CHICAGO (TNND) — Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a prominent
civil rights leader who worked closely with Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr. and continued his work after his death,
died Tuesday.

Avel Gordlywas an activist, community organizer, and former
politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. In 1996, she became the
first African-American woman to be elected to the Oregon
State Senate, serving from 1997 to 2009.

After retiring from the legislature, Gordly joined the faculty
of Portland State University as an associate professor in
the Black studies Department. She was 79. 

Avel Louise Gordly (February 13, 1947 – February 16, 2026)

Former NASA astronaut Dr.Bernard Harris (69) became the first
Black man to walk in space.        

       
His mission contributes to a burgeoning collaboration between
the United States and Russia in space exploration.

Bernard Harris stepped out of the space shuttle Discovery in
orbit on February 9, 1995.

Harris described his determination to become an astronaut as
a "big leap of faith" at a time when the Apollo 11 moon landing
shared headlines with the struggle for civil rights. "The main
challenge was the color of my skin."

Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021)

On February 5, 1934, Henry Louis Aaron Jr., the baseball
slugger who broke Babe Ruth’s legendary record of 714
homers, was born in Mobile, Alabama.

Aaron began his professional baseball career in 1952 in
the Negro League and joined the Milwaukee Braves of
the major league in 1954, eight years after Jackie
Robinson had integrated baseball.

The following season, he took home the league’s MVP
award and helped the Braves beat Mickey Mantle and
the heavily favored New York Yankees in the World
Series. In 1959, Aaron won his second league batting
title.

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks
(February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005)

Rosa Louise McCauley—known to history by her married name,
Rosa Parks—is born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4, 1913.

A lifelong civil rights activist, Parks’ name is synonymous with
her refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated
bus in 1955, a defining moment of the civil rights movement.