Did You Know They Were Black?
He began his career as a sewing-machine mechanic. He went on to patent several inventions, including an improved sewing machine and 3 light traffic signal, a hair-straightening product, and a respiratory device that would later provide the blueprint for WWI gas masks.
Garrett Morgan
Nat Turner
B.B. King
They are two of the most prominent African-American female tennis players since Althea Gibson. Participating in a sport that has traditionally been dominated by whites, they have been ranked among the top players in the world of tennis and they have introduced a style of play that combines power and grace in a way never before witnessed in professional women's tennis. Both of whom were coached from an early age by their parents Richard Williams and Oracene Price.
The Clark Sisters
The Mowry Sisters
The Williams Sisters
Best-known for winning the 1940 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress as “Mammy” in “Gone with the Wind.”
Cardi B
Hattie McDaniel
Jonae Monae
The first Black senator of the United States. He was first ordained as a minster of an African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1845.
Richard Bo Burkes
Hiram Rhodes Revels
Willard Carroll Smith
Who am I?
He developed ways to improve soils so it would help the farms repeat crops alternating cotton, sweet potatoes, peanuts, soybeans, and cowpeas. Most people call him the Peanut man.
Many people believe that Martin Luther King Jr was the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize, but that isn’t true. That honor goes to this man. He was valedictorian of his class in both high school and college and went on to earn a doctorate in political science at Harvard University. He was a key participant in drafting and adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights alongside Eleanor Roosevelt.
Ralph Bunche
Michael Jackson
Snoop Dogg
In 1996 She became the first african american player to sign with the WNBA, with the league debuting a year later.
Sheryl Swoopes
Beyonce Knowles
Michelle Obama
He created a singing-rapping hybrid style that he calls "Hard&B" in order to stand out in the hip-hop scene. He wasn't the actual creator of Auto-Tunes but he made it his.
Kanye West
T-Pain
Dr. Dre
He is a South Carolina native called to serve the Confederate Army during the Civil War. In 1862, he fled the United States with his wife and went to Bermuda, where the couple accumulated a notable amount of wealth. When he returned to the U.S. years later, Rainey utilized his new status to become an active participant in the Republican Party. He won a seat in the North Carolina state senate in 1870 and went on to become the first Black person to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Joseph Rainey
Paul George
Rick Ross
1868 – March 9, 1927 she was a physician and teacher who devoted over 25 years of her life to servicing the Black community of Washington D.C. She was the first African-American woman to receive a wartime medical commission when she joined the Red Cross in 1918 during World War I. Brown graduated from the Howard University College of Medicine.
Mary Louise Brown
Fantasia Barrino
Oprah Winfrey
The oldest Black female Greek-letter organization, was founded at Howard University in 1908. Also the first Black male Greek-letter organization, was founded in 1906 at Cornell University. Who are we?
A) Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, (A.K.A.) Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, (Alpha)
B) Beta Sigma Phi Sorority, Beta Sigma Phi Fraternity
C) Kappa Alpha Psi Sorority, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity
On Oct. 31, 1950, He became the first African-American to play in an NBA game.
Earl Lloyd
Michael Jordan
Allen Iverson
He was born April 8, 1946. He is the co-founder of BET, which was acquired by Viacom in 2001.[2][3] He is a former majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. He became the first African-American billionaire in 2001.
Robert Louis Johnson
Malcom X
Martin L. King
Dec. 1, 1955 She was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus to a white passenger. Her conviction sparked the Montgomery bus boycott, which the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr helped organize.
Rosa Parks
Fannie Lou Hamer
June Smith
In September 1983, the beauty pageant world changed forever as she became the first African-American woman, was crowned Miss America on national television.
Vanessa L. Williams
Vivian Banks
Jackie Kearse
He grew up in Corinth, Vermont during the turn of the 18th century. He worked on a neighbor's farm while learning to read and write. He was able to finally put himself through school at Randolph’s Orange County Grammar School at the age of 20. Six years later he transferred as a junior to Vermont's Middlebury College, where he graduated from in 1823, becoming the first Black person to earn a bachelor's degree from a U.S. college.
Alexander Twilight
Bobby Jones
Nelson Mendela
He was born on November 3, 1987. He was a former quarterback, playing six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL. In 2016, he took a knee during the national anthem at the start of NFL games in protest of police brutality and racial inequality in the United States.
Cam Newton
Michael Vick
Colin Kaepernick
I am a Grammy-winning Queen of Soul and the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I was born in Memphis, Tennessee.
Mary J Blige
Aretha Franklin
Lauren Hill
He is the First African American Supreme Court Justice. On June 13, 1967, he became the first African American justice to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.
Joe Brown
Thurgood Marshall
Steve Harvey
I was a dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who breathed life into one of the most prominent dance companies across the globe. He also created a School, which not only served as a haven for up-and-coming Black artists, but showcased the African-American experience through dance. Bringing together ballet, jazz, modern dance, and theater, hopeful choreography was performed across the world, spreading awareness of Black life in America.
Alvin Ailey
Horacia Burks
Martha Watkins
She found a way to shine bright on the night of the 74th Annual Academy Awards. Nabbing the Best Actress award for her role in 2001’s ‘Monster Ball’, the timeless actress made history as the first Black woman to win the award. Fifteen years later, she’s still the only Black woman to hold the title.
Shelia Atim
Halle Berry
Mahalia Jackson
Who am I?
Although Jackie Robinson is widely recognized as the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues, He is acknowledged by historians at the National Baseball Hall of Fame to actually be the first, six decades before Robinson suited up for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.
Moses “Fleet” Fleetwood Walker
She was an actress and singer. She got her start in the 1920s singing blues, it was her 1962 Emmy nomination that helped her make history. Along with becoming the first Black woman to ever be nominated for the award, contrary to popular belief she became the first African-American to star in her own television show, in 1939.
Ethel Waters
Tyra Banks
Wendy Williams
Who am I?
He was an African-American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American Secretary of State.
Colin Powell
Who am I?
The first Black woman millionaire in America and made her fortune thanks to her homemade line of hair care products for Black women. She was inspired to create her hair products after an experience with hair loss.