July 2019 Birthdays

​​Nelson Mandela
July 18, 1918 - December 5, 2013

 Best known for his work to end the apartheid state of affairs of his home country of South Africa, Nelson Mandela is a political icon of the last century that captivated the world. While a strong believer in the practices of Mahatma Gandhi, he shifted to a more direct form of struggle once he found that the pacifistic nature of his political hero did not produce results in a timely manner. For his political resistance and upsets he spent a total of twenty-seven years in prison, with many other minor arrest preceding this lengthy sentence. However his sixty-seven year- long political career and many brushes with the law proved fruitful for in 1994 the apartheid system of his country was removed and South Africa held the first multiracial elections in the country's history. Due to his hard work and popularity Mandela was also South Africa’s first elected president alongside being the first black president of the country. 

Malala Yousafzai
July 12, 1997 - Present

Brought to prominence by her work in advocating the rights for women and girls in her native country of Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai has started her work as early as 2008. The main target of her fight was the religiously motivated group known as the Taliban and their dated view of the world. Her work as an activist for women's rights and her constant mention of the Taliban brought her to the attention of the world. This popularity brought the wrath of the ad for mentioned group. The majority of her activism took place online where she spoke about her experiences and her desired outcome for girls and women in an anonymous blog, until 2009 when she was discovered and asked to give speeches. In recognition of her service for the rights of women and girls she was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 2014, she is currently the youngest person to ever hold the award.

Walter F. White
​July 1, 1883 - March 21, 1955 

 A leader of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Walter Francis White is best known for his nearly 25 years of service to the organization and working with President Truman at the end of the World War II to desegregate the armed forces, along with more civilian based segregation. He started his career with the NAACP as an investigator in 1918 at the invitation of the then leader James W. Johnson. In the capacity of an investigator, White went to the Southern states to report on lynchings and other atrocities that occurred to people of color. As a person of mixed heritage, White was able to achieve his objectives with little harassment to his own being. In 1929, White took over as head of the NAACP after Johnson. As head of the organization he worked closely with varying levels of the United States government in order to make change. White also built up the NAACP’s ability to fight cases through funding and member recruiting, which allowed him to aid in the case of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) taking place during his last full year of service to the NAACP.