Famous Firsts
The 1st African American woman to travel space.
Mae Jemison
1992)
The inventor of the blood bank.
Dr. Charles Drew
BCC
Bethune Cookman College
(now BCU)
Toni, Maya, Lynn, and Joan
Girlfriends
Known for her energy and ability to sing multiple genres, her impact on the music genre is unsurpassed. She is known for such songs as ‘Natural Woman’ and ‘Think’.
Aretha Franklin
The Queen of Soul!
The 1st African American world heavyweight boxing champion.
Jack Johnson
(1908-1915)
Most significant invention was the refrigeration machine, a medical revolution which aided in the transportation of medicine, food and blood during the second world war.
Frederick Jones
NUL
National Urban League
It follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
Boyz N’ the Hood
An American singer-songwriter, rapper, actress, and producer. Her first debut album featured the hit single "Ladies First".
Queen Latifah
The 1st African American honored on a US Postal Stamp.
Booker T Washington
(1940)
The inventor of the Laserphaco Probe, which improved treatment for cataract patients.
Dr.Patricia Bath
(1986)
BPP
Black Panther Party
A significant number of African American youth have cited this as a source of inspiration for their decision to attend a historically Black college.
A Different World
Debuting as the lead singer of one of the best charting female groups in history, with number one hits, such as Baby Love", "Come See About Me", and "Love Child".
Diana Ross
The 1st African American woman National Security Advisor and Secretary of State of the United States.
Condoleezza Rice
(2005)
A computer scientist and engineer, he is credited with helping develop a number of landmark technologies for IBM, including the color PC monitor, the Industry Standard Architecture system bus (a device that allows disk drives, printers, and monitors to be plugged directly into the computer) and the first gigahertz chip (1999).
Mark Dean
CORE
Congress of Racial Equality
A black Southern woman struggles to find her identity after suffering abuse from her father and others over four decades.
The Color Purple
(1985)
Known as the ‘First Lady of Song’ and her incredible scat-singing. She was a significant contributor to the Jazz genre with hits that included “Summertime.”
Ella Fitzgerald
The 1st Black-owned and operated hospital in America, Provident Hospital and Training School for Nurses, was founded in 1891 by another famous first.
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
An African American inventor, physicist, engineer and space scientist, he perfected a compact and very powerful ultraviolet camera/spectrograph for NASA to use when it launched Apollo 16 in 1972 among other inventions. He was inducted into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame in 2003.
George Robert Carruthers
SNCC
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee
A Cool black private eye is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
Shaft
(1971)
“First base? You ain’t got what it takes. You smile, you wink, you big fake flake. You’re so pathetic you make my stomach turn. You beg, you borrow, now you have to learn.”
MC Lyte – Lyte As a Rock