Education is a basic foundation for any individual whose goal is to change the way the world sees things, and Carter G. Woodson built one of the strongest foundations of anyone, much less the son of former slaves. Woodson collected advanced degrees the way some people collect coins and stamps, but with a greater purpose, which was to educate the world, especially about the contributions of Black people to society. Almost a century later, Woodson's influence on American history is seen clearly not just during Black History Month, but each and every day.

When history is told, it is often shaped by those who've benefitted most in the telling of its story. Sometimes it takes someone to rouse us from our complacency and remind us that history is shared by everyone and before Carter G. Woodson did that for us, a coal miner from Fayette County, West Virginia named Oliver Jones did it for him, setting in motion one of America's most significant educational movements and events, Black History Month.

American history is full of famous names, but only a few are fully recognized by most everyone and Booker T. Washington is one of those names. The author of "Up From Slavery" used his own story to help bring about racial reform. From enslavement to the halls of academe, Washington became the right man for his times.

Christopher Payne—known as C.H. to his friends—lived more lives than a collection of most people. Born into enslavement, his mother insisted upon getting him an education. After the Civil War, he was able to become a teacher and a pastor before publishing newspapers in which he addressed the stories of African Americans. He moved through the world of politics to garner the respect of President Teddy Roosevelt and the world.

Sometimes the path to greatness goes through some unsavory territory. Before Stephen Benton Elkins rose to prominence, his rise included business dealings that remain a dark part of our nation's history. He came to West Virginia from the American Southwest when he married into a U.S. Senator's family, whose support would eventually make him a Senator, too.

Americans love a good rags-to-riches story and few could rival that of Henry Gassaway Davis. Born into a meager merchant's family, Davis worked his way up through the railroad and developed investments to build an empire, and joining the elite of Capitol Hill in Washington, founding many West Virginia towns and one of its beloved colleges.

Robert Graetz, Jr. saw wrong and worked to correct it when he became friends with Rosa Parks in Montgomery, Alabama after she refused to give up her seat on a city bus. The only white reverend in the city to support and aid the bus boycott, the former Charlestonian also became friends with Dr. Martin Luther King, as he joined in the fight for equality, armed with the spirit of faith and humanity.

It's an old joke that well-behaved women seldom make history and while that may not be true, Mother Jones put the maxim to the test. Having lost her entire family to a yellow fever epidemic, Jones dedicated her life to helping American laborers get their fair share. A firebrand whose voice still rings through the hills of West Virginia, she left her mark on the state and our nation.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWU2bj-_pn8

Heroes often rise from the place where they were born, and Frank Keeney is just such an example. Born in Cabin Creek, he grew up in the epicenter of the labor struggle of West Virginia's southern coalfields. He did not wait for things to get fixed but decided to fix them himself, getting elected to the UMWA and leading the miners to the first major strike in the state.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh8tHZUT41o

When a young Mary Lou Retton of Fairmont saw Nadia Comaneci compete in the 1976 Olympics, she decided that gymnastics was for her. After local coaching and training from Comaneci's coach, she ascended to the same heights as her heroine and became a role model for later American gymnastic Olympians like Kerri Strug and Simone Biles.