Welcome to the world of Underground Groundbreakers!
Think of all the pioneers, trailblazers, groundbreakers, that you know of, read about, learned in history classes. They’re too many to list here, but they and their accomplishments make up the story of America.
Now think about how many you may not know about for one reason or another. The supporting cast to the leading actors. People whose shoulders the celebrated heroes had to stand on. The goal of this project is to give those unsung heroes their due, so that they are given the recognition and place in history that they deserve.
This is a project to illuminate and recognize groundbreakers particularly from my favorite fields: music, baseball, and of course, politics and law. They won’t necessarily be people that no one has ever heard of, since that would be nearly impossible. But my hope is to introduce some of these fascinating and sometimes underrated figures to people who otherwise may not have heard of them, since they generally would not be included in standard history textbooks or anything we would read in school (unless we had a super cool history teacher!).
There could be many reasons why these trailblazers are not as widely known today as they should be. On one hand, they could have been quite well known during their lifetime, and have just been lost to history. But on the other, perhaps more tragically, their work helped launch a movement or idea or invention, but the work was taken over by others and they haven’t received the credit they are rightfully owed. In many cases this is due to discrimination or lack of opportunities for those who didn’t fit the “American” mold. So my goal here is to be as diverse as possible in the stories I tell.
I hope with this project to give some of these Groundbreakers just some of the recognition they deserve. We are indebted to many of them for many of the rights and realities we enjoy today. If I introduce even one person to someone here that inspires them, then I’ll feel like I accomplished something with this project. I also expect to learn a lot too!
While I have some ideas for Groundbreakers to profile, I welcome suggestions! If you’d like to make a suggestion for someone to profile, please use the Contact form to submit your idea, or leave a comment below!
Thanks for taking this journey with me!
