Famous Firsts
This African-American child was the first to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis in 1960.She is also the the subject of a 1964 painting, "The Problem We All Live With, by Norman Rockwell.
Dubbed as the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century and one of the greatest entertainers of all time
Who is Michael Jackson?
This man heralded the end of racial segregation in professional Baseball when the Dodgers signed him in 1947.
Who is Jackie Robinson?
He was the second African American inventor to receive a patent. His first invention (1834) was the Seed-Planter, which allowed farmers to plant more corn using less labor in a smaller amount of time. In 1836 he obtained a second patent for a cotton planter. This invention worked by splitting the ground with two shovel-like blades which were pulled along by a horse. A wheel-driven cylinder followed behind which dropped the seed into the newly plowed ground.
Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson whose lives were depicted in the movie "Hidden Figures" were mathematicians considered 'human computers' for this agency
What is NASA?
He was the first African-American performer to host a variety TV series in 1956.
Nat King Cole
She was an American jazz singer sometimes referred to as the First Lady of Song, and the Queen of Jazz,. She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.
Who is Ella Fitzgerald?
He was the 44th Commander of Chief of the US Military
Who is President Barack Obama?
Often regarded as one of the most famous black inventors ever. He has been credited for 50 inventions over the span of his career.
In an effort to improve efficiency and eliminate the frequent stopping necessary for lubrication of trains, He devised a method of automating the task. In 1872 he developed a “lubricating cup” that could automatically drip oil when and where needed — vital in avoiding sticking to the track. It was so popular that when other inventors attempted to steal his idea and sell their own versions of the device, companies were not fooled. They insisted on the authentic device, calling it “the Real McCoy.”
Who is Elijah McCoy?
This is the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution
What is the amendment that abolished slavery
In 1940 she became the first African American to win an Oscar award
Who is Hattie McDaniel?
This member of the "Rat Pack" lost his eye in a car accident at the age of 29. He starred in Golden boy and even had his own t.v variety show. He had a hit record with "The Candy Man" in 1972 and became a star in Las Vegas, earning him the nickname "Mister Show Business".
Who is Sammy Davis Jr?
Known as the "Moses of her People" she was born a slave of purely African ancestry. She escaped freedom and risked her life to save over 300 slaves including her parents in 19 separate freedom trips on the Underground Railroad
Who is Harriet Tubman?
He was a physician, surgeon, and medical researcher who worked with a team at Red Cross on groundbreaking discoveries around blood transfusions. In World War II, he played a major role in developing the first large-scale blood banks and blood plasma programs.He also invented the bloodmobiles. These are the refrigerated trucks that, to this day, safely transport stored blood to the location where it is needed most.
Who is Charles Drew?
The case of an African american woman and a white man, who had been sentenced to a year in prison in Virginia for marrying each other. Their marriage violated the state's anti-miscegenation statute, the Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which prohibited marriage between people classified as "white" and people classified as "colored". In 1967 The Supreme Court's unanimous decision determined that this prohibition was unconstitutional, overruling Pace v. Alabama (1883) and ending all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States
What is Loving V. Virginia?
Chuck Cooper, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton and Earl Lloyd, became the first African-American players to play in what sport in 1950?
What is the NBA?
She was born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a teenage single mother. She later moved to Tennessee to live with her father. She landed a job in radio while still in high school. By 19, she was a co-anchor for the local evening news. She got her own talk show and launched her own production company and Network by the age of 32.
This famous athlete antagonized the white establishment by refusing to be drafted into the U.S. military, citing his religious beliefs, and opposition to American involvement in the Vietnam War. He was arrested, found guilty of draft evasion charges, and stripped of his titles. He successfully appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned his conviction in 1971.
Born into Slavery in Missouri, he received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in botany at Iowa State Agricultural College. He used the peanut to create more than 300 products, ranging from laundry soaps to plastics and diesel fuel. By 1940 it was the South's second-largest cash crop.
Who was George Washington Carver?
These African Americans were military pilots (fighter and bomber) who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces. The name also applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks and other support personnel.
This man was the first African-American to vote in an election under the just-enacted provisions of the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution. His vote was cast on March 31, 1870.
Who is Thomas Mundy Peterson?
He was a singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950's by combining blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles into the music he recorded for Atlantic. He was often referred to as "The Genius".
At the March on Washington in 1963, her powerful contralto voice was heard before Dr. King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. She was known as The Queen of Gospel
Who is Mahalia Jackson?
He is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Since 1996, he has been the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City. The center is part of the American Museum of Natural History, where he founded the Department of Astrophysics in 1997 and has been a research associate in the department since 2003
Who is Neil deGrasse Tyson?
A civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as a bi-racial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans. It's mission in the 21st century is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination."
What is The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)?