This blog is dedicated to my nephew, Kaden and my best friend’s daughter, Malia. I don’t have any children of my own yet but you both have inspired me to create a history of first for African-Americans in America. I gave you the book, “ABC’s for Boys/Girls Like Me,” because even though you know your ABC’s it is important to learn and know what the black men and women before you have accomplished so that in times like this you won’t be afraid of your blackness, you won’t disown yourself or your family because the world has, and instead you will believe in yourself, protect your loved ones, and be the best you can be every single day. I know you won’t be children forever and you’ll have to face society one day, I just want you to be prepared, be resilient, and be compassionate.
I love you both, my black prince and black princess. XXX – Titi B, Brittany.
Government, Law, Diplomacy & Military
- Officeholder in colonial America: Matthias de Souza (1641)
- State elected official: Alexander Lucius Twilight (1836)
- Admitted to the Bar: Macon B. Allen (1845)
- Municipal elected official: John Mercer Langston (1855)
- Commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy: Robert Smalls (1863)
- U.S. ambassador: Ebenezer D. Bassett (1869)
- State Supreme Court Justice: Jonathan Jasper Wright (1870)
- U.S. Representative: Joseph Rainey (1870)
- Woman admitted to the bar: Charlotte Ray (1872)
- West Point graduate: Lt. Henry O. Flipper (1877)
- Congressional Medal of Honor winner: Sgt. William H. Carney (1900)
- Person to run for the presidency: George Edwin Taylor (1904)
- Combat pilot: Eugene Jacques Bullard (1917)
- Woman legislator: Crystal Bird Fauset (1938)
- General: Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. (1940)
- Federal Judge: William Henry Hastie (1946)
- Nobel Peace Prize winner: Ralph J. Bunche (1950)
- Woman Head of Peace Corps: Carolyn L. Robertson Payton (1964)
- Woman U.S. ambassador: Patricia Harris (1965)
- Woman cabinet officer (1977)
- U.S Senator (elected) Edward Brooke (1966)
- U.S. cabinet member: Robert C. Weaver (1966)
- Woman federal judge: Constance Baker Motley (1966)
- Woman U.S. Representative: Shirley Chisholm (1969)
- U.S. Supreme Court Justice: Thurgood Marshall (1967)
- U.S. Representative to the UN: Andrew Young (1977)
- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Colin Powell (1989–1993)
- U.S. Secretary of State (2001)
- Woman U.S. Senator: Carol Moseley Braun (1992)
- President of the American Bar Association: Dennis Archer (2002)
- Woman Secretary of State: Condoleezza Rice (2005)
- Major party nominee for President: Sen. Barack Obama (2008)
- U.S. President (2009-2016)
- Woman U.S. Attorney General: Loretta E. Lynch (2015)
Science, Medicine, & Scholarship
- Patent holder: Thomas L. Jennings (1821)
- Graduate of an Ivy League School: Theodore Sedgwick Wright (1828)
- Hospital dedicated to black patient care: The Georgia Infirmary (1832)
- M.D. degree: James McCune Smith (1837)
- M.D. degree from a U.S. Medical School: David Jones Peck (1847)
- College professor: Charles Lewis Reason (1849)
- College president: Daniel A. Payne (1856)
- Non-white public high school: Paul Laurence Dunbar High (1870)
- Ph.D.: Edward A. Bouchet (1876)
- Black-owned hospital: Provident Hospital founded by Daniel Hale Williams (1891)
- Heart surgery pioneer (1893)
- Member of the National Academy of Sciences: David Harold Blackwell (1965)
- Astronaut: Robert H. Lawrence, Jr. (1967)
- Implantation of heart defibrillator: Levi Watkins, Jr. (1980)
- Astronaut to travel in space: Guion Bluford (1983)
- Head of the National Science Foundation: Walter E. Massey (1990)
- President of the American Medical Association: Lonnie Bristow (1995)
- Space Shuttle Commander: Frederick D. Gregory (1998)
- Ivy League University president: Ruth Simmons (2001)
Art & Literature, Print Media, Music & Dance
- Poet: Lucy Terry (1746)
- Published autobiography: Briton Hammon (1760)
- Poet (published): Phillis Wheatley (1773)
- Recognized artist: Joshua Johnston (1790)
- Published musical composition: Francis Johnson (1817)
- Theatrical company: The African Company (1821)
- Newspaper: Freedom’s Journal (1827)
- Nationally recognized dance performer: William Henry Lane “Master Juba” (1845)
- Male Novelist: William Wells Brown (1853)
- Woman novelist: Harriet Wilson (1859)
- Daily newspaper: New Orleans Tribune (1864)
- Recognized photographer: James Conway Farley (1885)
- Mass Circulation Magazine: Ebony (1945)
- Pulitzer prize winner: Gwendolyn Brooks (1950)
- Member of the Metropolitan Opera Company: Marian Anderson (1955)
- Male Grammy Award winner: Count Basie (1958)
- Woman Grammy Award winner: Ella Fitzgerald (1958)
- Nobel Prize for Literature Winner: Toni Morrison (1993)
Film, Theater, Radio & Television
- First African American film company: Lincoln Motion Picture Company (1916)
- Film director: Oscar Micheaux (1919)
- Radio broadcaster: Jack L. Cooper (1925)
- First Oscar winner: Hattie McDaniel (1940)
- Black-owned radio station: WERD, purchased by Jesse B. Blayton, Sr. (1949)
- Tony Award Winner: Juanita Hall (1950)
- Network television show host: Nat King Cole (1956)
- Network news correspondent: Malvin Goode (1962)
- Oscar, Best Actor: Sidney Poitier (1963)
- Star of a network television show: Bill Cosby (1965)
- Director for a major Hollywood studio: Gordon Parks (1969)
- Black-owned television station: WGPR-TV (1975)
- First Evening New Anchor: Max Robinson (1978)
- Woman television show host: Oprah Winfrey (1986)
- Oscar, Best Actress: Halle Berry (2001)
- First President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: Cheryl Boone Isaacs (2013)
Competitive Athletics
- Jockey to Win Kentucky Derby: Oliver Lewis (1875)
- Professional baseball player: Moses Fleetwood “Fleet” Walker (1884)
- Professional Golfer: John Matthew Shippen, Jr. (1896)
- World cycling champion: Marshall W. “Major” Taylor (1899)
- Olympic medalist (Summer games): George Poage (1904)
- Olympic gold medalist (Summer games): John Baxter “Doc” Taylor (1908)
- World Heavyweight boxing champion: Jack Johnson (1908)
- NFL football coach: Fritz Pollard (1922–1937)
- Professional Race Car Driver: Dewey Gatson “Rajo Jack De Soto” (1923)
- Major league baseball player: Jackie Robinson (1947)
- NFL quarterback: Willie Thrower (1953)
- Wimbledon tennis champion: Althea Gibson (1957)
- NHL hockey player: Willie O’Ree [Boston Bruins] (1958)
- NASCAR stock car driver to win a major race: Wendell Oliver Scott (1963)
- Professional Bowlers Association Champion: George Branham III (1985)
- Olympic medalist (Winter games): Debi Thomas (1988)
- Golf champion: Tiger Woods (1997)
- Chess Grandmaster: Maurice Ashley (1999)
Entrepreneurship & Finance
- Landowners: Anthony and Mary Johnson (1640)
- Black-owned insurance company: The African Insurance Company (1810)
- Black Labor Union: American League of Colored Laborers (1850)
- Black-owned Bank: True Reformers Bank (1889)
- Black-owned resort: Highland Beach, Maryland (1893)
- Millionaire: Robert Abbott, founder of the Chicago Defender (1905)
- Automobile manufacturing company: C.R. Patterson & Sons (1915)
- Record Company: Black Swan Records (1921)
- Black-owned Youth Camp: Camp Atwater (1921)
- Black-owned metropolitan newspaper: Robert Maynard and the Oakland Tribune (1983)
- Billionaire: Robert Johnson (2001)
Further Firsts
- Explorer, North Pole: Matthew Henson (1909)
- Licensed Pilot: Bessie Coleman (1921)
- Explorer, South Pole: George Gibbs (1939–1941)
- First Secret Service Agent: Charles LeRoy Gittens (1956)
- Pilot for commercial airline: Perry Young, Jr. (1957)
- Flight Attendant: Ruth Carol Taylor (1958)
- President of Girl Scouts, USA: Gloria Dean Randle Scott (1975)
- Miss America: Vanessa Williams (1984)
- Sail solo around the world: William Pinkney (1990-1992)
- President of the National Parent-Teacher Association: Lois Jean White (1995)
- Flight around the world: Barrington Irving (2007)