The first rapper to win Album of the Year and Best New Artist in the same year.
Lauryn Hill
The first African-American to compete at the U.S. National Championships and the first African-American woman to join the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour.
Althea Gibson
The artist with the most Hot 100 hits
Nicki Minaj
This sitcom was an introduction to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) for many Americans.
A Different World
This first black actress was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in the 1954 film Carmen Jones. She was also the first black woman on the cover of Life magazine
Dorothy Dandridge
The first documented African American female to serve in the Army in the 19th century by posing as a man. She is the only female Buffalo Soldier.
Cathay Williams
This movie is considered one of the first mainstream films to present a different side of Black life on screen by showcasing a romantic relationship between Black intellectuals.
Love Jones
The first black artist to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone and the first black woman to win an MTV award.
Tina Turner
The longest-running Black-owned TV show brought Black entertainers to a broad audience and, at the same time, taught the country how to dance.
Soul Train
This African American actress was the first to star in a drama series, receive an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Television Movie, and was also the oldest actress to win a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress.
Cicely Tyson
This black woman was the first elected to Congress in 1968 and she is also credited for being the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president of the United States from a major political party
Shirley Chisolm
She is known as the fastest woman of all time.
Flo-Jo (will also accept Florence Joyner)
The first Black woman to win a Grammy for Best Country Album
Beyonce
This show was one of the first shows to feature black women as multi-dimensional professionals.
What is Living Single?
This actress made history as the youngest TV talk show host ever and also as the first black Cinderella on Broadway.
Keke Palmer
NASA's first Black female engineer in 1958
Mary Jackson
The first black woman who refused to give up her bus seat in 1955
Claudette Colvin
This rapper became the first woman to release a full solo album.
MC Lyte
This comedy show helped shape the Super Bowl halftime show by influencing the NFL to have bigger and more star-studded performances.
In Living Color
The first black woman to create and star in a scripted series for a premium cable channel.
Issa Rae
She was the first black woman to own a radio station, which is known today as Radio One or Urban One.
Cathy Hughes
This author wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God, the first novel to ever feature a black woman as the main character.
Zora Neale Hurston
This girl group earned Motown its first #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with their hit single Please Mr. Postman.
The Marvelettes
The first animated Disney series to feature a black leading character.
The Proud Family
One of the few actresses who has ever won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony award. She also won a Best Actress Golden Globe in 1985 for her role in The Color Purple.
Whoopi Goldberg