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A Black Legacy in Europe - This Black History Month, BET.com honors Black legends hailing from beyond the 50 states. Here, we feature some of Europe's notable Black figures — from slavery to the present day. —Naeesa Aziz

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Diane Abbott - British Member of Parliament Diane Abbott is the first Black woman to be voted into Britain's House of Commons. The child of Jamaican immigrants, Abbott currently represents the London area of Hackney, which boasts a sizeable Black population.(Photo: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

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Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi - Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi was born to a German mother and a Liberian father and raised in Nazi Germany. Later, as Massaquoi matured and realized that his career options would be limited because of his skin color, he moved to the United States, where he became managing editor of Ebony magazine and wrote his memoirs chronicling his life in Germany.(Photo: Courtesy wikicommons)

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Olaudah Equiano - Olaudah Equiano was kidnapped from his home in Nigeria and sold as a slave in Virginia, but he later bought his freedom and traveled to London, where he joined the abolitionist movement. His autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, was critical in helping British lawmakers abolish the slave trade. (Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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Ignatius Sancho - Also an inportant figure in the British abolitionist movement, Sancho became the first Black Briton to ever vote in an election. Two years after Sancho's death, The Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, An African was published and is the earliest account of slavery written by a slave. He was an accomplished composer, writer and actor.  (Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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Mary Seacole - Mary Seacole was a Jamaican nurse who fearlessly volunteered to treat soldiers during the Crimean War. She was known for treating wounded soldiers from both sides on the battlefield.(Photo: Courtesy wikicommons)

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Zahra Abdulla - After working as a midwife, Somali-born Zahra Abdulla decided to try her hand at politics, coming close to becoming the first Black woman elected to Finland's parliament in 2007 and proving herself to be formidable competition.Abdulla is still active in Finnish politics and speaks fluent Finnish, Somali, English, Arabic and Russian.(Photo: Courtesy ZahraAbdulla.info)

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Baroness Valerie Ann Amos - Briton Baroness Valerie Ann Amos is the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. In 1997, she was awarded the title of Baroness and served as the leader of the House of Lords from 2003-2007.(Photo: Courtesy wikicommons)

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Arthur Wharton - Born in Accra, Ghana, Wharton later moved to England and went on to become the first black football (soccer) player in the world.(Photo: Courtesy wikicommons)

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Glory Alozie - Alozie, originally from Nigeria, is a Spanish athlete.  (Photo: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)

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Alexandre Dumas - Dumas was the son of French war hero Thomas-Alexandre Dumas and went on to become one of the most widely read French authors.(Photo: Courtesy wikicommons)

Photo By Photo: Courtesy wikicommons

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Laura Beyne - Laura Beyne, 19, became the second Black Miss Belgium when she won the Miss Belgium 2012 competition earlier this month.  (Photo: BENOIT DOPPAGNE/AFP/Getty Images)

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Ainsley Harriott - The British celebrity chef worked his way through some of London's best restaurants and eventually earned cooking spots on morning television and his own line of food products.(Photo: Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Dave Hogan/Getty Images

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Samuel Coleridge-Taylor - Coleridge-Taylor was a storied British composer and musician.(Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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Harry Roselmack - Harry Roselmack is a French television journalist who grabbed a lion's share of the ratings when he became the first Black anchor on French network TF1. (Photo: REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer)

Photo By Photo: REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

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Sir Trevor McDonald - McDonald was the first Black news anchor in England and was knighted in 1994 for his contributions to journalism.(Photo: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images