Music
This artist, referred to as the Queen of Soul, was also the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Aretha Franklin
This tennis legend has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most in the Open Era.
Serena Williams
This actress became the first Black woman to win an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2002 for Monster’s Ball.
Halle Berry
This agricultural scientist developed crop rotation methods that improved soil health and helped farmers thrive.
George Washington Carver
Premiering in 1974, this groundbreaking sitcom was one of the first to portray a working-class Black family on television and became a cultural milestone.
Good Times
This hip-hop group’s 1988 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back used music as a powerful form of political protest.
Public Enemy
This NFL quarterback became the first Black starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
Doug Williams
This entrepreneur rose to fame on Love & Hip Hop and later launched a successful fashion and beauty brand.
Cardi B
Known as the first Black woman engineer at NASA, she helped design trajectories for space missions.
Mary Jackson
In 1983, this artist became the first Black woman to have a solo album reach number one on the Billboard 200.
Diana Ross
This artist released the album What’s Going On, using music to address social justice, war, and inequality in the 1970s.
Marvin Gaye
This gymnast is the most decorated gymnast in history and has revolutionized the sport with skills so difficult they are named after her.
Simone Biles
This filmmaker became the first Black president of the Cannes Film Festival jury in 2021 and is known for influential films like Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X.
Spike Lee
This physicist and engineer became the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. from MIT and contributed to fiber optics and speech recognition.
Shirley Ann Jackson
In 1998, this Marvel character became the first Black superhero to star in his own feature film.
Blade
This R&B artist’s 2000 album Voodoo became a defining work of the neo-soul movement
D’Angelo
This NBA superstar won four championships, became the league’s all-time leading scorer, and is known for his impact both on and off the court.
LeBron James (GOAT)
In 1940, this actress became the first Black person to win an Academy Award for her role in Gone with the Wind.
Hattie McDaniel
This former NASA astronaut became the first Black woman to travel to space and later founded a STEM education nonprofit.
Mae Jemison
This magazine played a crucial role in documenting the Civil Rights Movement by publishing images and stories often ignored by mainstream media.
JET Magizine
This artist became the first Black woman to headline Coachella in 2018, delivering a performance inspired by historically Black colleges and universities.
Beyoncé
In 1949, this running back became the first Black player drafted into the NFL when he was selected by the Chicago Bears.
George Taliaferro
In 2017, this actor became the first Black performer to win an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and an Emmy Award in the same year, earning what is known as a “Triple Crown of Acting.”
Viola Davis
This engineer and entrepreneur founded Black Girls Code after noticing a lack of diversity in the tech industry.
Kimberly Bryant
In 1978, this journalist became the first Black person to co-anchor a network evening newscast on ABC World News Tonight.
Max Robinson