Sports & Entertainment
Willie O'Ree, the First Black Hockey Player to Play in the NHL
The NHL (National Hockey League) was founded in 1917 and is currently made up of 24 …
Sports & Entertainment
Alice Coachman, the First Black Woman to Win an Olympic Gold Medal
Alice Coachman was a trailblazer for Black women in the world of sports. In 1948, sh…
Sports & Entertainment
Stepin Fetchit, Hollywood's First Black Movie Star
It was the 1930s and film had grown to new heights. However, one of the peaks in fil…
Sports & Entertainment
Garrett Morris Was the First Black Cast Member on 'Saturday Night Live’
After premiering in 1975, Saturday Night Live grew exponentially to become one of T…
Health & Science
Rebecca Lee Crumpler, the First Black Woman in America to Become a Medical Doctor
Today, health workers have become some of the most important laborers around the wor…
Technology
Thomas L. Jennings Was the First African American to Ever Hold a Patent
In 1821, Thomas L. Jennings, an African American from New York City, became the firs…
Music & Arts
Sam Cooke Was the First African American Pop Singer to Have His Own Record Label
Sam Cooke, commonly known as the King of Soul, has been influential to the world of …
Black Men Built the Capitol
It was the mid-1850s and the U.S. capitol was under construction, with plans for a n…
Education & Politics
Jane Bolin: America’s First Black Female Judge
After graduating from Wellesley College as a top student in 1928, Jane Bolin went on…
Education & Politics
Meet America's First Ever Black Female Senator
Carol Moseley Braun was born on August 16, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois. From an early…
History & Exploration
The Slave That Packed Himself in a Box and Mailed Himself to Freedom
Henry "Box" Brown was born in 1815 as a slave in Louisa County, Virginia. …
Business & Inventions
The Original Black Barbie Doll Debuted in 1980
Mattel, one of the largest manufacturers of toys in the country, released the origin…
