Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch believes the spirit of the civil rights era still lives in today’s movements.
Lynch, who in 2015 became the first black woman to serve as the Department of Justice head, was honored on Thursday at New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Black History Month celebration at the Museum of Natural History.
The North Carolina native told HuffPost that it’s impossible to look at groups like Black Lives Matter or campaigns like #MeToo ― originally created by Tarana Burke ― without acknowledging their forebears.
“They are important because of their singular contribution to black history ... but they’re also important because they reflect the continuity of the African-American experience,” Lynch said. “If you look back at the civil rights movement, the images that galvanized the country and the world were the images of police dogs and firehouses on youth.”
She said it was strategic that the folks putting in the groundwork during the civil rights movement were young.
“In many ways, [it was] because their parents were not able to risk losing employment,” she said. “But also because the image of young people is an image of hope, it’s an image of the future. So I think that that particular structure has been something that has meant a lot to the African-American community.”
She said that spirit is what fueled her in the Obama administration to seek and pursue justice for those who desperately deserve but rarely see it.
“I think that everyone has an obligation to frankly, in my view, look beyond just what you do for yourself and see what you can do for your community,” said Lynch. “I’ve been very fortunate in my career, been able to do a lot of things that are important to me, cause I view the role of a prosecutor as the role of a protector in the community.”
“It isn’t always seen that way, so it’s very important for me to try and make that the image that I portrayed,” she continued. “So that other young people who might be looking into law, particularly young African-American men and women would see that they too can actually shape the laws and shape the policies that impact our community and the country so deeply.”
Lynch, who is living black history, expressed that even if the current administration doesn’t recognize the works and efforts of black people in February, it’s important for African-Americans to uphold their glory themselves.
“We really don’t need outside validation,” she said. “When you look at the things that African-Americans have achieved ― the city that we’re standing in that we built, the country that we helped to grow, the advances in science and technology that we made possible ― our story is there and so I think it’s incumbent upon us to make sure that it’s always told.”
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Septima Poinsette Clark (1898–1987)
Clark was an educator and civil rights activist who established citizenship schools that helped many African Americans register to vote. Regarded as a pioneer in grassroots citizenship education, she was active with the NAACP in getting more black teachers hired in the South.
Mary Church Terrell (1863–1954)
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Angela Davis (1944-present)
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Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931)
Wells helped bring international attention to the horrors of lynching in the South with her investigative journalism. She was also elected as the Secretary of the Colored Press Association in 1889.
Kathleen Cleaver (1945-present)
Kathleen Cleaver is one of the central figures in Black Panther history. She was the first communications secretary for the organization and is currently a law professor at Emory University. She also helped found the Human Rights Research Fund.
Dr. Dorothy Height (1912-2010)
Dr. Height was regarded by President Barack Obama as "the godmother of the Civil Rights Movement.” She served as the president of the National Council of Negro Women for over two decades and was instrumental in the integration of all YWCA centers in 1946.
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Billie Holiday (1915-1959)
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Hattie McDaniel (1893-1952)
As an actress, McDaniel appeared in more than 300 films and was the first African American to win an Oscar in 1940. She was also the star of the CBS Radio program, "The Beulah Show."
Ruby Bridges (1954-present)
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Charlayne Hunter-Gault (1942-present)
Hunter-Gault was the first black woman to enroll at the University of Georgia. She became an award-winning journalist after she graduated and worked for outlets such as the New York Times, PBS and NPR.
Daisy Bates (1914-1999)
As a civil rights activist and journalist, Bates documented the fight to end segregation in Arkansas. Along with her husband, she ran a weekly black newspaper and became the president of the Arkansas chapter of the NAACP.
Dr. Mae Jemison (1956-present)
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Ella Baker (1903-1986)
Baker was the national director for the NAACP. She also worked with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. As one of the leading figures in the civil rights movement, Baker is known for her leadership style which helped develop others' skills to become leaders in the fight for a better future.
Katherine Johnson (1918-present)
Katherine Johnson overcame the prejudices thrown at her while working as a "human computer" at NASA to calculate the numbers that successfully launched the first Americans into space. Johnson's work helped mark a turning point in the United State's race to space with the Soviet Union. Johnson's untold story has recently been popularized through the critically acclaimed film "Hidden Figures."
Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919)
Madam C.J. Walker became one of the first female self-made millionaires in the world when she inventing a line of hair care products specially for African Americans in 1905. She traveled around the country to promote her products and give hair care demonstrations. She eventually founded Madame C.J. Walker Laboratories to manufacture cosmetics and train beauticians.
Josephine Baker (1906-1975)
After getting her start in New York, Josephine Baker found fame and fortune when she moved to France in the 1920s and became one of Europe's most beloved performers, entrancing her audiences with her enticing dance moves and vocals. During World War II, she worked for the French Resistance, smuggling messages hidden in her sheet music and underwear. Baker frequently returned to the United States to join the Civil Rights Movement efforts. She was even a speaker at the 1963 March on Washington.
Linda Martell (1941-present)
Linda Martell was the first black woman to appear on the Grand Ole Opry. The country and blues singer went on to make 11 more appearances on the international radio program throughout her career and she landed a Top 25 song with her 1969 single "Color Him Father."
Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972)
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Dominique Dawes (1976-present)
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Dr. Patricia Bath (1942-present)
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