, as an early entrant before finishing high school and was in and out of college for several years. In 1967, she graduated with honors from Fisk University with a B.A. degree in history.

Her grandmother was an important influence on her, teaching her the importance of helping others and fighting injustice. Shortly after Giovanni graduated college, her grandmother died, and Giovanni turned to writing as a refuge. This writing produced most of the poems that became her first volume of poetry, Black Feeling Black Talk. Giovanni specialized in writing what was popularly called black militant poetry inspired by the Civil Rights Movement. Following the birth of her son in 1969, Giovanni was inspired to start writing children’s poetry books as well. She was a professor at several colleges until retiring from Virginia Tech after 35 years in 2022. She is considered one of the best African-American poets emerging from the 1960s Black power and Black Arts Movements.

Among Giovanni’s accomplishments:

  • Seven NAACP Image Awards
  • One Grammy Nomination
  • National Book Award finalist
  • Three New York Times and Los Angeles Times Best Sellers
  • 27 honorary degrees from colleges and universities
  • The honorary key to more than two dozen cities
  • 21 poetry books
  • 13 books of children’s poetry
  • 12 published essays and conversations
  • 10 records, tapes, and CDs
  • Two DVDs

Lonnie G. JohnsonLonnie G. Johnson, Air Force & NASA Engineer

Dr. Lonnie Johnson is president and founder of Johnson Research and Development Co., Inc., a technology development company, and its spin off companies, Excellatron Solid State, LLC; Johnson Electro-Mechanical Systems, LLC; and Johnson Real Estate Investments, LLC.

Johnson holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, an M.S. degree in Nuclear Engineering, and an honorary Ph.D. in Science from Tuskegee University. Upon graduation, he worked as a research engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and then joined the U.S. Air Force, serving as Acting Chief of the Space Nuclear Power Safety Section at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He eventually became an engineer at NASA, where he earned several honors before returning to the Airforce in 1982.

In 1989, Johnson formed his own engineering firm and licensed his most famous invention, the Super Soaker® water gun, to Larami Corporation. Two years later, the Super Soaker®, generated over $200 million in retail sales, and became the number one selling toy in America. Larami Corporation was eventually purchased by Hasbro Corporation, the second largest toy manufacturer in the world.