Looking back at the past allows also us to pick out historical personalities, whom we can easily deem as role models, who had paved the path for the future, and who continue to be remembered for their actions! Here are some historical figures who are incredibly inspiring!
1) Rosa Parks- On 1st December 1955, a seamstress from Montgomery, Alabama boarded a bus. A white passenger shortly came to her and tried to make her move so that he could sit down. However, she refused to get up, causing a stir and ultimately a symbolic defiance of the racist norms that were at play in America at the time. Rosa Parks is still hailed as one of the foremost black female icons who stood up against racism, through a simple assertion of her rights, and surely rightly so! She is surely an inspiration!
2) Fred Hampton- Fred Hampton is another icon that surely deserves recognition. He was the chairman of the Black Panther party, and although assassinated at the age of 21, lead a radical movement, and fought against racism and class- distinctions vehemently. For those interested, the recent film, Judas and the Black Messiah, by director Shaka King, offers a fabulous insight into the life and death of Fred Hampton. Moreover, this film will be sure to inspire you and make you look at him with a perspective of reverence!
3) BR Ambedkar- BR Ambedkar, is considered one of the leaders of the national freedom movement in India. He was dedicated to promoting equality and fought all his life against the atrocities of the caste system in India. He also headed the Committee which wrote the constitution of India. His spirit to combat and critique oppressive forces is something that we can all hope to aspire for!
4) Gabriel Garcia Marquez- Gabriel Garcia Marquez is one of the most popular writers in the world and a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Coming from Columbia, his books which include, Hundred Years of Solitude, Chronicles of A Death Foretold, Love in the Time of Cholera, News of a Kidnapping, and Clandestine in Chile amongst many others are written in the genre of magical realism. Fantasy is interspersed with real-life incidents, making his books legendary and appreciated all over the world. He is an inspiration for writers, as well as readers all over the world!
