Black Sports
This basketball legend is nicknamed "His Airness" and revolutionized the sneaker game.
Michael Jordan
Known as the "Queen of Pop"
Beyoncé
This inventor improved the light bulb by creating a longer-lasting filament
Lewis Latimer
This actor is known as the "Fresh Prince" and became a blockbuster superstar.
Will Smith
This holiday commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S.
Juneteenth
This tennis superstar won her first Grand Slam in 1999 at just 17 years old.
Serena Williams?
This artist became the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize for his album
Kendrick Lamar
She was the first African American woman in space in 1992
Mae Jemison
This actress starred in HTGAWM and won an Oscar for Fences.
Viola Davis
This U.S. Supreme Court case declared segregation in schools unconstitutional in 1954.
Brown v. Board of Education
This NFL quarterback became the first Black player to win the Super Bowl MVP in 1988.
Doug Williams
She was the first Black artist to headline Coachella, delivering an unforgettable performance in 2018
Beyoncé
This groundbreaking scientist developed treatments for glaucoma and blindness.
Patricia Bath
This comedian directed Get Out
Jordan Peele
This civil rights activist refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955
Rosa Parks
This gymnast is the most decorated in history, with over 30 Olympic and World Championship medals
Simone Biles
This legendary singer was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Aretha Franklin
This woman became the first Black vice president of the United States in 2021
Kamala Harris
This actor played King T’Challa in Black Panther
Chadwick Boseman
This historic march in 1963 drew over 250,000 people to hear Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
March on Washington
This Olympic sprinter raised his fist in protest on the podium during the 1968 Mexico City Games
Tommie Smith
This jazz icon performed at the first-ever integrated concert at Carnegie Hall in 1938.
Benny Goodman
Known as the "Father of Blood Banking," he revolutionized blood storage during WWII
Dr. Charles Drew
This talk show host and media mogul built her own television network
Oprah Winfrey
This year saw the passage of the Civil Rights Act, outlawing segregation in public spaces.
1964