Black History Cultural Icons
Honoring the first lady, MLK, Muhammad Ali and Maya Angelou.
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Honoring Icons - At BET.com, we are celebrating Black History Month, and with the support of Mass Mutual, we’re pinpointing our cultural icons. From Martin Luther King Jr. to first lady Michelle Obama, we’re reflecting on how these people have influenced our paths to success and shaped how we see ourselves. (Photos from left: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, John Goodwin/Getty Images)
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Ali's Beginning - As Muhammad Ali climbed the rungs of boxing, he changed the way many viewed the sport by using his fame to reflect his political beliefs. Knocking out Sonny Liston in 1964, Clay became the heavyweight champion of the world and joined the Nation of Islam. He became more political when he declined to fight in the Vietnam War, and the boxing association banned him from fighting for over three years. (Photo: EMPICS /Landov)
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The Champ's Comeback - Ali came back with a vengeance, winning the Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman in 1974 and the Thrilla in Manilla fight against Joe Frazier in 1975. Then the champ lent his hand to charitable organizations like the Special Olympics, the United Nations as a Peace Ambassador, Make a Wish foundation and his own Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Phoenix. (Photo: AP Photo, File)
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The First Lady Takes the Scene - Michelle Obama attended Princeton University and then Harvard Law School. Fast forward to 2008, when she fashionably burst onto the trail with her husband and her killer arms. She was an excellent champion for Obama — and made us all rethink our exercise habits. (Photo: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
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Relatable First Lady - From the way President Obama bites his lip when he talks about his wife to how children run to hug her during school visits, it’s clear that the first lady is not only sharp and successful, she’s also warm and endearing. (Photo: Michael Kovac/WireImage)
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Spawning Future Michelle Obamas - Michelle Obama has changed the way millions of women and girls viewed themselves and their life’s possibilities as the very first African-American first lady of the United States. (Photo: Barack Obama campaign)
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King Comes Into His Own - During the 1950 and 1960s, Martin Luther King Jr. proved that non-violence was an effective way to make change in a racially divided America. His civil rights weapon was peaceful protest, a tactic that worked during the 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott against transportation segregation. King’s radicalism continued with non-violent marches and sit-ins — even while his home was firebombed and he was jailed. (Photo: Michael Evans/New York Times Co./Getty Images)
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A Lasting Memory of MLK - In 1963, Dr. King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom at the Lincoln Memorial. This year marks the 50th anniversary of that historical moment and now Dr. King has his own memorial in our nation’s capital. His legacy reminds us that even if you’re starting at a little storefront church, with determination, your actions can create waves big enough to change an entire country and the world. (Photo: Barney Sellers/Commercial Appeal /Landov)
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The Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou is one of America’s finest creative minds, logging time as a poet, author, playwright, director, actress and singer. Through a lifetime of writing and performance art, Angelou tapped into our collective Black story by sharing her own. (Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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A Phenomenal Woman - Encouraged by James Baldwin, Maya Angelou produced her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and famous poems like "Phenomenal Woman." Her work has attracted famous fans like Oprah Winfrey and former President Bill Clinton, for whom she read her poem "On the Pulse of the Morning" at his 1993 inauguration ceremony. She was even called the "Black woman’s poet laureate" by critic Elsie B. Washington. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
