African American Firsts
She was the first African American woman elected to Congress in 1968.
Who is Shirley Chisholm?
This HBCU in Atlanta is known for producing leaders like Martin Luther King Jr.
What is Morehouse College?
This poet wrote Still I Rise and became a voice for empowerment and resilience.
Who is Maya Angelou?
She became the first African American woman billionaire through her media empire.
Who is Oprah Winfrey?
He performed the first successful open-heart surgery in 1893.
Who is Dr. Daniel Hale Williams?
This man was the first African American to serve as U.S. Secretary of State.
Who is Colin Powell?
Founded in 1881, this HBCU in Alabama is famous for its emphasis on vocational education.
What is Tuskegee University?
This Harlem Renaissance poet wrote The Negro Speaks of Rivers.
Who is Langston Hughes?
He founded BET (Black Entertainment Television) in 1980.
Who is Robert L. Johnson?
She was the first African American woman in space in 1992.
Who is Dr. Mae Jemison?
He became the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal in 1908.
Who is John Baxter Taylor?
This HBCU in Washington, D.C., is known as “The Mecca” of Black education.
What is Howard University?
He won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Underground Railroad in 2017.
Who is Colson Whitehead?
This businessman co-founded Motown Records in 1959.
Who is Berry Gordy?
This scientist developed a treatment for leprosy and worked on syphilis research.
Who is Dr. Alice Ball?
She was the first African American woman to win an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2002.
Who is Halle Berry?
This HBCU in Florida is named after its founder, Mary McLeod Bethune.
What is Bethune-Cookman University?
He wrote the novel Native Son in 1940, exploring racial injustice in America.
He wrote the novel Native Son in 1940, exploring racial injustice in America.
He created FUBU, a clothing brand that became a global phenomenon.
Who is Daymond John?
She pioneered the use of laser cataract surgery and was the first African American female ophthalmologist.
Who is Dr. Patricia Bath?
He was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1895.
Who is W.E.B. Du Bois?
This HBCU in Louisiana is known for its strong marching band and engineering programs.
What is Southern University?
She authored Their Eyes Were Watching God in 1937.
Who is Zora Neale Hurston?
She launched a successful haircare line and became one of the wealthiest Black women in America.
Who is Lisa Price (founder of Carol’s Daughter)?
She was a NASA mathematician whose calculations helped launch John Glenn into orbit.
Who is Katherine Johnson