Timeline of African-American firsts
Part of a series on |
African Americans |
---|
African Americans are an ethnic group in the United States. The first achievements by African Americans in diverse fields have historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural change. The shorthand phrase for this is "breaking the color barrier".[1][2]
One commonly cited example is that of Jackie Robinson, who became the first African American of the modern era to become a Major League Baseball player in 1947, ending 60 years of segregated Negro leagues.[3]
Contents |
---|
17th century: 1670s |
17th century
1670s
1670
- First African American to own land in Boston: Zipporah Potter Atkins[4]
18th century
1730s–1770s
1738
- First free African-American community: Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose (later named Fort Mose) in Spanish Florida[5]
1746
- First known African American (and slave) to compose a work of literature: Lucy Terry with her poem "Bars Fight", composed in 1746[6] and first published in 1855 in Josiah Holland's "History of Western Massachusetts[7][6]
1760
- First known African-American published author: Jupiter Hammon (poem "An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries", published as a broadside)[8]
1767
- First African-American clockmaker, Peter Hill, was born.[9]
1768
- First known African American to be elected to public office: Wentworth Cheswell, town constable and Justice of the Peace in Newmarket, New Hampshire.[10]
1773
- First known African-American woman to publish a book: Phillis Wheatley (Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral)[11]
- First separate African-American church: Silver Bluff Baptist Church, Aiken County, South Carolina[12][13][Note 1]
1775
- First African American to join the Freemasons: Prince Hall[14]
1778
- First African-American U.S. military regiment: the 1st Rhode Island Regiment[15]
1780s–1790s
1783
- First African American to formally practice medicine: James Derham, who did not hold an M.D. degree.[16] (See also: 1847)
1785
- First African American ordained as a Christian minister in the United States: Rev. Lemuel Haynes. He was ordained in the Congregational Church, which became the United Church of Christ[17]
1792
- First major African-American Back-to-Africa movement: 3,000 Black Loyalist slaves, who had escaped to British lines during the American Revolutionary War for the promise of freedom, were relocated to Nova Scotia and given land. Later, 1,200 chose to migrate to West Africa and settle in the new British colony of Settler Town, which is present-day Sierra Leone. [citation needed]
1793
- First African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church founded: Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was founded by Richard Allen[citation needed]
1794
- First African Episcopal Church established: Absalom Jones founded African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[citation needed]
19th century
1800s
1804
- First African American ordained as an Episcopal priest: Absalom Jones in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[18]
1807
- First African-American Presbyterian Church in America: First African Presbyterian Church founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by John Gloucester a former slave.[19]
1810s
1816
- Richard Allen founded the first fully independent African-American denomination: African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and mid-Atlantic states[citation needed]
1817
- The First African Baptist Church was the first African-American church west of the Mississippi River.[20] It had its beginnings in 1817 when John Mason Peck and the former enslaved John Berry Meachum began holding church services for African Americans in St. Louis.[21] Meachum founded the First African Baptist Church in 1827. Although there were ordinances preventing blacks from assembling, the congregation grew from 14 people at its founding to 220 people by 1829. Two hundred of the parishioners were slaves, who could only travel to the church and attend services with the permission of their owners.[20]
1820s
1821
- First African American to hold a patent: Thomas L. Jennings, for a dry-cleaning process[22]
1822
- First African-American captain to sail a whaleship with an all-black crew: Absalom Boston[23] There were 6 black owners of 7 whaling trips before Absalom Boston's in 1822.[24]
1823
- First African American to receive a degree from an American college: Alexander Twilight, Middlebury College[25] (See also: 1836)
1827
- First African-American owned-and-operated newspaper: Freedom's Journal, founded in New York City by Rev. Peter Williams Jr. and other free blacks.[citation needed]
1830s
1832
- First governor of African descent in what is now the US: Pío Pico, an Afro-Mexican, was the last governor of Alta California before it was ceded to the US. Like all Californios, Pico automatically became a US citizen in 1848.[citation needed]
1836
- First African-American elected to serve in a state legislature: Alexander Twilight, Vermont[25] (See also: 1823)
- First African American to found a town and establish a planned community: Free Frank McWorter (New Philadelphia, Illinois)[26][27]
1837
- First formally trained African-American medical doctor: Dr James McCune Smith of New York City, who was educated at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and returned to practice in New York.[28] (See also: 1783, 1847)
1840s
1845
- First African-American licensed to practice law: Macon Allen from the Boston bar[29]
1847
- First African American to graduate from a U.S. medical school: Dr. David J. Peck[30] (Rush Medical College) (See also: 1783, 1837)
- First African-American president of any nation: Joseph Jenkins Roberts, Liberia[31]
1849
- First African-American college professor at a predominantly white institution: Charles L. Reason, New York Central College[32]
1850s
1851
- First African-American member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits): Patrick Francis Healy[33] (See also: 1866, 1874)
1853
- First novel published by an African-American: Clotel; or, The President's Daughter, by William Wells Brown, then living in London.[Note 2][34][35]
1854
- First African-American Catholic priest: James Augustine Healy[36] (see 1875 and 1886)
- First institute of higher learning created to educate African-Americans: Ashmun Institute in Pennsylvania, renamed Lincoln University in 1866. (See also firsts in 1863)
1858
- First published play by an African-American: The Escape; or, A Leap for Freedom by William Wells Brown[37]
- First African-American woman college instructor: Sarah Jane Woodson Early, Wilberforce College[38]
- First African-American woman to graduate from a medical course of study at an American university: Sarah Mapps Douglass
- First African-American Missionary Bishop of Liberia: Francis Burns of Windham, N.Y. of the Methodist Episcopal Church.[39]
1860s
1861
- First North American military unit with African-American officers: 1st Louisiana Native Guard of the Confederate Army
- First African-American US federal government civil servant: William Cooper Nell[40]
1862
- First African-American woman to earn a B.A.: Mary Jane Patterson, Oberlin College[41]
- First recognized U.S. Army African-American combat unit: 1st South Carolina Volunteers
1863
- First college owned and operated by African-Americans: Wilberforce University in Ohio[42][Note 3] (See also: 1854)
- First African-American president of a college: Bishop Daniel Payne (Wilberforce University)[43]
1864
- First African-American woman in the United States to earn an M.D.: Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler[44]
1865
- First African-American field officer in the U.S. Army: Martin Delany[45]
- First African-American attorney admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court: John Stewart Rock[46]
- First African American to be commissioned as captain in the Regular U.S. Army: Orindatus Simon Bolivar Wall, known as OSB Wall[47]
1866
- First African American to earn a Ph.D.: Father Patrick Francis Healy from University of Leuven, Belgium[33] (See also 1851, 1874)
- First African-American woman enlistee in the U.S. Army: Cathay Williams[48]
- First African-American woman to serve as a professor: Sarah Jane Woodson Early; Xenia, Ohio's Wilberforce University hired her to teach Latin and English
1868
- First elected African-American Lieutenant Governor: Oscar Dunn (Louisiana).[49]
- First African-American mayor: Pierre Caliste Landry, Donaldsonville, Louisiana[50]
- First African-American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives: John Willis Menard.[51] His opponent contested his election, and opposition to his election prevented him from being seated in Congress. (See also: 1870)
1869
- First African-American U.S. diplomat: Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett, minister to Haiti[52]
- First African-American woman school principal: Fanny Jackson Coppin (Institute for Colored Youth)[53]
- First African American to receive a dental degree and become a dentist: Robert Tanner Freeman[54]
1870s
1870
- First African American to vote in an election under the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting voting rights regardless of race: Thomas Mundy Peterson[55]
- First African American to graduate from Harvard College: Richard Theodore Greener.[56]
- First African-American elected to the U.S. Senate, and first to serve in the U.S. Congress: Hiram Rhodes Revels (R–MS).[57][Note 4]
- First African American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives: Joseph Rainey (R-SC).[58][Note 5]
- First African-American acting governor: Oscar James Dunn of Louisiana from May until August 9, 1871, when sitting Governor Warmoth was incapacitated and chose to recuperate in Mississippi. (See also: Douglas Wilder, 1990)
1871
- First African-American page in the United States House of Representatives: Alfred Q. Powell, who was appointed in 1871 by Charles H. Porter (R-VA), with recommendations from William Henry Harrison Stowell (R-VA) and James H. Platt Jr. (R-VA).[59][60][61]
1872
- First African-American midshipman admitted to the United States Naval Academy: John H. Conyers (nominated by Robert B. Elliott of South Carolina).[62]
- First African-American governor (non-elected): P. B. S. Pinchback of Louisiana (See also: Douglas Wilder, 1990)[63]
- First African-American nominee for Vice President of the United States: Frederick Douglass by the Equal Rights Party.[64][Note 6]
1873
- First African-American speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, and of any state legislature: John R. Lynch
1874
- First African-American president of a major college/university: Father Patrick Francis Healy, S.J. of Georgetown College.[33] (See also: 1851, 1863, 1866)
- First African American to preside over the House of Representatives as Speaker pro tempore: Joseph Rainey[65]
1875
- First African-American Roman Catholic bishop: Bishop James Augustine Healy, of Portland, Maine.[36] (See also: 1854)
1876
- First African American to earn a doctorate degree from an American university: Edward Alexander Bouchet (Yale College Ph.D., physics; also first African American to graduate from Yale, 1874).[66] (See also: 1866)
1877
- First African-American graduate of West Point and first African-American commissioned officer in the U.S. military: Henry Ossian Flipper.[67]
- First African-American elected to Phi Beta Kappa: George Washington Henderson.[68]
1878
- First African-American police officer in Boston, Massachusetts: Sergeant Horatio J. Homer.[69]
- First African-American baseball player in organized professional baseball: John W. "Bud" Fowler.[70]
1879
- First African American to graduate from a formal nursing school: Mary Eliza Mahoney, Boston, Massachusetts.[71]
- First African American to play major league baseball: Possibly William Edward White; he played as a substitute in one professional baseball game for the Providence Grays of the National League, on June 21, 1879.[72] Work by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) suggests that he may have been the first African American to play major league baseball, predating the longer careers of Moses Fleetwood Walker and his brother Weldy Walker by five years; and Jackie Robinson by 68 years.[73][74][75][76][77]
1880s
1880
- First African American to command a U.S. ship: Captain Michael Healy.[78]
- First African-American world champion in pedestrianism, a 19th-century forerunner to racewalking and ultramarathons: Frank Hart.[79]
1881
- First African-American whose signature appeared on U.S. paper currency: Blanche K. Bruce, Register of the Treasury.[80]
1882
- First fully state-supported four-year institution of higher learning for African-Americans: Virginia State University
1883
- First known African-American woman to graduate from one of the Seven Sisters colleges: Hortense Parker (Mount Holyoke College)[81][Note 7]
- First African-American woman to earn a PhD. Nettie Craig-Asberry June 12, 1883, earns her doctoral degree in music from the University of Kansas one month shy of her 18th birthday.
1884
- First African American to play professional baseball at the major-league level: Possibly Moses Fleetwood Walker, but see also William Edward White in 1879.[82] (See also: Jackie Robinson, 1947)
- First African-American woman to hold a patent: Judy W. Reed, for an improved dough kneader, Washington, D.C.[83][Note 8]
- First African American to enlist in the U.S. Signal Corps: William Hallett Greene[84][85]
- First African American to lead a political party's National Convention: John R. Lynch, Republican National Convention.[86]
- First African American to deliver a keynote address at a political party's National Convention: John R. Lynch, Republican National Convention.[86]
1886
- First Roman Catholic priest publicly known at the time to be African-American: Augustine Tolton, Quincy and Chicago, Illinois[87] (See also: 1854)
1890s
1890
- First African-American woman to earn a dental degree in the United States: Ida Rollins, University of Michigan.[88][89]
- First African American to record a best-selling phonograph record: George Washington Johnson, "The Laughing Song" and "The Whistling Coon."[90]
- First woman and African American to earn a military pension for their own military service: Ann Bradford Stokes.[91]
1891
- First African-American police officer in present-day New York City: Wiley Overton, hired by the Brooklyn Police Department prior to 1898 incorporation of the five boroughs into the City of New York.[92] (See also: Samuel J. Battle, 1911)
1892
- First African American to sing at Carnegie Hall: Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones[93]
- First African-American named to a College Football All-America Team: William H. Lewis, Harvard University[94]
1895
- First African-American woman to work for the United States Postal Service: Mary Fields[95]
- First African American to earn a doctorate degree (Ph.D.) from Harvard University: W.E.B. Du Bois[96]
1898
- First African-American appointed to serve as U.S. Army Paymaster: Richard R. Wright
1899
- First African American to achieve world championship in any sport: Major Taylor, for 1-mile track cycling[97]
20th century
1900s
1901
- First African-American invited to dine at the White House: Booker T. Washington[98]
1902
- First African-American professional basketball player: Harry Lew (New England Professional Basketball League)[99] (See also: 1950)
- First African-American professional American football player: Charles Follis
- First African-American boxing champion: Joe Gans, a lightweight (See also: 1908)
1903
- First Broadway musical written by African-Americans, and the first to star African-Americans: In Dahomey
- First African-American woman to found and become president of a bank: Maggie L. Walker, St. Luke Penny Savings Bank (since 1930 the Consolidated Bank & Trust Company), Richmond, Virginia[100]
1904
- First Greek-letter fraternal organization founded by African-Americans: Sigma Pi Phi
- First African American to participate in the Olympic Games, and first to win a medal: George Poage (two bronze medals)[101]
1906
- First intercollegiate Greek-letter organization founded by African-Americans: Alpha Phi Alpha (ΑΦΑ), at Cornell University
- First academically trained African-American forester: Ralph E. Brock at the Pennsylvania State Forest Academy[102]
1907
- First African-American Greek Orthodox priest and missionary in America: Very Rev. Fr. Robert Josias Morgan[103]
1908
- First African-American heavyweight boxing champion: Jack Johnson[104] (See also: 1902)
- First African-American Olympic gold medal winner: John Taylor (track and field medley relay team).[105] (See also: DeHart Hubbard, 1924)
- First intercollegiate Greek-letter sorority established by African-Americans: Alpha Kappa Alpha (ΑΚΑ) at Howard University
1910s
1910
- First African-American female millionaire: Madam C. J. Walker[106]
- First African-American woman to be recorded commercially: Daisy Tapley[107]
1911
- First intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity founded by African-Americans at a historically black college: Omega Psi Phi (ΩΨΦ), at Howard University
- First African-American police officer in New York City: Samuel J. Battle, following the 1898 incorporation of the five boroughs into the City of New York, and the hiring of three African-American officers in the Brooklyn Police Department. Battle was also the NYPD's first African-American sergeant (1926), lieutenant (1935), and parole commissioner (1941).[92] (See also: Wiley Overton, 1891)
- First African-American attorney admitted to the American Bar Association: Butler R. Wilson (June 1911), William Henry Lewis (August 1911), and William R. Morris (October 1911)[108][109]
- First African-American elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly: Harry W. Bass (1911).[110]
1914
- First African-American military pilot: Eugene Jacques Bullard
- First African American to attend the University of Connecticut, earning his bachelor's degree with honors in 1918: Alan Thacker Busby.[111]
1915
- First African-American alderman of Chicago: Oscar Stanton De Priest[112]
1916
- First African American to play in a Rose Bowl game: Fritz Pollard, Brown University[113]
- First African American to become a colonel in the U.S. Army: Charles Young[114][115]
- First African-American woman to become a licensed pharmacist: Ella P. Stewart
1917
- First African-American woman to win a major sports title: Lucy Diggs Slowe, American Tennis Association[116]
1919
- First African-American special agent for the FBI: James Wormley Jones[117][118]
- First African-American women appointed as police officers: Cora I. Parchment at the New York Police Department (NYPD)[119] and Georgia Ann Robinson, by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)[120]
- First African American to direct a feature film: Oscar Micheaux (The Homesteader)
1920s
1920
- First African-American NFL football players: Fritz Pollard (Akron Pros) and Bobby Marshall (Rock Island Independents)[121]
- First African-American bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church: Robert Elijah Jones and Matthew Wesley Clair.[122]
1921
- First African-American woman to become an aviation pilot, first American to hold an international pilot license: Bessie Coleman[123]
- First African-American NFL football coach: Fritz Pollard, co-head coach, Akron Pros, while continuing to play running back[121]
- First African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in the U.S.: Georgiana Rose Simpson, from the University of Chicago in 1921
- First African American to found a record label: Harry Pace (Black Swan Records)
1923
- First African-American woman to earn a degree in library science: Virginia Proctor Powell Florence.[124][125] She earned the degree (Bachelor of Library Science) from what is now part of the University of Pittsburgh.[126][127][128]
1924
- First African American to win individual Olympic gold medal: DeHart Hubbard (long jump, 1924 Summer Olympics).[129] (See also: John Taylor, 1908)
1925
- First African-American Foreign Service Officer: Clifton R. Wharton Sr.[130]
1927
- First African American to become an officer in the New York Fire Department in New York City: Wesley Augustus Williams.[131]
- First African-American woman to star in a foreign motion picture: Josephine Baker in La Sirène des tropiques.[132]
1928
- First post-Reconstruction African-American elected to U.S. House of Representatives: Oscar Stanton De Priest (Republican; Illinois)[133]
- First African-American woman to serve in a state legislature: Minnie Buckingham Harper, West Virginia[134]
1929
- First African-American sportscaster: Sherman "Jocko" Maxwell (WNJR, Newark, New Jersey)[135]
1930s
1930
- First African American to win a state high school basketball championship: David "Big Dave" DeJernett, star center on an integrated Washington, Indiana team.
1931
- First African-American composer to have their symphony performed by a leading orchestra: William Grant Still, Symphony No. 1, by Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra[136]
- First African-American woman to graduate from Yale Law School: Jane Matilda Bolin
1932
- First African-American on a presidential ticket in the 20th century: James W. Ford (Communist Party USA, as vice-presidential candidate running with William Z. Foster)[137]
- First African-American Ph.D. in anthropology: William Montague Cobb[138][139]
1933
- First African-American woman to earn a doctorate in psychology: Inez Prosser
1934
- First African-American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat: Arthur W. Mitchell (Illinois)[140]
- First trade union set up for African-American domestic workers by Dora Lee Jones[relevant?]
1936
- First African American to conduct a major U.S. orchestra: William Grant Still (Los Angeles Philharmonic)[141]
- First African-American women selected for the Olympic Games: Tidye Pickett and Louise Stokes.[142] Stokes did not compete; Picket competed in the 80-meter hurdles[143]: 86
1937
- First African-American federal magistrate: William H. Hastie (later the first African-American governor of the United States Virgin Islands)[144]
1938
- First African-American woman federal agency head: Mary McLeod Bethune (National Youth Administration)[145]
- First African-American woman elected to a state legislature: Crystal Bird Fauset (Pennsylvania General Assembly)
1939
- First African American to star in their own television program: Ethel Waters, The Ethel Waters Show, on NBC[146]
1940s
1940
- First African American to win an Oscar: Hattie McDaniel (Best Supporting Actress, Gone with the Wind, 1939)[147]
- First African American to be portrayed on a U.S. postage stamp: Booker T. Washington[148]
- First African-American flag officer: BG Benjamin O. Davis Sr., U.S. Army[149][Note 9]
- First African American to earn a doctorate in library science: Eliza Atkins Gleason, from the University of Chicago[150]
1941
- First African American to give a White House Command Performance: Josh White[151]
1942
- First African American to be awarded the Navy Cross: Doris Miller
- First African-American member of the U.S. Marine Corps: Alfred Masters[152]
- First African-American inadvertently commissioned in the U.S. Navy as a Limited duty Flight instructor: Oscar Holmes[153]
- First African American to captain a U.S. Merchant Marine ship, the SS Booker T. Washington: Hugh Mulzac[154]
1943
- Martin A. Martin, first African American to become a member of the Trial Bureau of the United States Department of Justice, was sworn in on May 31, 1943.[155]
- First African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics: Euphemia Haynes, from Catholic University of America[156]
1944
- First African-American commissioned Line officers in the U.S. Navy: The "Golden Thirteen"[157]
- First African-American commissioned as a U.S. Navy officer from the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps: Samuel Gravely[158][Note 10]
- First female African-American commissioned Navy officers: Harriet Ida Pickens and Frances Wills[159]
- First African American to receive a contract with a major U.S. opera company: Camilla Williams[160]
- First known African-American comic book artist: Matt Baker in Jumbo Comics #69 for Fiction House[161]
- First African-American reporter to attend a U.S. presidential news conference: Harry McAlpin[162]
1945
- First African-American member of the New York City Opera: Todd Duncan[relevant?]
- First African-American U.S. Marine Corps officer: Frederick C. Branch[163]
- First African-American was sworn in as a Navy nurse: Phyllis Mae Dailey[164]
- First African-American woman to enter the Coast Guard: Olivia Hooker[165]
1946
- First African American to sign a contract with an NFL team in the modern (post-World War II) era: Kenny Washington
1947
- First African-American Major League Baseball player of the modern era: Jackie Robinson (Brooklyn Dodgers).[166] (See also: William Edward White, 1879; Moses Fleetwood Walker, 1884)
- First African-American Major League Baseball player in the American League: Larry Doby (Cleveland Indians).
- First African-American consensus college All-American basketball player: Don Barksdale[167]
- First comic book produced entirely by African-Americans: All-Negro Comics[168]
- First African-American full-time faculty member at a predominantly white law school: William Robert Ming (University of Chicago Law School)[32]
- First African-American female member of the U.S. House and Senate press galleries: Alice Allison Dunnigan (See also: 1948)
1948
- First African-American man to receive an Oscar: James Baskett (Honorary Academy Award for his portrayal of "Uncle Remus" in Disney's Song of the South, 1946)[169] (See also: Sidney Poitier, 1964)
- First African-American on an Olympic basketball team and first African-American Olympic gold medal basketball winner: Don Barksdale, in the 1948 Summer Olympics
- First African-Americans to play in the Cotton Bowl Classic: Wallace Triplett and Dennis Hoggard[170]
- First African American to design and construct a professional golf course: Bill Powell
- First African-American knowingly trained and commissioned as a U.S. Naval aviator: Jesse L. Brown[171]
- First African-American composer to have an opera performed by a major U.S. company: William Grant Still (Troubled Island, New York City Opera)[172]
- First African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal: Alice Coachman[173]
- First African-American since Reconstruction to enroll at a traditionally white university of the South: Silas Hunt (University of Arkansas Law School)[174][Note 11]
- First known African-American star of a regularly scheduled network television series: Bob Howard, The Bob Howard Show[146][176][177][Note 12] (See also: 1956)
- First African-American man to graduate from Oregon State College: William Tebeau[178]
- First African-American female reporter to travel with a U.S. president (Harry S. Truman's election campaign): Alice Allison Dunnigan[162] (See also: 1947)
1949
- First African-American graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy: Wesley Brown[179]
- First African American to chair a committee of the United States Congress: Representative William Dawson (D-IL).[180]
- First African American to hold the rank of Ambassador of the United States: Edward R. Dudley, ambassador, and previously minister, to Liberia[181] (See also: 1869)
- First African American to win an MVP award in Major League Baseball: Jackie Robinson (Brooklyn Dodgers, National League)[182] (See also: Elston Howard, 1963)
- First African-American-owned and -operated radio station: WERD, established October 3, 1949, in Atlanta, Georgia by Jesse B. Blayton Sr.[183]
- First African-American woman president of an NAACP chapter nationwide: Florence LeSueur of Boston's NAACP chapter.[184]
- First African-American women to earn a doctor of veterinary medicine degree: Jane Hinton and Alfreda Johnson Webb[citation needed]
1950s
1950
- First African American to win a Tony Award: Juanita Hall (Best Featured Actress in a Musical, South Pacific)[185]
- First African American to win a Pulitzer Prize: Gwendolyn Brooks (book of poetry, Annie Allen, 1949)[186]
- First African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize: Ralph Bunche[187]
- First African American to receive a "lifetime" appointment as federal judge: William H. Hastie, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit[188]
- First African-American woman to compete on the world tennis tour: Althea Gibson[189]
- First African-American solo singer to have a #1 hit on the Billboard charts: Nat King Cole ("Mona Lisa"), topped "Best Sellers in Stores" chart on July 15 (See also: Mills Brothers, 1943; Count Basie, 1947; Tommy Edwards, 1958; The Platters, 1959)[citation needed]
- First African-American delegate to the United Nations: Edith S. Sampson[190] (See also: 1961)
- First African-American NBA basketball players: Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton (New York Knicks), Chuck Cooper (Boston Celtics), and Earl Lloyd (Washington Capitols).[191] Note: Harold Hunter was the first to sign an NBA contract, signing with the Washington Capitols on April 26, 1950.[192][193] However, he was cut from the team during training camp and did not play professionally.[194][Note 13] (See also: 1902)
1951
- First African-American named to the College Football Hall of Fame: Duke Slater, University of Iowa (1918–1921)[195]
- First African-American quarterback to become a regular starter for a professional football team: Bernie Custis (Hamilton Tiger-Cats)[196]
1952
- First African-American driver in NASCAR: Wendell Scott (See also: 2015)
- First African-American woman elected to a U.S. state senate: Cora Brown (Michigan)[197]
- First African-American U.S. Marine Corps aviator: Frank E. Petersen[198]
- First African-American woman to be nominated for a national political office: Charlotta Bass, Vice President (Progressive Party) (See also: 2000, 2020)[199]
- First African-American baseball player to appear in or win a College World Series: Don Eaddy[200]
1953
- First African-American basketball player to play in the NBA All-Star Game: Don Barksdale in the 1953 NBA All-Star Game[167]
- First African-American quarterback to play in the National Football League during the modern (post-World War II) era: Willie Thrower (Chicago Bears)[201]
1954
- First African-American U.S. Navy Diver: Carl Brashear[202]
- First individual African-American woman as subject on the cover of Life magazine: Dorothy Dandridge, November 1, 1954[203]
- First African-American page for the U.S. Supreme Court, and first to be enrolled in the Capitol Page School: Charles V. Bush[204]
1955
- First African-American member of the Metropolitan Opera: Marian Anderson[205]
- First African-American male dancer in a major ballet company: Arthur Mitchell (New York City Ballet); also first African-American principal dancer of a major ballet company (NYCB), 1956.[206] (See also: 1969)
- First African-American pilot of a scheduled US airline: August Martin (cargo airline Seaboard & Western Airlines)[207][208] (See also: 1964)
- First African American to serve as a presidential executive assistant: E. Frederic Morrow, appointed by President Eisenhower as Administrative Officer for Special Projects.[209]
1956
- First African-American star of a nationwide network TV show: Nat King Cole of The Nat King Cole Show, NBC (See also: 1948)
- First African American to break the color barrier in a bowl game in the Deep South: Bobby Grier (Pittsburgh Panthers in the 1956 Sugar Bowl)[210]
- First African-American Wimbledon tennis champion: Althea Gibson (doubles, with Englishwoman Angela Buxton); also first African American to win a Grand Slam event (French Open).[211]
- First African-American U.S. Secret Service agent: Charles Gittens[212][213]
- First African American to win the Cy Young Award as the top pitcher in Major League Baseball, in the award's inaugural year: Don Newcombe (Brooklyn Dodgers)[214]
- First African-American woman to become president of a four-year, fully accredited liberal arts college: Willa Beatrice Player (Bennett College)[215]
1957
- First African-American female Wimbledon Tennis Champion: Althea Gibson
- First African-American assistant coach in the NFL: Lowell W. Perry (See also: 1966)[216]
- First African American to win Major League Baseball's Gold Glove, in the award's inaugural year: Willie Mays (New York Giants)[217][Note 14]
- First African American to work as a botanist at the United States National Arboretum: Roland Jefferson[218]
1958
- First African-American flight attendant: Ruth Carol Taylor (Mohawk Airlines)[219]
- First African American to reach number-one on the Billboard Hot 100: Tommy Edwards ("It's All in the Game")
1959
- First African-American Grammy Award winners, in the award's inaugural year: Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie (two awards each)[220]
- First African-American television journalist: Louis Lomax
- First African American to win a major national player of the year award in college basketball: Oscar Robertson, USBWA Player of the Year[Note 15] (in that award's inaugural year)
1960s
- First African American to win the Heisman Trophy: Ernie Davis
- First African American to serve on a U.S. district court: James Benton Parsons, appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- First African-American delegate to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Edith S. Sampson (See also: 1950)
- First African American to go over Niagara Falls: Nathan Boya a.k.a. William FitzGerald
- First African American to join the PGA Tour: Charlie Sifford[221]
1962
- First African American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Jackie Robinson (See also: Satchel Paige, 1971)
- First African-American coach in Major League Baseball: John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil (Chicago Cubs)
- First African-American attorney general of a state: Edward Brooke (Massachusetts) (See also: 1966)
- First African-American student admitted to the University of Mississippi: James Meredith[222]
- First African-American Navy Seal: William Goines[223]
1963
- First African-American bank examiner for the United States Department of the Treasury: Roland Burris
- First African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi: James Meredith[224]
- First African-American named as Time magazine's Man of the Year: Martin Luther King Jr.[225]
- First African American to win a NASCAR Grand National event: Wendell Scott
- First African-American police officer of the NYPD to be named a precinct commander: Lloyd Sealy, commander of the NYPD's 28th Precinct in Harlem.[92]
- First African American to be named American League MVP: Elston Howard (New York Yankees) (See also: Jackie Robinson, 1949)
- First African-American chess master: Walter Harris[226][227]
- First African American to appear as a series regular on a primetime dramatic television series: Cicely Tyson, East Side/West Side (CBS).[228][229]
- First African American to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award: Diahann Carroll, for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role, for the episode "A Horse Has a Big Head, Let Him Worry" of Naked City (See also: 1968)
- First African-Americans inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame: New York Renaissance, inducted as a team. (See also: Bob Douglas, 1972; Bill Russell, 1975; Clarence Gaines, 1982)
- First African American to graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy: Charles V. Bush.
1964
- First African American to join the Ladies Professional Golf Association: Althea Gibson
- First African-American pilot for a major commercial airline: David E. Harris, American Airlines[230][Note 16] (See also: 1955 and Marlon Green)
- First movie with African-American interracial marriage: One Potato, Two Potato,[232] actors Bernie Hamilton and Barbara Barrie, written by Orville H. Hampton, Raphael Hayes, directed by Larry Peerce
- First African-American baseball player to be named the Major League Baseball World Series MVP: Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals[233]
- First African American to graduate from the University of San Francisco: Dr. Mary Edna Davidson
1965
- First African-American nationally syndicated cartoonist: Morrie Turner (Wee Pals)
- First African-American title character of a comic book series: Lobo (Dell Comics).[234][Note 17] (See also: The Falcon, 1969, and Luke Cage, 1972)
- First African-American star of a network television drama: Bill Cosby, I Spy (co-star with Robert Culp)
- First African-American cast member of a daytime soap opera: Micki Grant who played Peggy Nolan Harris on Another World until 1972.
- First African-American Playboy Playmate centerfold: Jennifer Jackson (March issue)
- First African-American U.S. Air Force General: Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. (Three-star General)
- First African-American woman Ambassador of the United States: Patricia Roberts Harris, ambassador to Luxembourg
- First African-American NFL official: Burl Toler, field judge/head linesman
- First African American to win a national chess championship: Frank Street Jr. (U.S. Amateur Championship)[235]
- First African-American United States Solicitor General: Thurgood Marshall (See also: 1967)
- First African American woman to receive a Doctor of Juridical Science degree from Yale Law School: Pauli Murray
1966
- First African-American man to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and first African American to win a Primetime Emmy Award: Bill Cosby, I Spy
- First team with five African-American starters to win the NCAA basketball tournament: 1965–66 Texas Western Miners basketball team
- First African-American coach in the National Basketball Association: Bill Russell (Boston Celtics)
- First African-American (mixed-race) model on the cover of a Vogue (British Vogue) magazine: Donyale Luna
- First post-Reconstruction African-American elected to the U.S. Senate (and first African-American elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote): Edward Brooke (Republican; Massachusetts) (See also: 1962)
- First African-American Cabinet secretary: Robert C. Weaver (Department of Housing and Urban Development)
- First African-American Major League Baseball umpire: Emmett Ashford
- First African-American NFL broadcaster: Lowell W. Perry[citation needed] (CBS, on Pittsburgh Steelers games) (See also: 1957)
- First African-American fire commissioner of a major U.S. city: Robert O. Lowery of the New York City Fire Department
- First African-American mayor in Ohio: Robert C. Henry of Springfield, Ohio.
1967
- First African American to win a PGA Tour event: Charlie Sifford (1967 Greater Hartford Open Invitational)
- First African-American elected mayor of a large U.S. city: Carl B. Stokes (Cleveland, Ohio)
- First African-American appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States: Thurgood Marshall (See also: 1965)
- First African-American selected for astronaut training: Robert Henry Lawrence Jr.
- First African American to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Emlen Tunnell
- First African-American interracial kiss on network television: entertainers Nancy Sinatra (Italian-American) and Sammy Davis Jr. (African-American) on Sinatra's variety special Movin' With Nancy, airing December 11 on NBC[236] (See also: 1968)
1968
- First African-American interracial kiss on a network television drama: Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols (African-American) and Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner (Jewish-Canadian): Star Trek: "Plato's Stepchildren" (See also: 1967)
- First African-American man to win a Grand Slam tennis event: Arthur Ashe (US Open) (See also: Althea Gibson, 1956; Serena Williams, 2003)
- First African-American coach to win an NBA Championship: Bill Russell
- First African-American woman elected to U.S. House of Representatives: Shirley Chisholm (New York)
- First African-American appointed as a United States Assistant Secretary of State: Barbara M. Watson
- First African American to start at quarterback in the modern era of professional football: Marlin Briscoe (Denver Broncos, AFL)
- First African-American commissioned officer awarded the Medal of Honor: Riley L. Pitts
- First fine-arts museum devoted to African-American work: Studio Museum in Harlem
- First African-American actress to star in her own television series where she did not play a domestic worker: Diahann Carroll in Julia (see also: 1963)
- First African-American woman as a presidential candidate: Charlene Mitchell (See also: Shirley Chisholm, 1972)
- First African-American woman reporter for The New York Times: Nancy Hicks Maynard
- First African-American starring character of a comic strip: Danny Raven in Dateline: Danger! by Al McWilliams and John Saunders.[237][238]
1969
- First African-American superhero: The Falcon, Marvel Comics' Captain America #117 (September 1969).[239][Note 17] (See also: Lobo, 1965 and Luke Cage, 1972)
- First African-American graduate of Harvard Business School: Lillian Lincoln
- First African-American director of a major Hollywood motion picture: Gordon Parks (The Learning Tree)
- First African-American founder of a classical training school and the company of ballet: Arthur Mitchell, Dance Theatre of Harlem (See also: 1955)
- First African-American woman to appear on the Grand Ole Opry: Linda Martell
- First African American to own a commercial airliner: Warren Wheeler (Wheeler Airlines)[240]
1970s
1970
- First African American to head an Episcopal diocese: John Melville Burgess, diocesan bishop of Massachusetts[241]
- First African-American U.S. Navy Master Diver: Carl Brashear (See also: 1954; 1968)
- First African-American member of the New York Stock Exchange: Joseph L. Searles III[242]
- First African-American NCAA Division I basketball coach: Will Robinson (Illinois State University)[Note 18]
- First African-American contestant in the Miss America pageant: Cheryl Browne (Miss Iowa)
- First African-American woman (and first woman) to become a physician's assistant: Joyce Nichols
- First African-American actress to win a Emmy Award: Gail Fisher for Mannix (see also: 1971)
- First African-American basketball player to win the NBA All-Star MVP, the NBA Finals MVP, and the NBA MVP all in the same season: Willis Reed (New York Knicks)
- First African American to initiate the concept of free agency. He refused to accept a trade following the 1969 season, ultimately appealing his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The trend of free agency expanded across the entire landscape of professional sports for all races and all cultures: Curt Flood (St. Louis Cardinals)[Note 19]
- First African American to become director of a major library system in America: Clara Stanton Jones, as director of the Detroit Public Library[243]
- First African American to perform at a Super Bowl halftime show: Lionel Hampton (Super Bowl IV)
1971
- First African-American pitcher to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Satchel Paige (See also: Jackie Robinson, 1962)
- First African-American president of the New York City Board of Education: Isaiah Edward Robinson Jr.
- First African American to win a Golden Globe Award: Gail Fisher for Mannix (see also: 1970)
- First African-American female jockey in the United States: Cheryl White[244]
- First African American to appear by herself on the cover of Playboy: Darine Stern (October issue)
- First African American to become president of the Public Library Association: Effie Lee Morris[245]*1971 DAV Scholarship First African American to receive scholarship to Art Institute of Chicago Mary J. Weatherspoon[tribute 20 years Disable American Veterans Association]
1972
- First African American to campaign for the U.S. presidency in a major political party and to win a U.S. presidential primary/caucus: Shirley Chisholm (Democratic Party, New Jersey primary) (See also: 1968)
- First African-American superhero to star in own comic-book series: Luke Cage, Marvel Comics' Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (June 1972).[246][Note 17] (See also: Lobo, 1965, and the Falcon, 1969)
- First African-American National Basketball Association general manager: Wayne Embry
- First African-American interracial romantic kiss in a mainstream comics magazine: "The Men Who Called Him Monster", by writer Don McGregor (See also: 1975) and artist Luis Garcia, in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror-comics magazine Creepy #43 (Jan. 1972) (See also: 1975)[247]
- First African-American interracial male kiss on network television: Sammy Davis Jr. (mixed-race) and Carroll O'Connor (Caucasian) in All in the Family[248]
- First African-American inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame: Team-owner and coach Bob Douglas, in the category of "contributor" (See also: New York Renaissance, 1963; player Bill Russell, 1975; coach Clarence Gaines, 1982)
- First African-American female Broadway director: Vinnette Justine Carroll (Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope)
- First African-American comic-book creator to receive a "created by" cover-credit: Wayne Howard (Midnight Tales #1)
1973
- First African-American artistic director of a professional regional theater: Harold Scott (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park)
- First African-American Bond villain in a James Bond movie: Yaphet Kotto, playing Mr. Big/Dr. Kananga, Live and Let Die.
- First African-American Bond Girl in a James Bond movie: Gloria Hendry (playing Rosie Carver), Live and Let Die.
- First African-American elected mayor of Los Angeles: Tom Bradley
- First African-American psychologist in the U.S. Air Force: John D. Robinson
- First African-American woman mayor of a U.S. metropolitan city: Doris A. Davis, Compton, California
- First African-American woman adult film star, Desiree West.[249]
1974
- First African-American model on the cover of U.S. Vogue magazine: Beverly Johnson
- First African-American NBA Coach of the Year: Ray Scott (Detroit Pistons)
- First African-American woman to serve as a United States Secret Service agent: Zandra Flemister[250]
1975
- First African-American elected mayor, and first mayor, of Washington, D.C.: Walter Washington
- First African-American game show host: Adam Wade (CBS' Musical Chairs)
- First African-American four-star general: Daniel James Jr.
- First African-American inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player: Bill Russell (See also: New York Renaissance, 1963; Bob Douglas, 1972; Clarence Gaines, 1982)
- First African-American interracial couple in a TV-show cast: The Jeffersons, actors Franklin Cover (Caucasian) and Roxie Roker (African-American) as Tom and Helen Willis, respectively; the show's creator: Norman Lear
- First African-American interracial romantic kiss in a full-color comic book: Amazing Adventures #31 (July 1975), feature "Killraven: Warrior of the Worlds", characters M'Shulla Scott and Carmilla Frost, by writer Don McGregor and artist P. Craig Russell[251] (See also: 1972)
- First African-American manager in Major League Baseball: Frank Robinson (Cleveland Indians)
- First African-American model on the cover of Elle magazine: Beverly Johnson
- First African-American psychologist in the U.S. Navy: John D. Robinson
- First African American to play in a men's major golf championship: Lee Elder (The Masters)
- First African American to be named Super Bowl MVP in NFL: Franco Harris (Pittsburgh Steelers). Of mixed ancestry, Harris was also the first Italian-American to win the award.
- First African-American women named as Time magazine's Person of the Year: Barbara Jordan and Addie L. Wyatt[252]
1976
- First African-American female elected officer of an international labor union: Addie L. Wyatt
- First African American to become president of the American Library Association: Clara Stanton Jones, who served as its acting president from April 11 to July 22 in 1976 and then its president from July 22, 1976, to 1977[253]
- First African American to win a major party nomination for statewide office in the Southern United States since the Reconstruction era: Asa T. Spaulding Jr.[254]
1977
- First African-American (and first woman), appointed director of the Peace Corps: Carolyn R. Payton
- First African-American drafted to play professional basketball, first woman to dunk in a professional women's game: Cardte Hicks[255]
- First African-American woman in the U.S. Cabinet: Patricia Roberts Harris, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- First African-American woman whose signature appeared on U.S. currency: Azie Taylor Morton, the 36th Treasurer of the United States
- First African-American publisher of mainstream gay publication: Alan Bell (Gaysweek)[256][257]
- First African-American woman to join the Daughters of the American Revolution: Karen Batchelor[258]
- First African-American Major League Baseball general manager: Bill Lucas (Atlanta Braves)
- First African-American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest: Pauli Murray.[259]
- First African-American (half-Latin) woman to work as a registrar for a major scientific museum: Margaret Santiago.[260]
1978
- First African-American broadcast network news anchor: Max Robinson
- First African-American woman pilot for a major commercial airline: Jill E. Brown, Texas International Airlines[261]
- First African-American woman to advance to the rank of captain in the Navy: Joan C. Bynum[262]
1979
- First African-American U.S. Marine Corps general officer: Frank E. Petersen
- First African American to win a Daytime Emmy Award for lead actor in a soap opera: Al Freeman Jr. (Ed Hall in One Life to Live)
- First African-American woman ordained in the Lutheran Church in America (LCA), the largest of three denominations that later combined to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: Earlean Miller[263]
- First African-American head coach of an NCAA Division I-A football program: Willie Jeffries (Wichita State).[264]
1980s
1980
- First African-American woman to graduate from (and to attend) the U.S. Naval Academy: Janie L. Mines, graduated in 1980[265][266][267]
- First African-American woman to join the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live: Yvonne Hudson
- First African-American-oriented cable television network: BET[268]
1981
- First African American to play in the NHL: Val James (Buffalo Sabres)[Note 20]
1982
- First African-American inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach: Clarence Gaines (See also: New York Renaissance, 1963; Bob Douglas, 1972; Bill Russell, 1975)
- First African-American U.S. Army four-star General: Roscoe Robinson Jr.
1983
- First African-American astronaut: Guion Bluford (Challenger mission STS-8).[269][Note 21]
- First African-American mayor of Chicago: Harold Washington
- First African-American Miss America: Vanessa L. Williams (A few weeks before the end of her reign as Miss America, Williams learned that Penthouse magazine would be publishing unauthorized nude photographs of her in an upcoming issue. Amid growing media controversy and scrutiny, Williams resigned as Miss America in July 1984 (under pressure from the Miss America Organization) and was replaced by first runner-up Miss New Jersey Suzette Charles, who was also African-American.)
- First African-American owners of a major metropolitan newspaper: Robert C. and Nancy Hicks Maynard (Oakland Tribune)
- First African-American artist to have a music video shown in heavy rotation on MTV: Michael Jackson[270]
1984
- First African American to win a delegate-awarding U.S. presidential primary/caucus: Jesse Jackson (Louisiana, the District of Columbia, South Carolina, Virginia, and one of two separate Mississippi contests).
- First African-American New York City Police Commissioner: Benjamin Ward
- First African-American coach to win the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship: John Thompson (Georgetown)
1985
- First African American to become a member of the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels precision flying team: Donnie Cochran. Also first African American to command the team (1994).
- First African-American (mixed-race) female general: Sherian Cadoria
1986
- First African-American Formula One racecar driver: Willy T. Ribbs[Note 22] (See also: Ribbs, 1991)
- First African-American musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in the inaugural class: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, and Little Richard
- First African-American woman (Shirley A. Ajayi) was given a part for 6 months on a TV show as a psychic in 1986 in Chicago, Illinois. Shirley had to audition with other psychics to get the part. She then was taught marketing at the John Hancock center by her boss who ran the TV show. For safety reasons she was renamed as "Aura!". Bio available-book: "Aura The Ebony Princess."
1987
- First African-American woman, and first woman, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Aretha Franklin
- First African-American Radio City Music Hall Rockette: Jennifer Jones
- First African-American man to sail around the world solo: Teddy Seymour
- First African-American woman, and first woman, to have an album debut at number one on the Billboard 200: Whitney Houston
1988
- First African American to win a medal at the Winter Olympics (a bronze in figure skating): Debi Thomas
- First African-American woman elected to a U.S. judgeship, and first appointed to a state supreme court: Juanita Kidd Stout
- First African-American candidate for President of the United States to obtain ballot access in all 50 states: Lenora Fulani
- First African-American NFL referee: Johnny Grier
- First African-American quarterback to start (and to win) a Super Bowl: Doug Williams (Super Bowl XXII)
1989
- First African-American NFL coach of the modern era: Art Shell, Los Angeles Raiders
- First African-American mayor of New York City: David Dinkins
- First African-American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Colin Powell
- First African-American woman (and first woman), ordained bishop in the Episcopal Church: Barbara Clementine Harris
- First African-American Chairman of the Democratic National Committee: Ron Brown
1990s
1990
- First elected African-American governor: Douglas Wilder (Virginia) (See also: P. B. S. Pinchback, 1872)
- First African-American elected president of the Harvard Law Review: Barack Obama[271] (See also: 2008, 2009)
- First African-American Miss USA: Carole Gist
- First African-American Playboy Playmate of the Year: Renee Tenison
1991
- First African American to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 auto race: Willy T. Ribbs (See also: Ribbs, 1986)
- First African-American female mayor of Washington, D.C.: Sharon Pratt Kelly
1992
- First African-American female astronaut: Dr. Mae Jemison (Space Shuttle Endeavour)
- First African-American woman elected to U.S. Senate: Carol Moseley Braun (Illinois)
- First African-American woman to moderate a Presidential debate: Carole Simpson (second debate of 1992 campaign)
- First African American to sail solo around the world following the Age of Sail route around the southern tips of South America (Cape Horn) and Africa (Cape of Good Hope), avoiding the Panama and Suez Canals: Bill Pinkney[272]
- First African-American Major League Baseball manager to reach (and win) the World Series: Cito Gaston (Toronto Blue Jays) 1992 World Series
- First African American to direct an animated film: Bruce W. Smith (Bébé's Kids)
1993
- First African-American United States Secretary of Commerce: Ron Brown
- First African-American woman (and first woman), appointed as U.S. Secretary of Energy: Hazel R. O'Leary
- First African American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature: Toni Morrison
- First African-American woman named Poet Laureate of the United States: Rita Dove; also the youngest person named to that position
- First African-American appointed Director of the National Drug Control Policy: Lee P. Brown
- First African-American Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: David Satcher[273]
- First African-American appointed Surgeon General of the United States: Joycelyn Elders
- First African American to serve as home plate umpire for World Series game: Charlie Williams for Game 4 of the 1993 World Series
- First African American to be inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry: Charley Pride[274]
1994
- First African-American female director of a major-studio movie: Darnell Martin (Columbia Pictures' I Like It Like That)
- First African-American (mixed-race) to win the United States Amateur Championship: Tiger Woods[Note 23]
1995
- First African-American inductee to the National Radio Hall of Fame: Hal Jackson
- First African-American Sergeant Major of the Army: Gene C. McKinney
- First African-American Miss Universe: Chelsi Smith
- First African-American personal diarist to a U.S. president (Bill Clinton): Janis F. Kearney[275]
1996
- First African-American U.S. Navy four-star admiral: J. Paul Reason[276]
- First African-American MLB general manager to win the World Series: Bob Watson (New York Yankees), 1996 World Series
1997
- First African-American (mixed-race) to win a men's major golf championship: Tiger Woods (The Masters)[Note 23]
- First African-American model to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition: Tyra Banks
- First African-American UFC champion: Maurice Smith
- First African-American Director of the National Park Service: Robert Stanton[277]
1998
- First African-American appointed U.S. Secretary of Labor: Alexis Herman
- First African-American female rear admiral in the U.S. Navy: Lillian Fishburne
- First African-American Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard: Vincent W. Patton III
- First African-American (mixed-race) to play in the Presidents Cup: Tiger Woods[Note 23]
- First African American to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol: Jacob Chestnut[278][279] (See also: 2005, 2019)
1999
- First African American to be awarded the Grandmaster title in chess: Maurice Ashley[280][better source needed]
- First African-American Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps: Alford L. McMichael
- First African-American CEO of a Fortune 500 company: Franklin Raines of Fannie Mae[281]
- First African-American female university president: Shirley Ann Jackson at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute[282]
21st century
2000s
2000
- First African-American nominated for Vice President of the United States by a Federal Election Commission-recognized and federally funded political party: Ezola B. Foster (See also: 1952, 2020; FEC established in 1975)
- First African American to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame: Charley Pride[283]
2001
- First African-American (mixed-race) Secretary of State: Colin Powell
- First African-American president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: The Most Reverend Wilton Daniel Gregory
- First African-American president of the Unitarian Universalist Association: Rev. William G. Sinkford
- First African-American president of an Ivy League university: Ruth J. Simmons at Brown University
- First African-American woman National Security Advisor: Condoleezza Rice (See also: 2005)
- First African-American billionaire: Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television (See also: 2002)
- First African-American woman billionaire: Sheila Johnson
2002
- First African American to become majority owner of a U.S. major sports league team: Robert L. Johnson (Charlotte Bobcats, NBA)[Note 24] (See also: 2001)
- First African-American Winter Olympic gold medal winner: Vonetta Flowers (two-woman bobsleigh)
- First African-American woman combat pilot in the U.S. Armed Forces: Captain Vernice Armour, USMC (See also: 2008)
- First African-American (half-Caucasian) to win an Oscar: Halle Berry (Best Lead Actress, Monster's Ball, 2001)
- First African-American woman to be ranked #1 in tennis: Venus Williams
- First African American to be named year-end world champion by the International Tennis Federation: Serena Williams
- First African-American Arena Football League head coach to win ArenaBowl: Darren Arbet (San Jose SaberCats), ArenaBowl XVI
- First African-American general manager in the National Football League: Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore Ravens)
2003
- First African American to win a Career Grand Slam in tennis: Serena Williams (See also: Althea Gibson, 1956; Arthur Ashe, 1968)
- First African-American American Bar Association president: Dennis Archer[284]
2004
- First African-American inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame: Charlie Sifford
- First African-American NBA general manager to win the NBA Finals: Joe Dumars (Detroit Pistons), 2004 NBA Finals
- First African-American Canadian Football League head coach to reach (and win) the Grey Cup: Pinball Clemons (Toronto Argonauts), 92nd Grey Cup
2005
- First African-American woman Secretary of State: Condoleezza Rice (See also: 2001)
- First African-American women to lead a major transportation agency in the U.S. serving on the BART Board of Directors: Carole Ward Allen and Lynette Sweet[285]
- First African-American woman U.S. Coast Guard aviator: Jeanine Menze
- First African-American woman (and first woman), to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol: Rosa Parks[286][279] (See also: 1998, 2019)
2006
- First African American to command a United States Marine Corps division: Major General Walter E. Gaskin
- First African-American individual Winter Olympic gold medal winner: Shani Davis (men's 1,000-meter speed skating)
- First African American to reach the peak of Mount Everest: Sophia Danenberg
- First African-American woman to receive Dharma transmission in Zen Buddhism: Merle Kodo Boyd[287]
- First African-American quarterback inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Warren Moon
- First African-American Lady of Turks and Caicos Islands: LisaRaye McCoy
2007
- First known African-American woman to reach the North Pole: Barbara Hillary[288]
- First African-American White House Chief Usher: Stephen Rochon[289]
- First African-American NFL head coaches to reach the Super Bowl: Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy, Super Bowl XLI[Note 25]
- First African-American NFL coach to win a Super Bowl: Tony Dungy (Super Bowl XLI)
2008
- First African American to be nominated as a major-party U.S. presidential candidate: Barack Obama, Democratic Party[290]
- First African-American elected President of the United States: Barack Obama[291]
- First African American to referee a Super Bowl game: Mike Carey (Super Bowl XLII)
- First African-American woman elected Speaker of a state House of Representatives: California Rep. Karen Bass
- First African American to be appointed to the United States Senate by a state governor: Roland Burris
- First African-American woman combat pilot in the United States Air Force: Major Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell (See also: 2002)
- First African-American NFL general manager to win the Super Bowl: Jerry Reese (New York Giants), Super Bowl XLII
2009
- First African-American (mixed race) President of the United States: Barack Obama
- First African-American First Lady of the United States: Michelle Obama
- First African-American chair of the Republican National Committee: Michael Steele
- First African-American United States Attorney General: Eric Holder
- First African-American woman United States Ambassador to the United Nations: Susan Rice
- First African-American United States Trade Representative: Ron Kirk
- First African-American woman Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: Lisa P. Jackson
- First African-American White House Social Secretary: Desirée Rogers
- First African American to appear by himself on a circulating U.S. coin: Duke Ellington (District of Columbia quarter).[292]
- First African-American Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Charles F. Bolden Jr.
- First African-American woman rabbi: Alysa Stanton
- First African-American woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company: Ursula Burns, Xerox Corporation.
- First African-American doubles team to be named year-end world champion by the International Tennis Federation: Serena and Venus Williams
2010s
2010
- First African-American female to be elected state Attorney General in the United States: Kamala Harris (California) (See also: 2020 and 2021)
- First African American to win the Stanley Cup: Dustin Byfuglien with the Chicago Blackhawks[293]
2011
- First African-American Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons: Charles E. Samuels Jr.[294]
- First African-American admitted to the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College: Sandra Lawson[295][296]
2012
- First African American to be re-elected President of the United States: Barack Obama[297]
- First African-American Combatant Commander of United States Central Command: Lloyd Austin[298]
- First African-American elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC): Fred Luter[299][300]
- First African-American woman to take command of a navy missile destroyer: Monika Washington Stoker[301]
2013
- First African-American U.S. senator from the former Confederacy since Reconstruction: Tim Scott[302]
- First African-American president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: Cheryl Boone Isaacs[303]
- First African-American United States Secretary of Homeland Security: Jeh Johnson[304]
2014
- First African-American woman four-star admiral: Michelle J. Howard[305]
- First African-American senator to be elected in the South since Reconstruction: Tim Scott, elected in South Carolina[306]
- First African-American player named to the USA Curtis Cup Team: Mariah Stackhouse[307][308]
2015
- First African American to lead a major intelligence agency: Vincent R. Stewart, Defense Intelligence Agency[309]
- First African-American commissioner of a major North American sports league: Jeffrey Orridge, Canadian Football League[310]
- First African-American woman Attorney General of the United States: Loretta Lynch[311]
- First African-American female principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre: Misty Copeland[312]
- First African American to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame: Wendell Scott[313] (See also: 1952)
- First African-American sole anchor of a network evening newscast: Lester Holt[314]
- First African-American elected as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church: Bishop Michael Curry[315]
- First African-American female American Bar Association president: Paulette Brown[316]
2016
- First African-American president of a major broadcast TV network: Channing Dungey
- First African-American Librarian of Congress: Dr. Carla Hayden[317]
2017
- First African-American CEO of a Major League Baseball team: Derek Jeter[318]
2018
- First African-American woman to headline Coachella: Beyoncé, giving rise to the nickname Beychella
- First African American to play for Team USA Hockey in the Olympic Games: Jordan Greenway
- First African-American artist commissioned for U.S. president portrait to be displayed in the Smithsonian: Kehinde Wiley
- First African-American artist commissioned for U.S. first lady portrait to be displayed in the Smithsonian: Amy Sherald
- First African American to be the artistic or creative director of a French fashion house: Virgil Abloh[319]
- First African-American president of the American Psychiatric Association: Altha Stewart[320]
- First African-American woman to be major party nominee for state governor: Stacey Abrams[321]
- First African-American superintendent of the United States Military Academy: Darryl A. Williams[322]
- First African-American woman U.S. Marine Corps general officer: Lorna Mahlock
2019
- First African-American woman to be the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health: Dr. Ngozi Ezike[323]
- First African-American general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Peter M. Johnson
- First African-American (and first historian) secretary of the Smithsonian Institution: Lonnie Bunch[324]
- First African-American female director of an Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited institution: Denise Verret[325]
- First African-American elected official to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol: Representative Elijah Cummings[326][327] (See also: 1998, 2005)
2020s
2020
- First African-American (and Asian-American) to be nominated as a major party U.S. vice-presidential candidate: Kamala Harris, Democratic Party (See also: 2010 and 2021)[328][329]
- First African-American and first female elected Vice President of the United States: Kamala Harris[330]
- First African American to be appointed as a military Chief of Staff and first African American to lead any branch of the United States Armed Forces: Charles Q. Brown Jr.
- First African-American president of an NFL team: Jason Wright (Washington Commanders)[331][332]
- First African-American Professor of Poetry, first African-American woman Professor and first Distinguished Visiting Poetry Professor of the Iowa Writers' Workshop: Tracie Morris[333]
- First African-American elected official to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda: John Lewis[334] (See also: 1998, 2005)
- First African-American Catholic cardinal: Wilton Gregory[335]
2021
- First African-American (and Asian-American) and first female Vice President of the United States: Kamala Harris (See also: 2010 and 2020)
- First African-American (and Asian-American) and first female President of the United States Senate: Kamala Harris
- First African-American (and Asian-American) and first female to serve as Acting President of the United States: Kamala Harris
- First African-American Democratic U.S. senator to represent a former Confederate state in the United States Senate: Raphael Warnock, elected in Georgia.[336][337][338]
- First African-American United States Secretary of Defense: Lloyd Austin[339]
- First full-time female African-American NFL coach: Jennifer King (Washington Commanders).[340]
- First African-American president of the American Civil Liberties Union: Deborah Archer[341]
- First African-American woman to serve on the Supreme Court of Missouri: Robin Ransom[342]
- First African-American woman to appear on the Maxim magazine and became "Sexiest Woman Alive": Teyana Taylor
- First African American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee: Zaila Avant-garde[343]
- First African-American U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York: Damian Williams[344]
- First African-American NCAA ice hockey coach: Kelsey Koelzer[345]
- First African-American Connecticut State Comptroller: Natalie Braswell[346]
- First African-American woman to be elected as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Winsome Sears
- First African-American to be elected as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: Mark Robinson
- First African-American to serve as Second Lady of North Carolina: Yolanda Hill Robinson
2022
- First Afro-Caribbean American woman elected Speaker of the New York City Council: Adrienne Adams[347]
- First African-American woman and first woman to be the police commissioner of the New York Police Department: Keechant Sewell[348]
- First African-American woman to appear on U.S. currency (a quarter): Maya Angelou[349]
- First African-American woman nominated, confirmed to, and sworn into the Supreme Court of the United States: Ketanji Brown Jackson[350]
- First African-American represented in the National Statuary Hall Collection: Mary McLeod Bethune[351][352]
- First African-American Marine Corps four-star general: Michael Langley[353]
- First African-American elected governor of the U.S. state of Maryland: Wes Moore[354]
- First African-American elected Attorney General of the U.S. state of Maryland: Anthony Brown[355]
- First African-American chosen to lead a party caucus in either chamber of Congress: Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)[356][357]
- First African-American female Major general in the United States Marine Corps: Lorna Mahlock[358][359]
- First African-American transgender woman model for Victoria's Secret: Emira D'Spain[360]
See also
- List of African-American pioneers in desegregation of higher education
- List of African-American sports firsts
- List of African-American arts firsts
- List of African-American United States Cabinet members
- List of African-American U.S. state firsts
- List of black Academy Award winners and nominees
- List of black Golden Globe Award winners and nominees
- List of first African-American mayors
- List of African-American women in medicine
- Timeline of African-American history
- Timeline of the civil rights movement
- List of Asian-American firsts
- List of Native American firsts
Notes
- ^ This claim is contested by the First Baptist Church, Petersburg, Virginia (1774) and the First Colored Baptist Church, renamed First African Baptist Church, Savannah, Georgia (recognized 1788, first congregation 1773).
- ^ Because it was published in the U.K., the book is not the first African-American novel published in the United States. This credit goes to one of two disputed books: Harriet Wilson's Our Nig (1859), brought to light by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. in 1982; or Julia C. Collins' The Curse of Caste; or The Slave Bride (1865), brought to light by William L. Andrews, an English literature professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Mitch Kachun, a history professor at Western Michigan University, in 2006. Andrews and Kachun document Our Nig as a novelized autobiography, and argue that The Curse of Caste is the first fully fictional novel by an African American to be published in the U.S.
- ^ Founded earlier; not fully owned and operated by African-Americans until 1863.
- ^ Revels, the Mississippi State Senate's Adams County representative, was elected by the U.S. Senate in January 1870 to fill an unexpired term.
- ^ Rainey, a South Carolina state senator, was elected to fill the seat vacated by B. Franklin Whittemore. Rainey took his seat on December 12, 1870. John Willis Menard was actually the first African-American elected to the House (1868) but he was denied his seat.
- ^ Douglass did not seek the nomination or campaign after being nominated.
- ^ Parker graduated from Mount Holyoke when it was still a seminary.
- ^ This was previously thought to be Sarah E. Goode (for the cabinet bed, Chicago, Illinois).[83]
- ^ His son, Benjamin O. Davis Jr., was the first African-American general in the United States Air Force.
- ^ Gravely was also the first African American to command a U.S. Navy warship (1962), and the first promoted to the rank of admiral (1971).
- ^ L. Clifford Davis applied to the law school in 1946, and after several failed attempts was granted admission in September 1947, but was unable to enroll in classes. Hunt later enrolled on February 2, 1948.[175]
- ^ While considered a network for regulatory reasons, CBS TV was viewable only locally in 1948. By 1956, CBS and other networks were viewable nationwide.
- ^ Clifton was the first to sign an NBA contract and subsequently play, Cooper was the first to be drafted by an NBA team, and Lloyd was the first to play in an NBA regular-season game because his team's opening game was one day before the others.
- ^ While two black players won Gold Gloves that year, only Mays is African-American. The other, Minnie Miñoso, is Afro-Cuban.
- ^ In 1998, the award would be renamed the Oscar Robertson Trophy after its first recipient.
- ^ Harris's milestone came a year after Marlon Green, who had been rejected as a Continental Airlines applicant in 1957, won the United States Supreme Court case "Colorado Anti-Discrimination Commission v. Continental Airlines, Inc. 372 U.S. 714 no. 146", which found Green had been unlawfully discriminated against.[231]
- ^ a b c The first Black superhero, Marvel's Black Panther, introduced in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966), is African, not African-American. This is also true of the first Black character to star in his own mainstream comic-book feature, Waku, Prince of the Bantu, who headlined one of four features in the multiple-character omnibus series Jungle Tales (September 1954 – September 1955), from Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics.
- ^ At the time, the NCAA had not yet adopted its three-division system. Illinois State was in the NCAA University Division, which became Division I in 1973. The NCAA retroactively considers University Division members to have been Division I members.
- ^ Although Flood's legal challenge was unsuccessful, it brought about additional solidarity among players as they fought against baseball's reserve clause and sought free agency.
- ^ The NHL had fielded black players for more than 20 years, with the first being Willie O'Ree in 1958, but all past black players were Black Canadians and not African-Americans. In 1996, Mike Grier (Edmonton Oilers) became the first to have been both born and exclusively trained in the U.S., per Allen, Kevin (January 14, 2008). "Willie O'Ree still blazing way in NHL 50 years later". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- ^ Cosmonaut Arnaldo Mendez was the first person of African descent in space, in 1980.
- ^ Lewis Hamilton became the first black Formula One racer in 2006, but he is a British citizen of Grenadan ancestry, and not an African-American. Ribbs did not compete in a race, but drove a Formula One car professionally in January 1986 as a tester for the Brabham–BMW at Estoril, Portugal.
- ^ a b c Woods' mixed ancestry – ¼ Chinese, ¼ Thai, ¼ African-American, ⅛ white, and ⅛ Native American – also makes him the first Asian-American to achieve this feat. He is also the first of only four golfers of primarily non-European descent to win a men's major, with the others being Vijay Singh (an Indian Fijian), Michael Campbell (a Māori from New Zealand), and Y.E. Yang (South Korean).
- ^ Announced as Bobcats owner in December 2002, although the team did not begin to play until 2004.
- ^ Smith and Dungy both reached this milestone on the same day, although Smith was technically the first due solely to scheduling. The NFC and AFC Championship Games are always held on the same day. In the playoffs that followed the 2006 NFL season, the NFC game was played first.
References
Footnotes
- ^ Juguo, Zhang (2001). W. E. B. Du Bois: The Quest for the Abolition of the Color Line. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-93087-1.
- ^ Herbst, Philip H (1997). The Color of Words: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Ethnic Bias in the United States. Intercultural Press, p. 57. ISBN 978-1-877864-97-1.
- ^ Sailes, Gary Alan (1998). "Jackie Robinson: Breaking the Color Barrier in Team Sports". African Americans in Sport: Contemporary Themes, Transaction Publishers, p. 8. ISBN 978-0-7658-0440-2
- ^ "Collections Relevant to African American History at the Massachusetts Historical Society: Slavery, Plantations, and the Slave Trade." Massachusetts Historical Society. www.masshist.org. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
- ^ Aboard the Underground Railroad – Fort Mose Site, National Park Service
- ^ a b 🖉"Literature". Encyclopedia.com.
- ^ "Lucy Terry's ' Bars Fight. ' Text from San Antonio College LitWeb". Alamo.edu. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ^ O'Neale, Sondra (2002). "Hammon, Jupiter". In William L Andrews; Frances Smith Foster; Trudier Harris (eds.). The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-513883-2. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ Smith, Jessie Carney (2003). Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events (2nd, revised and expanded ed.). Canton, Michigan: Visible Ink Press. pp. 591–592. ISBN 1-57859-142-2. OCLC 51060259 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ He was of mixed race, one-quarter African and three-quarters European, and listed in the US Census as white.
- ^ Shields, John C. (2010). Phillis Wheatley and the Romantics. University of Tennessee Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-57233-712-1. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ^ Raboteau, Albert J. (2004). Slave Religion: The "Invisible Institution" in the Antebellum South. Oxford University Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-19-517413-7. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ^ Brooks, Walter H. (April 1, 1922). "The Priority of the Silver Bluff Church and its Promoters". The Journal of Negro History. 7 (2): 172–196. doi:10.2307/2713524. ISSN 0022-2992. JSTOR 2713524. S2CID 149920027.
- ^ "Africans in America/Part 2/Prince Hall". PBS. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
- ^ Haverington, Christine (2012). Middletown. Arcadia Publishing. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-7385-9248-0. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ^ Jacobs, Claude F. (2007). "James Derham (b. 1762)". In Junius P. Rodriguez (ed.). Slavery in the United States: a social, political, and historical encyclopedia. Vol. 2. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-544-5. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ Cooley, Timothy Mather (1969) [1837]. Sketches of the Life and Character of the Rev. Lemuel Haynes, A.M., for Many Years Pastor of a Church in Rutland, Vt., and Later in Granville, New York. New York: Negro Universities Press. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ^ Shattuck, Gardiner H.; David Hein (2005). "Jones, Absalom". The Episcopalians. Church Publishing, Inc. pp. 235–236. ISBN 0-89869-783-2.
- ^ "First African Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia, Pa.) records". University of Pennsylvania Library. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
- ^ a b "First African Baptist Church History (S0006)" (PDF). State Historical Society of Missouri. 1974.
- ^ Wilbon, Roderick (April 28, 2017). "First Baptist Church of St. Louis, oldest African-American church west of the Mississippi River, celebrates its 200th anniversary". Retrieved February 14, 2022.
- ^ Alexander, Leslie M. (February 28, 2010). "Jennings, Thomas L.". Encyclopedia of African American History. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 455–457. ISBN 978-1-85109-769-2.
- ^ "Whaling Museum and Peter Foulger Museum". Museum of African American History. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
- ^ Finley, Skip (2020). Whaling Captains of Color: America's First Meritocracy. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 47–51, 166–168. ISBN 978-1-68247-509-6.
- ^ a b Melish, Joanne P. (1998). Disowning Slavery: Gradual Emancipation and "race" in New England, 1780–1860. Cornell University Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-8014-3413-6. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ^ Fennell, Christopher (2020). "New Philadelphia, Illinois, Historical Landscapes". University of Illinois. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- ^ Ledbetter, Christine (February 12, 2021). "Flashback: Tucked away in rural Illinois is the site of America's first town founded by a free Black man. His descendants want you to know its history". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ Byrd, W. Michael; Clayton, Linda A. (2000). An American Health Dilemma: A Medical History of African Americans and the Problem of Race: Beginnings to 1900. Taylor & Francis. p. 305. ISBN 978-0-203-90410-7. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ^ "Long Road to Justice: The African American Experienced in the Massachusetts Courts". The Massachusetts Historical Society. 1845. Archived from the original on August 28, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2008.
- ^ Ward, Thomas J. (2003). Black physicians in the Jim Crow South. University of Arkansas Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-61075-072-1. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ^ Anzovin, Steven; Podell, Janet (2001). Famous first facts about American politics. H.W. Wilson. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-8242-0971-1.
- ^ a b Jackson, Sandra; Johnson, Richard Greggory (2011). The black professoriat: negotiating a habitable space in the academy. Peter Lang. pp. 2–4. ISBN 978-1-4331-1027-6. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ^ a b c Potter, Joan (2009). African American Firsts: Famous, Little-known, and Unsung Triumphs of Blacks in America. Kensingston Publishing Corporation. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-0-7582-4166-5. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ^ Smith, Dinitia (October 28, 2006). "A Slave Story Is Rediscovered, and a Dispute Begins". The New York Times. p. B7. Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2008.
- ^ Birkerts, Sven (October 29, 2006). "Emancipation Days". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2008.
- ^ a b Militelio, Leo (September 1963). "The First Negro Catholic Bishop". Negro Digest. Vol. 12, no. 11. pp. 28‒35. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ Zack, Naomi (1995). American mixed race: the culture of microdiversity. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-8476-8013-9. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ Foner, Philip Sheldon; Branham, Robert James, eds. (1998). Lift every voice: African American oratory, 1787–1900. Studies in rhetoric and communication. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. pp. 384–385. ISBN 978-0-8173-0906-0. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ Simpson, Matthew, ed. (1878). Cyclopedia of Methodism. Philadelphia.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[page needed] - ^ Rubio, Philip F. (2010). There's Always Work at the Post Office: African American Postal Workers and the Fight for Jobs, Justice, and Equality. University of North Carolina Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-8078-9573-3. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ Logan, Rayford W. (1969). Howard University: The First Hundred Years, 1867–1967. New York University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-8147-0263-5. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ^ Jackson, Cynthia L.; Nunn, Eleanor F.. (2003). Historically Black Colleges and Universities: a reference handbook. ABC-CLIO. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-85109-422-6. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ Smith 2002, p. 134–135.
- ^ Farmer, Vernon L.; Wynn, Evelyn Shepherd (2012). Voices of Historical and Contemporary Black American Pioneers. ABC-CLIO. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-0-313-39224-5. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
- ^ Konhaus, Timothy (2006). "Delany, Martin Robison". In Finkelman, Paul (ed.). Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619–1895: From the Colonial Period to the Age of Frederick Douglass. Vol. 2. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 373–375. ISBN 978-0-19-516777-1.
- ^ Finkelman, Paul (2007). "Not Only the Judges' Robes Were Black: African-American Lawyers as Social Engineers". In Steve Sheppard (ed.). The History of Legal Education in the United States: commentaries and primary sources. Vol. 1. Clark, NJ: The Lawbook Exchange. pp. 913–948. ISBN 978-1-58477-690-1.
- ^ Sharfstein, Daniel J. (February 22, 2011). "Orindatus Simon Bolivar Wall". Slate. Slate.com. ISSN 1091-2339. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
- ^ Holland, Jesse J. (2007). Black Men Built the Capitol: Discovering African-American History In and Around Washington. Globe Pequot. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-7627-5192-1. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ^ Lynch, Matthew (2012). Before Obama: A Reappraisal of Black Reconstruction Era Politicians. ABC-CLIO. pp. 1–2. ISBN 978-0-313-39792-9. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ Stodghill, Ron (May 25, 2008). "Driving Back Into History". The New York Times. p. 1. Archived from the original on January 22, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
- ^ "John Willis Menard of Louisiana became the first African American to address the U.S. House". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. November 2, 2012. Archived from the original on April 7, 2011.
- ^ Bartley, Abel A. (January 2003). "Bassett, Ebenezer Don Carlos". In James George Ryan; Leonard C. Schlup (eds.). Historical dictionary of the Gilded Age. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 0-7656-2106-1. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ Linda Joyce Brown (2006). "Coppin, Fanny Jackson". In Elizabeth Ann Beaulieu (ed.). Writing African American Women. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 220–222. ISBN 0-313-02462-6. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ "Celebrating Black History Month: Trailblazers in dentistry". New Dentist News. American Dental Association. February 24, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
- ^ Teasley, Mary D.; Walker-Moses, Deloris, curators (2000). "African-American Firsts Remembered: Lest We Forget". The Newark Public Library. Archived from the original on May 16, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2008.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Sollors, Werner; Titcomb, Caldwell; Underwood, Thomas A. (1993). Blacks at Harvard: A Documentary History of African-american Experience at Harvard and Radcliffe. New York University Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-8147-7973-6. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ^ Wasniewski, Matthew (2012). Black Americans in Congress, 1870–2007. Government Printing Office. pp. 54–61. ISBN 978-0-16-086948-8. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ^ Hine, William C. "Rainey, Joseph Hayne (1832–1887)". In Walter B. Edgar (ed.). South Carolina Encyclopedia. Columbia: Institute for Southern Studies, University of South Carolina. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ^ "Colored Page Appointed". Western Home Journal. April 6, 1871. p. 2.
- ^ Sims, Marcie (2018). Capitol Hill Pages: Young Witnesses to 200 Years of History – Marcie Sims – Google Books. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-3064-9. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
- ^ "Letter from Washington". Baltimore Sun. April 3, 1871. p. 4.
- ^ Harley, Sharon (1996). The timetables of African-American history: a chronology of the most important people and events in African-American history. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-684-81578-7. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ^ Dray, Philip (2008). Capitol men: the epic story of Reconstruction through the lives of the first Black congressmen. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-618-56370-8. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ^ Deskins, Donald R.; Walton, Hanes; Puckett, Sherman C. (2010). Presidential Elections: 1789 – 2008; County, State, and National Mapping of Election Data. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. p. 349. ISBN 978-0-472-11697-3. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ^ "NTEU Celebrates Black History Month: Joseph H. Rainey (1832–1887)". National Treasury Employees Union. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012.
- ^ Mickens, Ronald E. (2002). Edward Bouchet: The First African-American Doctorate. World Scientific Publishing Company Inc. ISBN 978-981-02-4909-0.
- ^ Flipper, Henry (1878). The Colored Cadet at West Point. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-6890-4.
- ^ Titcomb, Caldwell (2001). "The Earliest Black Members of Phi Beta Kappa". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (33): 92–101. doi:10.2307/2678933. JSTOR 2678933.
- ^ Nicas, Jack (June 27, 2010). "Boston's first black officer receives his long-overdue honors". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ^ Hoffbeck, Steven R. (2005). Swinging For The Fences: Black Baseball In Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-87351-517-7. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
- ^ Darraj, Susan Muaddi (2009). Mary Eliza Mahoney. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-0760-8.
- ^ William Edward White: Statistics and History Baseball-Reference
- ^ Husman, John. "June 21, 1879: The cameo of William Edward White". The Society for American Baseball Research.
- ^ Morris, Peter (February 5, 2015). "Baseball's Secret Pioneer: William Edward White, the first black player in major-league history". The Society for American Baseball Research/Slate.com.
- ^ Malinowski, Zachary (February 15, 2004). "Who was the first black man to play in the major leagues?". Providence Journal.
- ^ Siegel, Robert (January 30, 2004). "Black Baseball Pioneer William White's 1879 Game". National Public Radio.
- ^ Fatsis, Stefan (January 30, 2004). "Mystery of Baseball: Was William White Game's First Black?". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ O'Toole, James M. (2004). "Healy, Michael". In Gates, Henry Louis; Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks (eds.). African American Lives. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 387–388. ISBN 978-0-19-988286-1. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ Algeo, Matthew (2014). Pedestrianism: When Watching People Walk Was America's Favorite Spectator Sport. Chicago Review Press. pp. 177–183. ISBN 978-1-61374-400-0.
- ^ Sewell, George Alexander; Dwight, Margaret L. (2012). Mississippi Black History Makers. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 16–17. ISBN 978-1-61703-428-2. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ Hine, Darlene Clark (2005). Black women in America. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. p. 385. ISBN 978-0-19-515677-5. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ Gendin, Sidney (1999). "Moses Fleetwood Walker: Jackie Robinson's accidental predecessor". In Joseph Dorinson (ed.). Jackie Robinson: Race, Sports, and the American Dream. Joram Warmund. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. pp. 22–29. ISBN 978-0-7656-3338-5.
- ^ a b Sluby, Patricia Carter (2004). The Inventive Spirit of African Americans: patented ingenuity. Westport, CN: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-275-96674-4. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ "William H. Greene was the First Black CUNY Graduate and First Black Member of U.S. Signal Corps, a Victor and a Victim". CUNY Newswire. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
- ^ Smith, Steven D.; Zeidler, James A. (1998). A Historic Context for the African-American Military Experience (PDF). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. p. 113. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 26, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
- ^ a b "Lynch, John Roy | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ "Notes and comment". The Catholic Historical Review. 4 (3): 379–388. 1919. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
- ^ Hyson, John M. Jr. (June 2002). "Women Dentists: The Origins". Journal of the California Dental Association. 30 (6): 444–53. doi:10.1080/19424396.2002.12223293. PMID 12519054. S2CID 26571662. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
- ^ "Black History Fact of the Week: Ida Gray Nelson Rollins | Our Weekly – African American News | Black News | Black Entertainment | Black America". Our Weekly. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
- ^ Brooks, Tim (2004). Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890–1919. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. pp. 15–71
- ^ Slawson, Robert (January 27, 2011). "Ann Bradford Stokes (1830–1903)". Black Past. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
- ^ a b c "A History of African Americans in the NYPD". The New York City Police Museum. Archived from the original on December 22, 2008.
- ^ Tardif, Elyssa (2013). Providence's Benefit Street. Arcadia Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-7385-9923-6. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ Kinshasa, Kwando M. (2006). African American Chronology: chronologies of the American mosaic. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-313-33797-0. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ Miller, Robert Henry (1995). The Story of "Stagecoach" Mary Fields. Silver Burdett Press. ISBN 978-0-382-24399-8. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ Moore, Jacqueline M. (2003). Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. DuBois, and the Struggle for Racial Uplift. The African American history series. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-8420-2994-0. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ Aaseng, Nathan (2003). "Taylor, Marshall Walker". African-American Athletes. Facts on File library of American history. New York: Infobase Publishing. p. 218. ISBN 1-4381-0778-1. Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ Davis, Deborah (2013). Guest of Honor: Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner That Shocked a Nation. Atria Books. ISBN 978-1-4391-6982-7. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
- ^ Grasso, John (2010). "Lew, Harry Haskell "Bucky"". Historical Dictionary of Basketball. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7506-7.
- ^ Marlowe, Gertrude Woodruff (2003). A right worthy grand mission: Maggie Lena Walker and the quest for Black economic empowerment. Howard University Press. ISBN 978-0-88258-210-8. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
- ^ Conner, Floyd (2001). The Olympic's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of the Olympics' Gold Medal Gaffes, Improbable Triumphs, and Other Oddities. Potomac Books, Inc. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-59797-397-7. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
- ^ Williams, Rachel Jones (Fall 2007). "Reviving – and Revising – the Reputation of Ralph Elwood Brock". Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
- ^ Manolis, Paul G (1981). "Raphael (Robert) Morgan, the First Black Orthodox Priest in America". Theologia Athinai. 52 (3): 464–480.
- ^ Smith, Charles R. (2010). Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson. Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 978-1-59643-473-8. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
- ^ Potter 2002, p. 345–346.
- ^ Susan Love Brown (2006). "Economic Life". In Paul Finkelman (ed.). Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619–1895: from the colonial period to the age of Frederick Douglass. Vol. 1. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 121–129. ISBN 0-19-516777-5.
- ^ Brooks, Tim; Spottswood, Dick (2004). Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890–1919. University of Illinois Press. pp. 254–258. ISBN 978-0-252-02850-2. JSTOR 10.5406/j.ctt2jcc81.
- ^ "Special Report of the Executive Committee Concerning the Vote by the Committee to Elect Messrs. William H. Lewis, Butler R. Wilson and William R. Morris to Membership in the Association, and the Rescission Thereof". Report of the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association, Volume 37. E.C. Markley & Son. 1912. pp. 93–95.
- ^ Jager, Steven J. (July 31, 2012). "Lewis, William Henry (1868–1949)". BlackPast.org. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ "Harry W. Bass". Pennsylvania State House Archives. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ^ Smith, Laura (February 2, 2015). "Alan Thacker Busby, the university's first African-American student". Archives and Special Collections Blog. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
- ^ Sawyers, June Skinner (2012). "Oscar De Priest". Chicago Portraits: New Edition. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press. pp. 90–91. ISBN 978-0-8101-2649-7.
- ^ Smith, Frederick D. (2009). "Pollard, Fritz". In Jessie Carney Smith; Linda T. Wynn (eds.). Freedom Facts and Firsts: 400 Years of the African American Civil Rights Experience. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-1-57859-192-3.
- ^ Heinl, Nancy G. (May 1977). "Col. Charles Young: Pointman". The Crisis. Vol. 84, no. 5. pp. 173‒176. ISSN 0011-1422. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ Kilroy, David P. (January 1, 2003). For race and country: the life and career of Colonel Charles Young. Westport, CN: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-275-98005-7.
- ^ Miller, Carroll L.; Pruitt-Logan, Anne S. (2012). Faithful to the Task at Hand: The Life of Lucy Diggs Slowe. Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-4384-4260-0. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Grant, Colin (2008). Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey. Oxford University Press. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-19-970986-1. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Theoharis, Athan, ed. (1999). The FBI: A Comprehensive Reference Guide. Phoenix, Arizona: Oryx Press. p. 335. ISBN 978-0-89774-991-6. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Segrave, Kerry (2014). Policewomen: a history (Second ed.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-7864-7705-0. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ Corsianos, Marilyn (2009). Policing and gendered justice: examining the possibilities. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-8020-9679-1. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
- ^ a b Wilson, Joseph; David Addams (2006). "Football". In Paul Finkelman (ed.). Encyclopedia of African American history, 1619–1895. Vol. 1. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 234–237. ISBN 0-19-516777-5. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ Lyght, Ernest S.; Keaton, Jonathan D. (2012). Our Father: Where Are the Fathers?. Abingdon Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-4267-4853-0. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
- ^ Uzelac, Constance Porter; Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (2004). "Coleman, Bessie". In Henry Louis Gates (ed.). African American Lives. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 182–184. ISBN 978-0-19-988286-1. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1028&context=perspectives [bare URL PDF]
- ^ 175 Years of Black Pitt People and Notable Milestones. (2004). Blue Black and Gold 2004: Chancellor Mark A. Norenberg Reports on the Pitt African American Experience, 44. Retrieved on 2009-05-22.
- ^ "Claiming Their Citizenship: African American Women From 1624–2009". Nwhm.org. Archived from the original on February 27, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
- ^ Kimbrough, Celeste (March 18, 2004). "University of Pittsburgh to Honor First African American Librarian In Plaque Dedication Ceremony April 2 | University of Pittsburgh News". News.pitt.edu. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
- ^ "05-3180-Oberlin-Issue No.32" (PDF). Retrieved August 10, 2016.
- ^ "William Dehart Hubbard First Black to Win Gold in an Individual Event". Jet. Vol. 90, no. 10. Johnson Publishing Company. July 22, 1996. pp. 60–61. ISSN 0021-5996. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ "Clifton R. Wharton Sr. Dies; Foreign Service Pioneer, 90". Jet. Vol. 78, no. 5. Johnson Publishing Company. May 14, 1990. p. 16. ISSN 0021-5996. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ "The Clash of New York's Irish and Italians, and the City's First Black Firefighter". The New York Times. August 7, 2015. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
Wesley Williams, who was inspired by Battle, enlisting as a firefighter in 1919. ...
- ^ Baker, Josephine; Bouillon, Joe (1977). Josephine (First ed.). New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 978-0-06-010212-8.
- ^ Committee on House Administration; Office of History and Preservation (2008). "Oscar Stanton De Priest, 1871–1951". In Matthew Wasniewski (ed.). Black Americans in Congress, 1870–2007. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 278–285. ISBN 978-0-16-080194-5.
- ^ "May 15, 1886: West Virginia's First African-American Female Legislator Born in Putnam Co". West Virginia Public Broadcasting. May 15, 2017. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ Weber, Bruce (July 19, 2008). "Sherman L. Maxwell, 100, Sportscaster and Writer, Dies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2008.
- ^ Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit, MI: Gale. 2004. pp. 455–456. ISBN 978-0-7876-9124-0.
- ^ Howard, Walter T. (2008). Black Communists Speak on Scottsboro: A Documentary History. Temple University Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-59213-599-8. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Harrison and Harrison, 1999. African-American Pioneers in Anthropology. New York: University of Illinois Press.
- ^ Rankin-Hill and Blakey (1994). "W. Montague Cobb (1904–1990): Physical Anthropologist, Anatomist, and Activist". American Anthropological Association. 96: 74–96. doi:10.1525/aa.1994.96.1.02a00040 – via Wiley Online.
- ^ Nordin, Dennis S. (1997). The New Deal's Black Congressman: A Life of Arthur Wergs Mitchell. Columbia: University of Missouri Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-8262-1102-6. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Strunk, William Oliver; Treitler, Leo (1998). Source Readings in Music History. Norton. p. 1421. ISBN 978-0-393-03752-4. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Heise, Kenan (November 23, 1986). "Tidye Ann Phillips, Olympian And Principal". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
- ^ Hymans, Richard (2008). "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field" (PDF). USA Track & Field. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
- ^ Wynn, Linda T.; Bobby L. Lovett (December 14, 1995). "William Henry Hastie (1904–1976)". In Linda T. Wynn; Gayle Brinkley-Johnson (eds.). A Profile of African Americans in Tennessee History. Annual Local Conference on Afro-American Culture and History. Nashville: Tennessee State University Library. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ Norton, Mary Beth, ed. (2005). A People and a Nation: since 1865 (7th ed.). Boston: Cengage Learning. p. 694. ISBN 978-0-618-39177-6. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ a b Bogle, Donald (2001). Primetime Blues. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 9–14. ISBN 978-0-374-23720-2. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
- ^ Jackson, Carlton (1993). Hattie: The Life of Hattie McDaniel. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-56833-004-4. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Smock, Raymond W. (2009). Booker T. Washington: Black Leadership in the Age of Jim Crow. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-61578-007-5. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Whitten, David O. (January 1, 2006). "Davis, Benjamin Oliver, Sr.". In James Gilbert Ryan; Leonard C. Schlup (eds.). Historical Dictionary of The 1940s. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 0-7656-2107-X. Archived from the original on May 3, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ Des Jardins, Julie (2004). Women and the Historical Enterprise in America: Gender, Race and the Politics of Memory: Gender, Race, and the Politics of Memory, 1880–1945. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 172–. ISBN 978-0-8078-6152-3.
- ^ Epstein, Lawrence Jeffrey (2010). Political Folk Music in America from Its Origins to Bob Dylan. McFarland. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-7864-5601-7. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Williams, Janette (September 20, 2011). "Political activist Isabell Masters, whose presidential ambitions started in Pasadena, dies at 98". Pasadena Star-News. Pasadena, CA. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
- ^ Schneller, Robert J. Jr. (January–February 1998). "Oscar Holmes: A Place in Naval Aviation" (PDF). Naval Aviation News. United States Navy.
- ^ "First Negro Skipper". Time Magazine. October 5, 1942. Archived from the original on October 14, 2010. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
- ^ "Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog image caption". Washington, DC: Library of Congress. 1943. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014.
- ^ "Euphemia Lofton Haynes, first African American female mathematician". math.buffalo.edu. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
- ^ Stillwell, Paul (2003). The Golden Thirteen: Recollections of the First Black Naval Officers. Naval Institute Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-61251-162-7. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
- ^ Gravely, Samuel Lee; Stillwell, Paul (2010). Trailblazer: the U.S. Navy's first Black admiral. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-338-3.
- ^ Olsen, Kirstin (1994). Chronology of Women's History. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 263. ISBN 978-0-313-28803-6. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Matt Baker at the Grand Comics Database. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. Artist credits were not routinely given in comic books in the 1940s, so comprehensive credits are very difficult if not impossible to ascertain.
- ^ a b Prince, Richard (August 13, 2017). "Black Journalists, 'The World Needs You'". The Root. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ Walton, Ben L. (2012). Great Black War Fighters: Profiles in Service. Strategic Book Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-61897-108-1. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ "Phyllis Mae Dailey: First Black Navy Nurse". March 8, 2012.
- ^ "Olivia Hooker: 1921 Tulsa race riot survivor dies aged 103". Bbc.com – BBC News. November 25, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
- ^ Brown, Nikki L. M.; Stentiford, Barry M. (2008). The Jim Crow Encyclopedia: Greenwood Milestones in African American History. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 693. ISBN 978-0-313-34181-6. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
- ^ a b Parks, Gregory; Bradley, Stefan M. (2002). Alpha Phi Alpha: A Legacy of Greatness, The Demands of Transcendence. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. p. 361. ISBN 978-0-8131-3421-5. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
- ^ "1st African-American Published Comic – All Negro #1 – (1947) Comes to Auction". Metropolis Collectibles Inc. / ComicConnect Corp. press release via BlackRadioNetwork.com. February 2009. Archived from the original on July 2, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
- ^ Sperb, Jason (2012). Disney's Most Notorious Film: Race, Convergence, and the Hidden Histories of Song of the South. Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-292-74981-8. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ Collins, Donnie (December 26, 2019). "Penn State's Cotton Bowl history short on games, long on significance". York Dispatch. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
- ^ Hardesty, Von (2008). Black Wings: Courageous Stories of African Americans in Aviation and Space History. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-06-126138-1. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ Smith, Catherine Parsons (2008). William Grant Still. American composers. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-252-03322-3. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ Smith 2002, p. 700.
- ^ Buckelew, Richard A. (October 3, 2012). "Silas Herbert Hunt (1922–1949)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. Little Rock: Central Arkansas Library System. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ Kilpatrick, Judith (2009). "Desegregating the University of Arkansas School of Law: L. Clifford Davis and the Six Pioneers" (PDF). The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 68 (2): 123–156. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 11, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ^ Hill, George H. (1986). Ebony Images: Black Americans and Television. Carson, CA: Daystar Publishing Company. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-933650-01-5. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ "One of the first TV shows hosted by a black man". African American Registry. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
- ^ Group, Sinclair Broadcast (May 29, 2014). "Oregon State to name new residence hall after pioneering student". KVAL. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
{{cite web}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ Schneller, Robert John (2005). Breaking the color barrier: the U.S. Naval Academy's first black midshipmen and the struggle for racial equality. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 0-8147-4013-8.
- ^ "Dawson, William Levi". US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- ^ Lusane, Clarence (2006). Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice: Foreign Policy, Race, and the New American Century. Westport, CN: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-275-98309-3. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ Rosenberg, Aaron (2013). 42: The Jackie Robinson Story: The Movie Novel. Scholastic Inc. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-545-54113-8. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ Manos, Nick (February 3, 2009). "Blayton, Jesse B., Sr. (1879–1977)". BlackPast.org. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
- ^ "Florence Lesueur, ex-president, director of NAACP branch; at 93". The Boston Globe. June 29, 1991. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018.
- ^ Weaver, Joshua R. (June 9, 2011). "The Great Black Way? Black Tony Award Winners". TheRoot.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
- ^ Clarage, Elizabeth C; Elizabeth A Brennan, eds. (1999). Who's who of Pulitzer Prize winners. Phoenix, Arizona: Oryx Press. p. 522. ISBN 978-1-57356-111-2.
- ^ Henry, Charles P. (1999). Ralph Bunche: Model Negro Or American Other?. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-3582-4.
- ^ "History of the Federal Judiciary > Milestones of Judicial Service > First African American Judges". Washington, DC: Federal Judicial Center. Archived from the original on March 10, 2015.
- ^ Harris, Cecil (2007). Charging the net: a history of Blacks in tennis from Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe to the Williams sisters. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee. ISBN 978-1-56663-714-5.
- ^ Cook, Joan (October 11, 1979). "Edith Sampson, 1st Black Woman Elected to Bench in Illinois, Is Dead; Advised to Become Lawyer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ "1950–51 Season Overview: NBA's Color Line is Broken". National Basketball Association. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
- ^ Howell, Dave. "Six Who Paved the Way". National Basketball Association. Archived from the original on March 11, 2013.
- ^ Wagner, Jeremy. "9. Firsts For African-Americans". ESPN. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013.
- ^ McDowell, Sam (March 9, 2013). "Sumner grad Harold Hunter, first African American to sign with NBA team, dies at 86". Kansas City Star. Kansas City, MO. Archived from the original on March 12, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
- ^ Smith 2003, p. 676.
- ^ "Meet Bernie Custis, football's first African-American quarterback". Toronto Star. August 12, 2011. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
- ^ Smith, Jessie Carney (1996). Notable Black American Women. Vol. II. VNR AG. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-8103-9177-2. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
- ^ Petersen, Frank E.; Phelps, J. Alfred (2012). Into the Tiger's Jaw: America's First Black Marine Aviator. Leatherneck Classics. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-190-0. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
- ^ Gates, Henry Louis; Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks (2004). African American Lives. Oxford University Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-19-988286-1. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
- ^ Lester, Larry (2001). Black Baseball's National Showcase: The East-West All-Star Game, 1933–1953. U of Nebraska Press. p. 379. ISBN 978-0-8032-8000-7. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
- ^ "Thrower was first black QB to play in NFL". Associated Press. ESPN Classic. February 22, 2002. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
- ^ Catherine Reef, ed. (2010). "Brashear, Carl Maxie". African Americans in the Military. A to Z of African Americans. New York: Facts On File. pp. 40–42. ISBN 978-1-4381-3096-5. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ Otfinoski, Steven (2010). "Dandridge, Dorothy". African Americans in the Performing Arts. A to Z of African Americans (Revised ed.). New York: Facts On File. pp. 51–52. ISBN 978-1-4381-2855-9. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
- ^ "Charles Bush, First Negro Air Force Cadet". Jet. Vol. 16, no. 10. Johnson Publishing Company. July 1959. p. 8. ISSN 0021-5996. Archived from the original on April 27, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ Keiler, Allan (2002). Marian Anderson: A Singer's Journey. University of Illinois Press. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-252-07067-9. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ^ "The Black Presence in American Dance: Arthur Mitchell". (Biographical capsule) Spelman College. Archived from the original on December 14, 2004.
- ^ Kahn, Ken, ed. (n.d.). "Seaboard World Airlines Formerly Seaboard & Western Airlines". SeaboardAirlines.org. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
On November 3rd, 1955 Seaboard & Western became the first airline in the nation to hire an African-American pilot, August Martin.
- ^ "Black Airline Pilots: August Martin (1919–1968)". AvStop.com / Aviation Online. n.d. Archived from the original on November 22, 2010.
Between 1946 and 1955, he flew only part-time for such airlines as Buffalo Skylines, El Al Airlines, and World Airways. ... In 1955, August Martin gained a foothold in the world of US aviation when he was hired by Seaboard World Airlines as the first Black captain of a US scheduled air carrier. During a thirteen-year period with Seaboard, Martin got a chance to pilot the DC-3, DC-4, Lockheed Constellation and Canadair CL-44.
- ^ Saxon, Wolfgang (July 21, 1994). "E. Frederic Morrow, 88, Aide In Eisenhower Administration". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
- ^ Thamel, Pete (January 1, 2006). "Grier Integrated a Game and Earned the World's Respect". The New York Times. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
- ^ Company, Johnson Publishing (October 13, 2003). "First Black Tennis Champion Althea Gibson Dies in East Orange, Nj, at 76". Jet. Vol. 104, no. 16. pp. 51–52. ISSN 0021-5996.
{{cite news}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ "Charles Gittens, 1st black Secret Service agent, dies". The Washington Post. Associated Press. August 9, 2011. Archived from the original on August 11, 2011.
- ^ Wilber, Del Quentin (August 10, 2011). "Charles L. Gittens, first black Secret Service agent, dies at 82". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 11, 2011.
- ^ Freedman, Lew (2007). "Don Newcombe". African American Pioneers of Baseball: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 99–108. ISBN 978-0-313-33851-9. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ Brown, Linda Beatrice (1998). The Long Walk: The Story of the Presidency of Willa B. Player at Bennett College. Bennett College.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (January 11, 2001). "Lowell Perry, 69, Football Star and Ford Aide". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
- ^ Heaphy, Leslie A. (2006). Black Baseball and Chicago: Essays on the Players, Teams, and Games of the Negro Leagues' Most Important City. McFarland. p. 200. ISBN 978-0-7864-2674-4. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ Thiele, Amber (2006). "Roland Maurice Jefferson Collection". United States National Agricultural Library. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ^ Conrard, Don (November 16, 2005). "Promoting Diversity". Alaska's World. Alaska Airlines. Archived from the original on March 24, 2006. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ^ "Winners – 1958: First Annual Grammy Awards". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015. Presented May 4, 1959, for recordings made in 1958.
- ^ Rhoden, William C. (November 25, 2014). "A Pioneer's Tribute Is Both a Reward and a Reminder: Charlie Sifford Is Given the Presidential Medal of Freedom". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
- ^ Dave, Paresh (February 18, 2014). "James Meredith talks about vandals". The Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "First African American Navy Seal to Receive 2023 Lone Sailor Award". United States Navy Memorial. June 8, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ^ Robert L. Harris; Rosalyn Terborg-Penn (2008). The Columbia Guide to African American History Since 1939. Columbia University Press. pp. 298–. ISBN 978-0-231-13811-6.
- ^ "Person of the Year: Martin Luther King Jr". Time. January 3, 1963. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
- ^ Kearse, Gregory (July 1998). "Historic Moments: A Legacy of Excellence". Chess Life. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2010 – via TheChessDrum.net.
- ^ "Chess Quiz [Question #47]". Chess.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
- ^ "Cicely Tyson Biography (1924–2021)". Biography.com. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
In 1963 Tyson became the first African American star of a TV drama in the series East Side/West Side...
- ^ Cosham, Ralph H. (November 25, 1963). "Negro Comes to Television; Sponsors Happy". Nashville Banner. United Press International. p. 29. Retrieved January 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
…only one dramatic program features a Negro as a regular member of the cast. She is Cicely Tyson, who portrays a social worker in the new CBS series East Side, West Side.
- ^ Stewart, D. R. (February 28, 2008). "AA Honors First Black Airline Pilot". Tulsa World. Tulsa, OK. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012.
- ^ Colorado Anti-Discrimination Comm'n v. Continental Air Lines, Inc., 372 U.S., 714 (Supreme Court 1963-04-22).
- ^ Hudson, David (n.d.). "Black Cinema". GreenCine.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Update of Hudson (June 10, 2003). "SFBFF: Experience and Empowerment". Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011. Note: Asian-American interracial marriage had previously been portrayed.
- ^ "Postseason World Series MVP Awards & All-Star Game MVP Award Winners". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2015.
- ^ Duncan, Randy; Smith, Matthew J. (2013). Icons of the American Comic Book: From Captain America to Wonder Woman. ABC-CLIO. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-313-39924-4. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ^ "NM Frank Street, Jr". The ChessDrum.net. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
- ^ Nancy Sinatra (May 2, 2000). Movin' with Nancy (DVD Commentary Track). Chatsworth, California: Image Entertainment.
- ^ "A. S. McWilliams, 77, Comic Strip Cartoonist". The New York Times. March 25, 1993. Archived from the original on April 17, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ Horn, Maurice, ed. (1996). 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics. New York: Gramercy Books. pp. 91–92. ISBN 0-517-12447-5.
- ^ Boyd, Todd (2008). African Americans and Popular Culture. Westport, CN: Praeger. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-313-06408-1. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ^ Weston, Martin (April 1976). "First Black Airline Gets Off The Ground". Ebony. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- ^ "History of the Diocese". Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. Archived from the original on April 21, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
- ^ Bell, Gregory S. (2002). "Joe Searles". In In the Black: A History of African Americans on Wall Street Archived 2016-07-29 at the Wayback Machine. John Wiley and Sons. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-471-21485-4. Retrieved January 30, 2009.
- ^ Information, Sheryl James | University of Michigan School of. "Trailblazing librarian, U-M alumna Clara Stanton Jones elected to Michigan Women's Hall of Fame | Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | the University of Michigan".
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Walker, Rhiannon (May 3, 2018). "Cheryl White was first out of the gate". Andscape. Archived from the original on May 7, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ^ Orange, Satia Marshall (2012). "Pay It Forward for Effie Lee Morris: A Tribute". In Jackson, Andrew P.; Jefferson Jr., Julius C.; Nosakhere, Akilah S. (eds.). The 21st-Century Black Librarian in America: Issues and Challenges. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-8108-8245-4.
- ^ Bould, Mark; Butler, Andrew M.; Roberts, Adam; Sherryl Vint (2009). The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction. Taylor & Francis. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-203-87131-7. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ^ The earliest known humorous interracial kiss was in the story "Home Cooking" in Premier Magazine's satirical comic book Nuts #1 (March 1954), per its listing at the Grand Comics Database. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013.
- ^ "Sammy's Visit". All in the Family. Season 2. Episode 34. February 12, 1972. CBS. In the comedy All in the Family, at the last moment as a picture is taken, Sammy Davis, Jr., playing himself, chides the bigoted but celebrity-fawning Archie Bunker with a humorous kiss on the cheek.
- ^ "Desiree West (August 25, 1954) was the first black female adult film star. She was Inducted into the X-Rated Critics Organization (XRCO) Hall of Fame in the mid-'90s, after she had retired from the adult-film industry. After retiring, she got married and moved to North Carolina". Facebook. December 19, 2020.
- ^ Langer, Emily (February 24, 2023). "Zandra Flemister, first Black woman in Secret Service, dies at 71". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- ^ O'English, Mark (2014). "Killraven". In Booker, M. Keith (ed.). Comics through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas. Greenwood Publishing. p. 666. ISBN 978-0-313-39750-9.
- ^ "A Dozen Who Made a Difference". Time. January 5, 1976. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
- ^ "ALA's Past Presidents | About ALA". Ala.org. November 20, 2007. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
- ^ Anderson, Rudy (October 23, 1976). "Black Rep. Promises New Life". Winston-Salem Chronicle. Vol. III, no. 8. pp. 1–2.
- ^ "Pioneers Cardte Hicks, Musiette McKinney embrace Las Vegas Aces". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
- ^ Seabaugh, Cathy (February 1994). "BLK: Focused Coverage for African-American Gays & Lesbians". Chicago Outlines.
- ^ Chestnut, Mark (June 1992). "BLK: Getting Glossy". Island Lifestyle.
- ^ Stevens, William K. (December 28, 1977). "A Detroit Black Woman's Roots Lead to a Welcome in the D.A.R.; Black Woman's Roots Lead to a Welcome in D.A.R". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ "Pauli Murray.biography". bio.: People. A+E Networks. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
- ^ Smith 2003, p. 615.
- ^ Gubert, Betty Kaplan; Sawyer, Miriam (2001). "Jill E. Brown". Distinguished African Americans in Aviation and Space Science. Greenwood. pp. 42–44. ISBN 978-1-57356-246-1.
- ^ "1970s". public1.nhhcaws.local.
- ^ O'Donnell, Maureen (December 15, 2014). "Rev. Earlean Miller, first African-American woman ordained a Lutheran pastor, dead at 78". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
- ^ "Willie Jeffries Hall of Fame Profile". Black College Football Hall of Fame.
- ^ Cabiao, Howard (December 2010). "Mines, Janie L. (1958– )". BlackPast.org. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
- ^ Office of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Equal Opportunity and Safety Policy Black Americans in defense of our nation. US Department of Defense. 1985. p. 159. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
- ^ Mines, Janie L. (June 1988). Integrated change management (PDF). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
- ^ Mitchell, Gail (October 29, 2005). "From One Man's Vision To An Empire: BET". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 44. p. 24. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ Jones, Stanley P.; Tripp, L. Octavia; Amram, Fred (1998). African-American Astronauts. Capstone. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-56065-695-1. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ^ Alban, Debra (June 28, 2009). "Michael Jackson broke down racial barriers". CNN. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ^ Butterfield, Fox (February 6, 1990). "First Black Elected to Head Harvard's Law Review". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 28, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
- ^ Richman, Evan (June 10, 1992). "Sailor Makes Solo Voyage Around Globe". The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- ^ "David Satcher, MD, Ph.D. (First African American Named to Head the CDC, and First African American Man Named Surgeon General, HHS)". President, and Fellows of Harvard College. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- ^ Thompson, Gayle (January 7, 2020). "53 Years Ago: Charley Pride Becomes the First Black Singer to Perform at the Grand Ole Opry". The Boot. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ^ Janis F. Kearney, My Life: Bill Clinton; Something to Write Home About: Memories from a Presidential Diarist.
- ^ "Reason Is Navy's First Black Four-Star Admiral". U.S. Department of Defense. February 19, 1998. Archived from the original on October 27, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2006.
- ^ Historic Listing of National Park Service Officials, USDI, NPS, May 1, 1991, by Harold Danz. Updates after publication by Public Affairs.
- ^ Slides 13–14 at: "Jacob Joseph Chestnut and John Michael Gibson". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ a b Note: Individuals lying in state have five guards of honor, representing the five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Individuals lying in honor have the U.S. Capitol Police as civilian guards of honor. Field, Carla (n.d.). "Lying in State Versus Lying in Honor". Greenville, South Carolina: WYFF. Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ "Meet the First African American to Become a Chess Grandmaster". Black History. n.d. Archived from the original on February 8, 2020.
- ^ Farmer, Paula (August 1999). "The First African American To Head A Fortune 500 Company, Franklin D. Raines Takes Over Fannie Mae". The Black Collegian. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2008.
- ^ "Profile of Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D." Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. September 10, 2014. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
- ^ Price, Emmett George; Kernodle, Tammy L.; Maxile, Horace Joseph, eds. (2011). Encyclopedia of African American music. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-34200-4. OCLC 699474764.
- ^ "First black American Bar Association president to visit KU Feb. 18". Archive.news.ku.edu. February 16, 2004. Archived from the original on May 16, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
- ^ "BART 1st major transit agency in U.S. history to be led by two African American women 'Women assume BART's two top posts & pay tribute to Rosa Parks'". BART Archives. December 16, 2005.
- ^ "The Honoring of Civil Rights Icon Rosa Parks". U.S. House of Representatives. n.d. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ Ford, James Ishmael (2006). Zen Master Who?: A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen. Wisdom Publications. pp. 166–. ISBN 978-0-86171-509-1. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ^ Barr, Meghan (May 6, 2007). "Cancer Survivor, 75, Skis to North Pole". The Seattle Times. Seattle, WA. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
- ^ "Rear Admiral Stephen Rochon 1st African American Chief Usher at the White House". IMDiversity. September 16, 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
- ^ Liasson, Mara; Norris, Michele (July 7, 2008). "Obama To Accept Nomination at Mile High Stadium". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ Johnson, Alex (November 4, 2008). "Barack Obama elected 44th president". NBC News. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
- ^ "Duke Ellington becomes first African American on U.S. coin". CNN. February 24, 2009. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
- ^ "Black Hockey Player Helps Chicago Win Stanley Cup". regalmag.com. February 13, 2013. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ^ "Charles E. Samuels, Jr". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Archived from the original on September 15, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
- ^ "Rabbi is latest of many titles for Philly woman". WHYY. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- ^ "Book Sandra Lawson for Speaking, Events and Appearances". APB Speakers. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ Barnes, Robert (November 6, 2012). "Obama reelected as president". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 17, 2015.
- ^ "Secretary Panetta Statement on Intent to Nominate CENTCOM Commander". Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ^ Nolan, Bruce (June 17, 2012). "Spirit of change: An influential local preacher is set to become the first black leader of the Southern Baptist Convention". The Times-Picayune. No. Metro Edition. New Orleans. pp. A1, A10. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2012. Cf. Sherman, Dayne (June 24, 2012). "Southern Baptist Convention in black, white". Sunday Star. Hammond. pp. 4A, 5A. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
- ^ Oller, Travis (June 13, 2012). "Rev. Fred Luter Jr. to be Southern Baptists first black president". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
- ^ "First black woman to command navy missile destroyer is from Greensboro | MyFOX8.com". myfox8.com. February 25, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
- ^ Moore, Stephen (December 21, 2012). "Tim Scott: Meet the New Senator From South Carolina". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ Weisman, Jon (July 30, 2013). "Cheryl Boone Isaacs Elected President of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences". Variety. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015.
- ^ Kane, Paul (December 16, 2013). "Jeh Johnson confirmed as secretary of homeland security". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ Lamothe, Dan (July 1, 2014). "Adm. Michelle Howard becomes first four-star woman in Navy history". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ^ Deutsch, Lindsay (November 5, 2014). "Political firsts: How history was made this midterm election". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 13, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
- ^ "Mariah Stackhouse". gostanford.com – Stanford University.
- ^ Nichols, Beth Ann (June 4, 2014). "Stanford's Mariah Stackhouse keeps breaking barriers as Curtis Cup begins". Golfweek.com.
- ^ Cronk, Terri Moon (January 26, 2015). "Marine Corps officer takes Defense Intelligence Agency reins". United States Marines. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015.
- ^ Rush, Curtis (March 17, 2015). "CFL names Jeffrey Orridge as new commissioner". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
- ^ Kiefer, Francine (April 23, 2015). "Loretta Lynch makes history as first black woman to become attorney general (+video)". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ Cooper, Michael (June 30, 2015). "Misty Copeland Is Promoted to Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theater". New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- ^ Pennell, Jay (January 2, 2015). "Remembering Wendell Scott's lone NASCAR win 51 years later". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015.
- ^ "NBC's new anchor Lester Holt rose steadily to top". The Florida Times-Union. Jacksonville, Florida. Associated Press. June 18, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
- ^ "WNY native becomes first black leader of Episcopal Church". wivb.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
- ^ "Paulette Brown, first African-American female American Bar Association President". MCCA. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
- ^ Massie, Victoria M. (September 14, 2016). "Carla Hayden is officially sworn in as the first woman and African-American librarian of Congress". Vox.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
- ^ "Derek Jeter becomes first African-American CEO of a Major league Baseball team". www.tvone.tv. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
- ^ Friedman, Vanessa; Paton, Elizabeth (March 26, 2018). "Louis Vuitton Names Virgil Abloh as Its New Men's Wear Designer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
- ^ "New APA President Takes Office as the First African American to Lead the Organization". May 21, 2018. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
- ^ Bradner, Eric (May 22, 2018). "Stacey Abrams wins Democratic primary in Georgia. She could become the nation's first black woman governor". CNN. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
- ^ Maldonado, Samantha (July 2, 2018). "West Point appoints Darryl A. Williams as first black superintendent". CNN. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
- ^ Tucker, Dorothy (February 18, 2021). "Celebrating Black History Makers: Dr. Ngozi Ezike Has Been Illinois' Guide During The COVID-19 Pandemic". CBS Chicago.
- ^ "Smithsonian Regents Name Lonnie Bunch 14th Smithsonian Secretary" (Press release). Smithsonian Institution. May 28, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ "Meet the LA Zoo's new director, Denise Verret". Los Angeles Daily News. July 7, 2019.
- ^ Ferris, Sarah; Bresnahan, John (October 24, 2019). "Elijah Cummings is first African American lawmaker to lie in state at Capitol". Politico. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ Note: Cummings was honored in the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall. In 2020, Representative John Lewis became the first African-American elected official to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda: Broadwater, Luke (July 27, 2020). "John Lewis Is the First Black Lawmaker to Lie in State in the Capitol Rotunda". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ "Joe Biden selects California Sen. Kamala Harris as running mate". Associated Press. August 11, 2020.
selecting the first African American woman and South Asian American to compete on a major party's presidential ticket
- ^ "Kamala Harris's selection as VP resonates with Black women". Associated Press. August 12, 2020.
making her the first Black woman on a major party's presidential ticket ... It also marks the first time a person of Asian descent is on the presidential ticket.
- ^ Martin, Jonathan; Burns, Alexander (November 7, 2020). "Biden Wins Presidency, Ending Four Tumultuous Years Under Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- ^ Cordner, Jason (August 17, 2020). "Washington Football Team Names Jason Wright First African American Team President in NFL".
- ^ "Washington Football Team Appoints Jason Wright as President". Washington Football. August 17, 2020. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ^ "Tracie Morris Joins Iowa Writers' Workshop Permanent Faculty by Harriet Staff". October 12, 2021.
- ^ Broadwater, Luke (July 27, 2020). "John Lewis Is the First Black Lawmaker to Lie in State in the Capitol Rotunda". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ Dias, Elizabeth; Horowitz, Jason (October 25, 2020). "Pope Francis Appoints First African-American Cardinal". The New York Times. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
- ^ "African American Senators". United States Senate. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- ^ Thebault, Reis; Scherer, Michael; Wootson, Cleve R. Jr. (January 5, 2021). "Raphael Warnock wins Georgia runoff election against Sen. Loeffler, lifting Democratic hopes of claiming Senate majority". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.: "Warnock will be the first African American Democratic senator from a former Confederate state"
- ^ Martin, Jonathan; Fausset, Richard (January 6, 2021). "Warnock Beats Loeffler in Georgia Senate Race". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- ^ Beer, Tommy (January 22, 2021). "Lloyd Austin Sworn In As First Black Defense Secretary In U.S. History". Forbes. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- ^ McCarthy, Kelly (January 27, 2021). "Washington Football Team makes NFL history with 1st full-time Black woman coach". ABC News. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- ^ "ACLU, for first time, elects Black person as its president". The Independent. UK. Associated Press. February 1, 2021. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2021..
- ^ Kuang, Jeanne (May 24, 2021). "Parson appoints Robin Ransom, first Black woman to serve on Missouri Supreme Court". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- ^ Trotta, Daniel (July 9, 2021). "First African American wins U.S. spelling bee, conquering with 'Murraya'". Reuters. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
- ^ Weiser, Benjamin (October 7, 2021). "For the First Time in 232 Years, a Black Prosecutor Leads a Storied Office". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
- ^ Norbeck, Nancy (June 25, 2021). "5 Questions with Kelsey Koelzer '17". Princeton Alumni. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
- ^ Pazniokas, Mark (December 10, 2021). "Natalie Braswell to be named comptroller after Lembo steps down". CT Mirror. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
- ^ Kaye, Jacob (January 5, 2022). "Adams elected speaker of the City Council". Queens Daily Eagle.
- ^ Kwan, Rhoda (January 1, 2022). "Keechant Sewell sworn in as NYPD's first female police commissioner". NBC News.
- ^ Fortinsky, Sara; Cole, Devan. "Maya Angelou becomes first Black woman to appear on US quarter as Treasury begins distribution". CNN.
- ^ Foran, Clare (April 7, 2022). "Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court". CNN.
- ^ Brockell, Gillian (July 13, 2022). "Capitol statue collection gets first Black American, replacing Confederate". washingtonpost.
- ^ "Mary Bethune statue unveiled at U.S. Capitol, first of African American - P.M. News".
- ^ "A first: African American Marine promoted to 4-star general". Associated Press. August 7, 2022.
- ^ Epstein, Reid J. (November 9, 2022). "Moore, a Democrat, Will Become Maryland's First Black Governor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ Staff Writer (November 19, 2022). "Maryland's First Black Attorney General Has Jamaican Connection". Jamaicans.com.
- ^ Hughes, Eliza Collins and Siobhan (November 30, 2022). "House Democrats Pick Hakeem Jeffries to Lead Party". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
- ^ Vazquez, Maegan; Vogt, Adrienne; Chowdhury, Maureen; Hammond, Elise; Meyer, Matt (November 17, 2022). "Live updates: Nancy Pelosi announces she will not run for leadership post". CNN. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ "For the 1st time, a Black female Marine is set to be a 2-star general". Marine Corps Times. December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ Carr, Flora (April 13, 2018). "This Is the Woman President Trump Wants to Be the First Female African-American Marine General". Time.
- ^ Neibart, Sam (March 7, 2022). "Meet Emira D'Spain, The First Black Transgender Model To Work With Victoria's Secret". Nylon.
Bibliography
- Smith, Jessie Carney (2002). Black Firsts (2 ed.). Detroit: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-1-57859-258-6. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- Potter, Joan (2002). African-American Firsts: famous, little-known and unsung triumphs of Blacks in America (Rev. and expanded ed.). New York: Dafina Books. ISBN 0-7582-0243-1. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
External links
- Mance, Ajuan (November 5, 2009). "Timeline: Black Firsts in Higher Education". Blackoncampus.com.
- Muhammad, Khalil Gibran (January 15, 2017). "No Racial Barrier Left to Break (Except All of Them)". The New York Times.
- Obama, Barack (July 16, 2009). "Remarks by the President to the NAACP Centennial Convention" (Video). NBC News.
- Obama, Barack (July 16, 2009). "Remarks by the President to the NAACP Centennial Convention". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
- Wan, William (April 29, 2016). "Obama Legacy: Life After the First". The Washington Post. – Interviews with six African-American "firsts", including the first black governor, the first black billionaire, and the first black Ivy League president.
- Weiner, David (May 25, 2011) [Originally posted September 3, 2009]. "African-American Firsts in New York". The Huffington Post.