Black History Month is a time for African-Americans to reflect and become inspired by the figures from the past who helped shaped American history.
Instead of only focusing on the heroes from history, theGrio decided to track down some of the living descendants of well-known African-American historical figures to find out what it is like being related to some of most the influential people in history.
TheGrio was able to locate ten different descendants who come from the lineages of some America’s important black historical figures’ families.
Click on the links below to read more about each ancestor’s living descendants:
Madam C.J. Walker – great-great granddaughter left family business to pursue journalism
Robert Smalls – great-great grandson says he’s the unsung hero of the Civil War
Ida B. Wells – great-grandchildren says she was a ‘crusader’ for all injustices
Harriet Tubman – great-great grandniece believe schools do not care enough about Black History Month
W.E.B. Du Bois – great grandson says the pressure of the legacy helped him understand own identity
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