Firsts in Black History
This was the year the first Africans were brought to America as slaves
What is 1619?
"Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise."
Who is Maya Angelou?
At the age of 25, this future US Congressman led over 600 marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama during the 1965 Selmea Voting Rights Campaign.
Who is John Lewis?
Gaining a wide readership during his time at The Atlantic, this author and journalist is best known for his article "The Case for Reporations" and his non-fiction book Between The World And Me
Who is Ta-Nehisi Coates?
Argued by many to be the best basketball player of all-time, this Los Angeles Lakers superstar has used his platform to speak out on social and political issues.
Who is Lebron James?
This educator, born into slavery, was the first Black person to have their likeness portrayed on a U.S. postage stamp.
Who is Booker T. Washington?
"If there is no struggle, there is no progress."
Who is Frederick Douglass?
With a combined total of 30 Olympic and World Championship medals, this woman is the most decorated gymnast in American history.
Who is Simone Biles?
This acclaimed author, known for her works Sula and The Bluest Eye became the first Black foman to win the Nobel Peace Prize for literature.
Who is Toni Morrison?
Who is Nipsey Hussle?
The world's first self-made female millionaire, this Black woman made her fortune by developing and marketing a line of cosmetics and hair care products for Black women.
Who is Madam C.J. Walker?
"You're not to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it."
Who is Malcolm X?
This activist came to prominence in Chicago as chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. He was killed at the age of 21 during a raid orchestread by the Chicago Police Department and the FBI.
Who is Fred Hampton?
Winner of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel The Color Purple, this author coined the term womanist, to mean "A Black feminist or feminist of color".
Who is Alice Walker?
On February 1st 2021, she became the first Black executive to lead a major television news network when she took over as President of MSNBC.
Who is Rashida Jones?
Founded as the African Institute in 1837, it is the oldest historically black college or univiersity (HBCU).
What is Cheyney University of Pennsylvania?
Who is W.E.B. DuBois?
The youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, this award winning writer and Harvard graduate also recited an original poem during Super Bowl LV.
Who is Amanda Gorman?
Despite spending much of her life enslaved, she was the first Black (and second woman ever) to publish a book of poems.
Who is Phillis Wheatley?
35-year-old viral immunologist and research fellow in the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, is the lead scientist on the team that developed this vaccine?
What is the COVID-19 (Moderna) vaccine?
Due to the fact that no American university was willing to admit him, this man was forced to travel to Scotland to earn his dcotorate degree from the University of Glasgow. He became the first African American to hold a medical degree and the first African American to run a pharmacy.
Who is James McCune Smith?
“We should emphasize not Negro History, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice."
Who is Carter G Woodson?
After winning election in 2018, she became the youngest Black woman to serve in Congress.
Who is Rep. Lauren Underwood?
Author of Notes of a Native Son, this American novelist, essayist and activist explored the intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions of the US and Europe.
Who is James Baldwin?
This woman will become the only Black woman currently serving as a Fortune 500 CEO, and just the third Black woman to lead a Fortune 500 firm in history, when she starts as CEO of Walgreen's at the end of February.
Who is Rosalind Brewer?