Black First
He became the first black billionaire in the United States and famously paid off a graduating class’s student loan debt.
Who is Robert F. Smith
ESSENCE highlighted this iconic rap group induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2025.
Who are Salt‑N‑Pepa?
She refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus in 1955, sparking a citywide boycott.
Who is Rosa Parks?
In 2025, this city elected its first Black mayor, marking a historic first.
What is Omaha, Nebraska?
“Ain’t nobody got time for that!”
Kimberly “Sweet Brown” Wilkins
In 1950, he became the first Black player drafted into the NBA, joining the Boston Celtics.
Who is Chuck Cooper?
Disney’s first Black princess.
What is “The Princess and the Frog”?
This Oklahoma settlement became one of the most successful all‑Black towns, created after the Land Runs as a haven for Black prosperity.
What is Boley?
This film by Ryan Coogler featured a transformative juke‑joint scene representing Black dance traditions across generations.
What is “Sinners”?
“You gon’ learn today!”
Kevin Hart
In 2018, this rapper became the first non‑classical, non‑jazz artist to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Who is Kendrick Lamar?
In 2020, she became the first Black woman to win the Oscar for Best Costume Design for her work on Black Panther.
Who is Ruth E. Carter?
This groundbreaking ballerina, known for breaking racial barriers, became the first Black principal dancer in the American Ballet Theatre’s 75‑year history.
Who is Misty Copeland?
This 1920s artistic explosion centered in a New York neighborhood.
What is the Harlem Renaissance?
"I'm Every Woman"
Whitney Houston
In 2012, she became the first Black gymnast to win the Olympic individual all‑around gold medal.
Who is Gabby Douglas?
This historic OKC district—once a thriving hub of Black culture and jazz—is now home to multiple celebrated Black‑owned dining spots.
What is Deep Deuce?
Known as the “Little Lady with the Big Voice,” she investigated lynchings through fearless journalism beginning in the 1890s.
Who is Ida B. Wells?
This dance form, born in the Bronx in the 1970s, became a pillar of hip‑hop culture.
What is breakdancing?
"All I want to say is that they don't really care about us"
Who is Michael Jackson
This NASA mathematician, known as a “human computer,” calculated the trajectory for America’s first human spaceflight.
Who is
Dr. Katherine Johnson?
This musician holds the Guinness World Record as the most sampled artist in music history.
Who is James Brown?
A survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre became one of the first Black women in Oklahoma to open a licensed beauty school, offering training specifically to Black students when no other schools would.
Who is Mary E. Jones Parrish?
This 1960s movement used literature to empower Black identity and political consciousness.
What is the Black Arts Movement?
"You look like you still owe Blockbuster money"
Who is DC Young Fly?