Famous Firsts
former Senator from Illinois elected in 2008 as First African American President of the U.S.
Barack Obama
"If you hear dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there's shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going."
Harriet Tubman
segregation in public schools violates U.S. Constitution (makes segregation in public schools illegal)
Brown v. Board of Education
Grammy award winner, Academy Award nominated actor
Will Smith
thought by some to be the first female millionaire, started a line of hair care products for African American women.
Madam C.J. Walker
First African American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and first African American Secretary of State
Colin Powell
"I'm young. I'm handsome. I'm fast. I can't possibly be beat."
Muhammad Ali
Dred Scott, an enslaved man, sues for his freedom. His case goes all the way to the Supreme Court but the Supreme Court refuses to hear the case since Scott was not a citizen. Enslaved people were not considered citizens at that time.
Scott v. Sanford
former slave, minister, and educator responsible for starting Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia
Richard Allen
writer, educator, best known for her work to end lynching
Ida B. Wells
founder of Tuskegee Institute, the first African American featured on a postage stamp
Booker T. Washington
"If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and charges our children's birthright."
Amanda Gorman
Homer Plessy, a man who is ⅛ black, attempts to sit in the “whites only” section of a train car. The Supreme Court rules that public facilities can be separated as long as they are equal. This case established “Separate but Equal” as legal in the U.S.
Plessy v. Ferguson
basketball coach at Sayre Jr. HS, Simon Gratz HS, Cheyney University, and Temple University.
John Chaney
International Tennis Hall of Famer, won French Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open titles
Althea Gibson
author of “The Bluest Eye”, she was the first African American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in literature
Toni Morrison
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Maya Angelou
The Supreme Court strikes down state laws in Virginia. Allows interracial marriage to now be legal across the United States.
Loving v. Virginia
lawyer and activist, a street and neighborhood in North Philadelphia renamed in his honor
Cecil B. Moore
First African American woman to serve in Congress, spent 7 terms in the House of Representatives
Shirley Chisholm
first African American to start at quarterback and win the Super Bowl
Doug Williams
“You get freedom by letting your enemy know that you'll do anything to get your freedom; then you'll get it. It's the only way you'll get it.”
Malcolm X
The Supreme Court ruled restrictive covenants that prohibited the sale of properties to African Americans in certain neighborhoods in Missouri.
Shelley v. Kraemer
graduate of Penn’s architecture school, designed Philadelphia Museum of Art and Free Library
Julian Fraces Abele
Educator, spent life fighting for equal rights, served on FDR’s informal Black Cabinet
Mary McLeod Bethune