Famous Firsts
When asked, “How long have you been a black quarterback?” He supposedly replied, “I’ve been a quarterback since high school, and I’ve been black all my life.”
Doug Williams
"I'm young. I'm handsome. I'm fast. I can't possibly be beat."
Muhammad Ali
Case argued that African American students had been denied admittance to certain public schools based on laws allowing public education to be segregated by race
Brown v. Board of Education
In 1794, he founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), the first independent Black denomination in the United States
Richard Allen
The daughter of former slaves; one of the most important black educators, civil and women’s rights leaders and government officials of the twentieth century.
Mary McLeod Bethune
Former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, secretary of state and national security adviser
Colin Powell
“You get freedom by letting your enemy know that you'll do anything to get your freedom; then you'll get it. It's the only way you'll get it.”
Malcolm X
A case in which the Court held that state-mandated segregation laws did not violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Plessy v. Ferguson
A zone defense innovator who led Temple to 17 NCAA tournament appearances
John Chaney
Recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America in the Guinness Book of World
Madam C.J. Walker
The first president and principal developer of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, now Tuskegee University
Booker T. Washington
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Maya Angelou
In a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Fred Vinson, the Court held that standing alone, racially restrictive covenants do not violate the Fourteenth Amendment.
Shelley v. Kraemer
Civil rights activist who led the fight to integrate Girard College, president of the local NAACP, and member of Philadelphia's city council.
Cecil B. Moore
In 1956, she became the first African American to win a Grand Slam title
Althea Gibson
First African American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in literature
Toni Morrison
"If you hear dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there's shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going."
Harriet Tubman
Supreme Court case that struck down state laws banning interracial marriage in the United States.
Loving v. Virginia
Graduate of Penn’s architecture school, the first black graduate of the architecture school now known as the School of Design
Julian Fraces Abele
In her lifetime, she battled sexism, racism, and violence as a prominent journalist, activist, and researcher
Ida B. Wells
Born in Hawaii, this man became the fourth President repping Illinois
Barack Obama
"If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and charges our children's birthright."
Amanda Gorman
The U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, were not citizens of the United States
Scott v. Sanford
The fresh prince of bel-air
Will Smith
The first African American woman in Congress and the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president of the United States from one of the two major political parties
Shirley Chisholm