The Firsts To Do It
In 2021, this Howard University graduate became the first Black woman to serve as Vice President of the United States.
Who is Kamala Harris?
In 2015, Viola Davis won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress for her role in this popular drama series.
What is How to Get Away with Murder?
She said, "Diva is a female version of a hustler."
Who is Beyoncé?
In 2019, this Houston rapper coined the phrase, "Hot Girl Summer," which quickly became a viral cultural slogan.
Who is Megan Thee Stallion?
Denied flight training in the United States, this pioneering aviator traveled to France in 1921 to become the first Black woman to earn her pilot's license.
Who is Bessie Coleman?
This Divine Nine organization was founded in 1908, making it the first historically Black Greek-Letter sorority.
What is Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated?
This Black actress portrayed mathematician and NASA scientist Katherine Johnson in the film Hidden Figures.
Who is Taraji P. Henson?
She said, "I'm rooting for everybody black."
Who is Issa Rae?
This Olympic gymnast became a cultural icon for her record-breaking medals and also for openly advocating for mental health among athletes.
Who is Simone Biles?
This NASA mathematician's calculations were so trusted that astronaut John Glenn asked engineers to have her personally verify that the computer's numbers before his 1962 orbital flight.
Who is Katherine Johnson?
In 1992, this physician and engineer made history as the first Black woman to travel to space while aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.
Who is Mae Jemison?
Known as the "Queen of Soul," this legendary singer recorded hits like "Respect" and "Think" and became on of the most influential voices in American music.
Who is Aretha Franklin?
She said, "If I could have convinced more slaves that they were slaves, I could have freed thousands more."
Who is Harriet Tubman?
This iconic daytime talk show host became a pop-culture meme machine thanks to viral moments such as "Clap if you've ever wanted to kill somebody."
Who is Wendy Williams?
Nine months before Rosa Parks, this 15 year old student refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus and was arrested.
Who is Claudette Colvin?
This actress made history as the first Black person to win an Oscar after winning for her role in Gone With the Wind.
Who is Hattie McDaniel?
This Black woman found success as a Vaudeville dancer, and later became a spy for the French resistance and one of the two women speakers before MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech.
Who is Josephine Baker?
She said, "If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair."
Who is Shirley Chisholm?
This entrepreneur transformed the beauty industry after launching her brand, which was praised for offering over 40 foundation shades.
Who is Rihanna?
Doctors studying this woman's cancer cells in 1951 discovered they could reproduce indefinitely in a lab, creating the famous HeLa cell line used in medical breakthroughs.
Who is Henrietta Lacks?
After publishing Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, this enslaved poet became the first Black woman in America to publish a book.
Who is Phillis Wheatley?
Actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg achieved EGOT status in 2002 after winning a Tony for producing this musical.
What is Thoroughly Modern Millie?
She said, "Let us not return to what is normal, but reach toward what is next."
Who is Amanda Gordon?
This Harlem Renaissance writer and anthropologist helped preserve Black Southern folklore in her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Who is Zora Neale Hurston?
This ophthalmologist invented the Laserphaco Probe, a device used to treat cataracts, and later founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness.
Who is Patricia Bath?