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African Americans (also known as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group in the United States. The first achievements by African Americans in various fields historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural change. The shorthand phrase for this is "breaking the color barrier".^[1]^[2]

One commonly cited example is that of Jackie Robinson, who was the first African American of the modern era to become a Major League Baseball player, ending 60 years of segregated Negro Leagues.^[3]

Contents

17th century: 1670s
18th century: 1730s–1770s • 1780s–1790s
19th century: 1800s • 1810s • 1820s • 1830s • 1840s • 1850s • 1860s • 1870s • 1880s • 1890s
20th century: 1900s • 1910s • 1920s • 1930s • 1940s • 1950s • 1960s • 1970s • 1980s • 1990s
21st century: 2000s • 2010s
See also • Notes • References • External links

17th century

1670s

1670

First free African-American woman to own land in Boston: Zipporah Potter Atkins

18th century

1730s–1770s

1738

First free African-American community: Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose (later named Fort Mose) in Florida

1760

First known African-American published author: Jupiter Hammon (poem "An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries", published as a broadside)^[4]

1768

First known African American to be elected to public office: Wentworth Cheswell, town constable in Newmarket, New Hampshire.^[5]

1773

First known African-American woman to publish a book: Phillis Wheatley (Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral)^[6]

First separate African-American church: Silver Bluff Baptist Church, Aiken County, South Carolina^[7]^[8]^{[Note 1]}

1775

First African American to join the Freemasons: Prince Hall

1778

First African-American U.S. military regiment: the 1st Rhode Island Regiment^[9]

1780s–1790s

Lemuel Haynes

1783

First African American to formally practice medicine: James Derham, who did not hold an M.D. degree.^[10] (See also 1847 firsts.)

1785

First African American ordained as a Christian minister in the United States: Rev. Lemuel Haynes. He was ordained in the Congregational Church, which became the United Church of Christ ^[11]

1792

First major African-American Back-to-Africa movement: 3,000 Black Loyalist slaves, who had escaped to British lines during the American Revolutionary War for the promise of freedom, were relocated to Nova Scotia and given land. Later, 1,200 chose to migrate to West Africa and settle in the new British colony of Settler Town, which is present-day Sierra Leone.

1793

First African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church founded: Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was founded by Richard Allen

1794

First African Episcopal Church established: Absalom Jones founded African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

19th century

1800s

1804

First African American ordained as an Episcopal priest: Absalom Jones in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania^[12]

1807

First African American Presbyterian Church in America: First African Presbyterian Church founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by John Gloucester a former slave.

1810s

1816

First fully independent African-American denomination: African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and mid-Atlantic states

1820s

1821

First African American to hold a patent: Thomas L. Jennings, for a dry-cleaning process^[13]

1822

First African-American captain to sail a whaleship with an all-black crew: Absalom Boston^[14]

1823

First African American to receive a degree from an American college: Alexander Twilight, Middlebury College^[15] (See also: 1836)

1827

First African-American owned-and-operated newspaper: Freedom's Journal, founded in New York City by Rev. Peter Williams Jr. and other free blacks.

1830s

1836

First African American elected to serve in a state legislature: Alexander Twilight, Vermont^[15] (See also: 1823)

1837

First formally trained African-American medical doctor: Dr James McCune Smith of New York City, who was educated at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and returned to practice in New York.^[16] (See also: 1783, 1847)

1840s

1845

First African American licensed to practice law: Macon Allen from the Boston bar^[17]

1847

First African American to graduate from a US medical school: Dr. David J. Peck^[18] (Rush Medical College) (See also: 1783, 1837)

First African-American president of any nation: Joseph Jenkins Roberts, Liberia^[19]

1849

First African-American college professor at a predominantly white institution: Charles L. Reason, New York Central College^[20]

1850s

Patrick Francis Healy

William Wells Brown

Daniel Alexander Payne

Martin R. Delany

John Stewart Rock

Cathay Williams

Ebenezer Bassett

Fanny Jackson Coppin

Mary Eliza Mahoney

Michael A. Healy

Blanche K. Bruce

Moses Fleetwood Walker

Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones

William H. Lewis

W.E.B. Du Bois

Mary Fields

Augustine Tolton

1851

First African-American member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits): Patrick Francis Healy^[21] (See also: 1866, 1874)

1853

First novel published by an African American: Clotel; or, The President's Daughter, by William Wells Brown, then living in London.^{[Note 2]}^[22]^[23]

1854

First African-American Roman Catholic priest: James Augustine Healy^[24] (see 1875 and 1886)

First institute of higher learning created to educate African Americans: Ashmun Institute in Pennsylvania, renamed Lincoln University in 1866. (See also firsts in 1863)

1858

First published play by an African American: The Escape; or, A Leap for Freedom by William Wells Brown^[25]

First African-American woman college instructor: Sarah Jane Woodson Early, Wilberforce College^[26]

1860s

1861

First North American military unit with African-American officers: 1st Louisiana Native Guard of the Confederate Army

First African-American US federal government civil servant: William Cooper Nell^[27]

1862

First African-American woman to earn a B.A.: Mary Jane Patterson, Oberlin College^[28]

First recognized U.S. Army African-American combat unit: 1st South Carolina Volunteers

1863

First college owned and operated by African Americans: Wilberforce University in Ohio^[29]^{[Note 3]} (See also: 1854)

First African-American president of a college: Bishop Daniel Payne (Wilberforce University)^[30]

1864

First African-American woman in the United States to earn an M.D.: Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler^[31]

1865

First African-American field officer in the U.S. Army: Martin Delany^[32]

First African-American attorney admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court: John Stewart Rock^[33]

First African American to be commissioned as captain in the Regular U.S. Army: Orindatus Simon Bolivar Wall, known as OSB Wall^[34]

1866

First African American to earn a Ph.D.: Father Patrick Francis Healy from University of Leuven, Belgium^[21] (See also 1851, 1874)

First African-American woman enlistee in the U.S. Army: Cathay Williams^[35]

First African-American woman to serve as a professor: Sarah Jane Woodson Early; Xenia, Ohio's Wilberforce University hired her to teach Latin and English

1868

First elected African-American Lieutenant Governor: Oscar Dunn (Louisiana).^[36]

First African-American mayor: Pierre Caliste Landry, Donaldsonville, Louisiana^[37]

First African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives: John Willis Menard.^[38] His opponent contested his election, and opposition to his election prevented him from being seated in Congress. (See also: 1870)

1869

First African-American U.S. diplomat: Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett, minister to Haiti^[39]

First African-American woman school principal: Fanny Jackson Coppin (Institute for Colored Youth)^[40]

1870s

1870

First African American to vote in an election under the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting voting rights regardless of race: Thomas Mundy Peterson^[41]

First African American to graduate from Harvard College: Richard Theodore Greener.^[42]

First African American elected to the U.S. Senate, and first to serve in the U.S. Congress: Hiram Rhodes Revels (R–MS).^[43]^{[Note 4]}

First African American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives: Joseph Rainey (R-SC).^[44]^{[Note 5]}

1872

First African-American midshipman admitted to the United States Naval Academy: John H. Conyers (nominated by Robert B. Elliott of South Carolina).^[45]

First African-American governor (non-elected): P. B. S. Pinchback of Louisiana (See also: Douglas Wilder, 1990)^[46]

First African-American nominee for Vice President of the United States: Frederick Douglass by the Equal Rights Party.^[47]^{[Note 6]}

1874

First African-American president of a major college/university: Father Patrick Francis Healy, S.J. of Georgetown College.^[21] (See also: 1851, 1863, 1866)

First African American to preside over the House of Representatives as Speaker pro tempore: Joseph Rainey^[48]

1875

First African-American Roman Catholic bishop: Bishop James Augustine Healy, of Portland, Maine.^[24] (See also: 1854)

1876

First African American to earn a doctorate degree from an American university: Edward Alexander Bouchet (Yale College Ph.D., physics; also first African American to graduate from Yale, 1874)^[49] (See also: 1866)

1877

First African-American graduate of West Point and first African-American commissioned officer in the U.S. military: Henry Ossian Flipper.^[50]

1878

First African-American police officer in Boston, Massachusetts: Sergeant Horatio Julius Homer.^[51]

First African-American baseball player in organized professional baseball: John W. "Bud" Fowler.^[52]

1879

First African American to graduate from a formal nursing school: Mary Eliza Mahoney, Boston, Massachusetts.^[53]

1880s

1880

First African American to command a U.S. ship: Captain Michael Healy.^[54]

1881

First African American whose signature appeared on U.S. paper currency: Blanche K. Bruce, Register of the Treasury.^[55]

1882

First fully state-supported four-year institution of higher learning for African-Americans: Virginia State University

1883

First known African-American woman to graduate from one of the Seven Sisters colleges: Hortense Parker (Mount Holyoke College)^[56]^{[Note 7]}

1884

First African American to play professional baseball at the major-league level: Moses Fleetwood Walker.^[57] (See also: Jackie Robinson, 1947)

First African-American woman to hold a patent: Judy W. Reed, for an improved dough kneader, Washington, D.C.^[58]^{[Note 8]}

First African American to enlist in the U.S. Signal Corps: William Hallett Greene^[59]^[60]

First African American to chair a political party's National Convention: John R. Lynch, Republican National Convention.^[61]

First African American to deliver a keynote address at a political party's National Convention: John R. Lynch, Republican National Convention.^[61]

1886

First African-American Roman Catholic priest publicly known at the time to be African-American: Augustine Tolton, Quincy and Chicago, Illinois^[62] (See also: 1854)

1890s

1890

First African American to record a best selling phonograph record: George Washington Johnson, "The Laughing Song" and "The Whistling Coon."^[63]

1891

First African-American police officer in present-day New York City: Wiley Overton, hired by the Brooklyn Police Department prior to 1898 incorporation of the five boroughs into the City of New York.^[64] (See also: Samuel J. Battle, 1911)

1892

First African American to sing at Carnegie Hall: Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones^[65]

First African American named to a College Football All-America Team: William H. Lewis, Harvard University^[66]

1895

First African-American woman to work for the United States Postal Service: Mary Fields^[67]

1897

1898

First African American appointed to serve as U.S. Army Paymaster: Richard R. Wright

1899

First African American to achieve world championship in any sport: Major Taylor, for 1-mile track cycling^[68]

20th century

1900s

1901

First African American invited to dine at the White House: Booker T. Washington^[69]

1902

First African-American professional basketball player: Harry Lew (New England Professional Basketball League)^[70] (See also: 1950)

First African-American boxing champion, Joe Gans a lightweight

1903

First Broadway musical written by African Americans, and the first to star African Americans: In Dahomey

First African-American woman to found and become president of a bank: Maggie L. Walker, St. Luke Penny Savings Bank (since 1930 the Consolidated Bank & Trust Company), Richmond, Virginia^[71]

1904

First Greek-letter fraternal organization established by African Americans: Sigma Pi Phi

First African American to participate in the Olympic Games, and first to win a medal: George Poage (two bronze medals)^[72]

1906

First intercollegiate Greek-letter organization established by African Americans: Alpha Phi Alpha (ΑΦΑ), at Cornell University

1907

First African-American Greek Orthodox priest and missionary in America: Very Rev. Fr. Robert Josias Morgan^[73]

1908

First African-American heavyweight boxing champion: Jack Johnson^[74]

First African-American Olympic gold medal winner: John Taylor (track and field medley relay team).^[75] (See also: DeHart Hubbard, 1924)

First intercollegiate Greek-letter sorority established by African Americans: Alpha Kappa Alpha (ΑΚΑ) at Howard University

1910s

1910

First African-American woman millionaire: Madam C. J. Walker^[76]

1911

First intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established by African Americans at a historically black college: Omega Psi Phi (ΩΨΦ), at Howard University

First African-American police officer in New York City: Samuel J. Battle, following the 1898 incorporation of the five boroughs into the City of New York, and the hiring of three African-American officers in the Brooklyn Police Department. Battle was also the NYPD's first African-American sergeant (1926), lieutenant (1935), and parole commissioner (1941).^[64] (See also: Wiley Overton, 1891)

First African-American attorney admitted to the American Bar Association: Butler R. Wilson (June 1911), William Henry Lewis (August 1911), and William R. Morris (October 1911)^[77]^[78]

1914

First African-American military pilot: Eugene Jacques Bullard

1915

First African-American alderman of Chicago: Oscar Stanton De Priest^[79]

1916

First African American to play in a Rose Bowl game: Fritz Pollard, Brown University^[80]

First African American to become a colonel in the U.S. Army: Charles Young^[81]^[82]

1917

First African-American woman to win a major sports title: Lucy Diggs Slowe, American Tennis Association^[83]

1919

First African-American special agent for the FBI: James Wormley Jones^[84]^[85]

First African-American women appointed as police officers: Cora I. Parchment at the New York Police Department (NYPD)^[86] and Georgia Ann Robinson, by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)^[87]

1920s

1920

First African-American NFL football players: Fritz Pollard (Akron Pros) and Bobby Marshall (Rock Island Independents)^[88]

First African-American bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church: Robert Elijah Jones and Matthew Wesley Clair.^[89]

1921

First African-American woman to become an aviation pilot, first American to hold an international pilot license: Bessie Coleman^[90]

First African-American NFL football coach: Fritz Pollard, co-head coach, Akron Pros, while continuing to play running back^[88]

First African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in the U.S.: Sadie Tanner Mossell, Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania^[91]

1924

First African American to win individual Olympic gold medal: DeHart Hubbard (long jump, 1924 Summer Olympics).^[92] (See also: John Taylor, 1908)

1925

First African-American Foreign Service Officer: Clifton R. Wharton Sr.^[93]

1927

First African American to become an officer in the New York Fire Department in New York City: Wesley Augustus Williams.^[94]

First African American to star in an international motion picture: Josephine Baker in La Sirène des tropiques.^[95]

1928

First post-Reconstruction African American elected to U.S. House of Representatives: Oscar Stanton De Priest (Republican; Illinois)^[96]

First African-American woman to serve in a state legislature: Minnie Buckingham Harper, West Virginia^[97]

1929

First African-American sportscaster: Sherman "Jocko" Maxwell (WNJR, Newark, New Jersey)^[98]

1930s

1931

First African-American composer to have symphony performed by leading orchestra: William Grant Still, Symphony No. 1, by Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra^[99]

First African-American woman to graduate from Yale Law School: Jane Matilda Bolin

1932

First African American on a presidential ticket in the 20th century: James W. Ford (Communist Party USA, as vice-presidential candidate running with William Z. Foster)^[100]

1934

First African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat: Arthur W. Mitchell (Illinois)^[101]

First trade union set up for African-American domestic workers by Dora Lee Jones^{[relevant? – discuss]}

1935

First known interracial jazz group: Benny Goodman Trio (Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa)^[102]

1936

First African American to conduct a major U.S. orchestra: William Grant Still (Los Angeles Philharmonic)^[103]

First African-American women selected for the Olympic Games: Tidye Pickett and Louise Stokes.^[104] Stokes did not compete; Picket competed in the 80-meter hurdles)^[105]^:86

1937

First African-American federal magistrate: William H. Hastie (later the first African-American governor of the United States Virgin Islands)^[106]

1938

First African-American woman federal agency head: Mary McLeod Bethune (National Youth Administration)^[107]

First African-American woman elected to a state legislature: Crystal Bird Fauset (Pennsylvania General Assembly)

1939

First African American to star in her own television program: Ethel Waters, The Ethel Waters Show, on NBC^[108]

1940s

1940

Hattie McDaniel

First African American to win an Oscar: Hattie McDaniel (Best Supporting Actress, Gone with the Wind, 1939)^[109]

First African American to be portrayed on a U.S. postage stamp: Booker T. Washington^[110]

First African-American flag officer: BG Benjamin O. Davis Sr., U.S. Army^[111]^{[Note 9]}

1941

First African American to give a White House Command Performance: Josh White^[112]

1942

First African American to be awarded the Navy Cross: Doris Miller

First African-American member of the U.S. Marine Corps: Alfred Masters^[113]

1943

Martin A. Martin, first African American to become a member of the Trial Bureau of the United States Department of Justice, was sworn in on May 31, 1943.^[114]

First African-American artists to have a #1 hit on the Billboard charts: Mills Brothers ("Paper Doll"), topped "Best Sellers in Stores" chart on November 6 (See also: Tommy Edwards, 1958; The Platters, 1959)^{[relevant? – discuss]}

1944

First African-American commissioned officers in the U.S. Navy: The "Golden Thirteen"^[115]

First African American commissioned as a U.S. Navy officer from the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps: Samuel Gravely.^[116]^{[Note 10]}

First African American to co-pastor with a white minister at the first interracial church: Dr. Howard Thurman with Dr. Alfred Fisk, Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples, San Francisco^{[relevant? – discuss]}

First African American to receive a contract with a major American opera company: Camilla Williams^[117]

First known African-American comic book artist: Matt Baker in Jumbo Comics #69 for Fiction House^[118]

First African-American reporter to attend a U.S. presidential news conference: Harry McAlpin^[119]

1945

First African-American member of the New York City Opera: Todd Duncan^{[relevant? – discuss]}

First African-American U.S. Marine Corps officer: Frederick C. Branch^[120]

1947

First African-American Major League Baseball player of the modern era: Jackie Robinson (Brooklyn Dodgers).^[121] (See also: Moses Fleetwood Walker, 1884)

First African-American consensus college All-American basketball player: Don Barksdale^[122]

First African-American artist to receive sole credit for a #1 hit on the Billboard charts: Count Basie ("Open the Door, Richard"), topped "Best Sellers in Stores" chart on February 22 (See also: Mills Brothers, 1943; Nat King Cole, 1950; Tommy Edwards, 1958; The Platters, 1959)^{[citation needed]}

First African-American full-time faculty member at a predominantly white law school: William Robert Ming (University of Chicago Law School)^[20]

First comic book produced entirely by African-Americans: All-Negro Comics^[123]

First African-American female member of the U.S. House and Senate press galleries: Alice Allison Dunnigan (See also: 1948)

1948

First African-American man to receive an Oscar: James Baskett (Honorary Academy Award for his portrayal of "Uncle Remus" in Song of the South, 1946)^[124] (See also: Sidney Poitier, 1964)

First African-American U.S. Navy aviator: Jesse L. Brown^[125]

First African-American composer to have an opera performed by a major U.S. company: William Grant Still (Troubled Island, New York City Opera)^[126]

First African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal: Alice Coachman^[127]

First African American since Reconstruction to enroll at a traditionally white university of the South: Silas Hunt (University of Arkansas Law School)^[128]^{[Note 11]}

First known African-American star of a regularly scheduled network television series: Bob Howard, The Bob Howard Show^[108]^[130]^[131]^{[Note 12]} (See also: 1956)

First African American to star in network television sitcom: Amanda Randolph, The Laytons^[108]^[132]

First African-American female reporter to travel with a U.S. president (Harry S. Truman's election campaign): Alice Allison Dunnigan^[119] (See also: 1947)

1949

First African-American graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy: Wesley Brown^[133]

First African American to hold rank of Ambassador of the United States: Edward R. Dudley, ambassador, and previously minister, to Liberia^[134] (See also: 1869)

First African American to win an MVP award in Major League Baseball: Jackie Robinson (Brooklyn Dodgers, National League)^[135] (See also: Elston Howard, 1963)

First African-American owned and operated radio station: WERD, established October 3, 1949 in Atlanta, Georgia by Jesse B. Blayton, Sr.^[136]

First African-American woman president of an NAACP chapter nationwide: Florence LeSueur of Boston's NAACP chapter.^[137]

1950s

1950

First African American to win a Tony Award: Juanita Hall (Best Featured Actress in a Musical, South Pacific)^[138]

First African American to win Pulitzer Prize: Gwendolyn Brooks (Book of poetry, Annie Allen, 1949)^[139]

First African American to win Nobel Peace Prize: Ralph Bunche^[140]

First African American to receive a "lifetime" appointment as federal judge: William H. Hastie, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit^[141]

First African-American woman to compete on the world tennis tour: Althea Gibson^[142]

First African-American solo singer to have a #1 hit on the Billboard charts: Nat King Cole ("Mona Lisa"), topped "Best Sellers in Stores" chart on July 15 (See also: Mills Brothers, 1943; Count Basie, 1947; Tommy Edwards, 1958; The Platters, 1959)^{[citation needed]}

First African-American delegate to the United Nations: Edith S. Sampson^[143] (See also: 1961)

First African-American NBA basketball players: Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton (New York Knicks), Chuck Cooper (Boston Celtics), and Earl Lloyd (Washington Capitols).^[144] Note: Harold Hunter was the first to sign an NBA contract, signing with the Washington Capitols on April 26, 1950.^[145]^[146] However, he was cut from the team during training camp and did not play professionally.^[147]^{[Note 13]} (See also: 1902)

1951

First African American named to the College Football Hall of Fame: Duke Slater, University of Iowa (1918–1921)^[148]

First African-American quarterback to become a regular starter for a professional football team: Bernie Custis (Hamilton Tiger-Cats) ^[149]

1952

First African-American driver in NASCAR: Wendell Scott (See also: 2015)

First African-American woman elected to a U.S. state senate: Cora Brown, (Michigan)^[150]

First African-American U.S. Marine Corps aviator: Frank E. Petersen^[151]

First African-American woman to be nominated for a national political office: Charlotta Bass, Vice President (Progressive Party) (See also: 2000)

^[152]

1953

First African-American basketball player to play in the NBA All-Star Game: Don Barksdale in the 1953 NBA All-Star Game^[122]

First African-American quarterback to play in the National Football League during the modern (post-World War II) era: Willie Thrower (Chicago Bears)^[153]

1954

First African-American U.S. Navy Diver: Carl Brashear^[154]

First African-American woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress: Dorothy Dandridge (Carmen Jones, 1954).^[155]^{[Note 14]}

First individual African-American woman as subject on the cover of Life magazine: Dorothy Dandridge, November 1, 1954^[155]

First African-American page for the U.S. Supreme Court, and first to be enrolled in the Capitol Page School: Charles V. Bush^[156]

1955

First African-American member of the Metropolitan Opera: Marian Anderson^[157]

First African-American male dancer in a major ballet company: Arthur Mitchell (New York City Ballet); also first African-American principal dancer of a major ballet company (NYCB), 1956.^[158] (See also: 1969)

First African-American singer to appear in a telecast opera: Leontyne Price in NBC's production of Tosca^{[relevant? – discuss]}

First African-American pilot of a scheduled US airline: August Martin (cargo airline Seaboard & Western Airlines)^[159]^[160] (See also: 1964)

First African American to serve as a presidential executive assistant: E. Frederic Morrow, appointed by President Eisenhower as Administrative Officer for Special Projects.^[161]

1956

First African-American star of a nationwide network TV show: Nat King Cole of The Nat King Cole Show, NBC (See also: 1948)

First African-American U.S. Secret Service agent: Charles Gittens^[162]^[163]

First African American to win the Cy Young Award as the top pitcher in Major League Baseball, in the award's inaugural year: Don Newcombe (Brooklyn Dodgers)^[164]

1957

First African-American woman Wimbledon Tennis Champion: Althea Gibson

First African-American assistant coach in the NFL: Lowell W. Perry (See also: 1966)^[165]

First African American to win the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival: John Kitzmiller (Dolina Miru)^[166]

First African American to win Major League Baseball's Gold Glove, in the award's inaugural year: Willie Mays (New York Giants)^[167]^{[Note 15]}

1958

First African American to reach number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Tommy Edwards ("It's All in the Game"), September 29 (See also: The Platters, 1959)^{[citation needed]}

First African-American flight attendant: Ruth Carol Taylor (Mohawk Airlines)^[168]

1959

First African-American Grammy Award winners, in the award's inaugural year: Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie (two awards each)^[169]

First African-American television journalist: Louis Lomax

First African-American group to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: The Platters ("Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"), January 19 (See also: Tommy Edwards, 1958)

First African American to win a major national player of the year award in college basketball: Oscar Robertson, USBWA Player of the Year^{[Note 16]} (in that award's inaugural year)

1960s

1960

First African-American U.S. presidential candidate: Rev. Clennon King, on the Independent Afro-American party

First African-American child to attend an all-white elementary school in the South: Ruby Bridges

1961

First African American to win the Heisman Trophy: Ernie Davis

First African American to serve on a U.S. district court: James Benton Parsons, appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

First African-American tenor to sing leading roles for the Metropolitan Opera: George Shirley

First African-American delegate to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Edith S. Sampson (See also: 1950)

First African-American to go over Niagara Falls: Nathan Boya a.k.a. William FitzGerald

First African-American to join the PGA Tour: Charlie Sifford ^[170]

1962

First African American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Jackie Robinson (See also: Satchel Paige, 1971)

First African-American coach in Major League Baseball: John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil (Chicago Cubs)

First African-American attorney general of a state: Edward Brooke (Massachusetts) (See also: 1966)

1963

First African-American bank examiner for the United States Department of the Treasury: Roland Burris

First African American named as Time magazine's Man of the Year: Martin Luther King Jr.^[171]

First African-American police officer of the NYPD to be named a precinct commander: Lloyd Sealy, commander of the NYPD's 28th Precinct in Harlem.^[64]

First African American to be named American League MVP: Elston Howard (New York Yankees) (See also: Jackie Robinson, 1949)

First African-American chess master: Walter Harris^[172]^[173]

First African American to appear as a series regular on a primetime dramatic television series: Cicely Tyson, "East Side/West Side" (CBS).

First African-American to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award: Diahann Carroll, for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role, for episode "A Horse Has a Big Head, Let Him Worry" of Naked City (See also: 1968)

First African Americans inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame: New York Renaissance, inducted as a team. (See also: Bob Douglas, 1972; Bill Russell, 1975; Clarence Gaines, 1982)

First African American to graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy: Charles V. Bush.

1964

First African-American pilot for a major commercial airline: David Harris, American Airlines^[174]^{[Note 17]} (See also: 1955 and Marlon Green)

First movie with African-American interracial marriage: One Potato, Two Potato,^[176] actors Bernie Hamilton and Barbara Barrie, written by Orville H. Hampton, Raphael Hayes, directed by Larry Peerce

First African-American baseball player to be named the Major League Baseball World Series MVP: Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals^[177]

1965

First African-American nationally syndicated cartoonist: Morrie Turner (Wee Pals)

First African-American title character of a comic book series: Lobo (Dell Comics).^[178]^{[Note 18]} (See also: The Falcon, 1969, and Luke Cage, 1972)

First African-American star of a network television drama: Bill Cosby, I Spy (co-star with Robert Culp)

First African-American cast member of a daytime soap opera: Micki Grant who played Peggy Nolan Harris on Another World until 1972.

First African-American Playboy Playmate centerfold: Jennifer Jackson (March issue)

First African-American U.S. Air Force General: Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. (Three-star General)

First African-American woman Ambassador of the United States: Patricia Roberts Harris, ambassador to Luxembourg

First African-American NFL official: Burl Toler, field judge/head linesman

First African-American to win a national chess championship: Frank Street, Jr. (U.S. Amateur Championship)^[179]

First African-American United States Solicitor General: Thurgood Marshall (See also: 1967)

1966

First African American male to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and first African American to win a Primetime Emmy Award: Bill Cosby, I Spy

First African-American coach in the National Basketball Association: Bill Russell (Boston Celtics)

First African-American mayor of a U.S. city: Robert C. Henry, (Springfield, Ohio, appointed by city commission)

First African-American model on the cover of a Vogue (British Vogue) magazine: Donyale Luna

First post-Reconstruction African American elected to the U.S. Senate (and first African American elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote): Edward Brooke (Republican; Massachusetts) (See also: 1962)

First African American Cabinet secretary: Robert C. Weaver (Department of Housing and Urban Development)

First African-American Major League Baseball umpire: Emmett Ashford

First African-American NFL broadcaster: Lowell W. Perry^{[citation needed]} (CBS, on Pittsburgh Steelers games) (See also: 1957)

First African-American fire commissioner of a major U.S. City: Robert O. Lowery of the New York City Fire Department

1967

First African American elected mayor of a large US city: Carl B. Stokes (Cleveland, Ohio)

First African American appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States: Thurgood Marshall (See also: 1965)

First African American selected for astronaut training: Robert Henry Lawrence Jr.

First African American to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Emlen Tunnell

First African-American interracial kiss on network television: entertainers Nancy Sinatra (Caucasian) and Sammy Davis Jr. (African American) on Sinatra's variety special Movin' With Nancy, airing December 11 on NBC^[180] (See also: 1968)

1968

First African-American interracial kiss on a network television drama: Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols (African American), and Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner (white Canadian): Star Trek: "Plato's Stepchildren" (See also: 1967)

First African-American woman elected to U.S. House of Representatives: Shirley Chisholm (New York)

First African-American appointed as a United States Assistant Secretary of State: Barbara M. Watson

First African American to start at quarterback in the modern era of professional football: Marlin Briscoe (Denver Broncos, AFL)

First African-American commissioned officer awarded the Medal of Honor: Riley L. Pitts

First fine-arts museum devoted to African-American work: Studio Museum in Harlem

First African-American actress to star in her own television series where she did not play a domestic worker: Diahann Carroll in Julia (see also: 1963)

First African-American woman as Presidential candidate: Charlene Mitchell (See also: Shirley Chisholm, 1972)

First African-American woman reporter for The New York Times: Nancy Hicks Maynard

First African-American starring character of a comic strip: Danny Raven in Dateline: Danger! by Al McWilliams and John Saunders.^[181]^[182]

1969

First African-American superhero: The Falcon, Marvel Comics' Captain America #117 (September 1969).^[183]^{[Note 18]} (See also: Lobo, 1965 and Luke Cage, 1972)

First African-American graduate of Harvard Business School: Lillian Lincoln

First African-American director of a major Hollywood motion picture: Gordon Parks (The Learning Tree)

First African-American founder of a classical training school and company of ballet: Arthur Mitchell, Dance Theatre of Harlem (See also: 1955)

First African-American woman to appear on the Grand Ole Opry: Linda Martell

First African American to own a commercial airliner: Warren Wheeler (Wheeler Airlines)^[184]

1970s

1970

First African-American woman to win a Primetime Emmy Award: Gail Fisher, for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, for Mannix (see also: 1971)

First African American to head an Episcopal diocese: John Melville Burgess, diocesan bishop of Massachusetts^[185]

First African-American U.S. Navy Master Diver: Carl Brashear (See also: 1954; 1968)

First African-American member of the New York Stock Exchange: Joseph L. Searles III ^[186]

First African-American NCAA Division I basketball coach: Will Robinson (Illinois State University)^{[Note 19]}

First African-American contestant in the Miss America pageant: Cheryl Browne (Miss Iowa)

1971

First African-American pitcher to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Satchel Paige (See also: Jackie Robinson, 1962)

First African-American president of the New York City Board of Education: Isaiah Edward Robinson Jr.

First African-American to win a Golden Globe Award: Gail Fisher for Mannix (see also: 1970)

First African-American female jockey in the United States: Cheryl White^[187]

First African-American to appear by herself on the cover of Playboy: Darine Stern (October issue)

1972

First African American to campaign for the United States presidency in a major political party and to win a U.S. presidential primary/caucus: Shirley Chisholm (Democratic Party, New Jersey primary) (See also: 1968)

First African-American superhero to star in own comic-book series: Luke Cage, Marvel Comics' Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (June 1972).^[188]^{[Note 18]} (See also: Lobo, 1965, and the Falcon, 1969)

First African-American National Basketball Association general manager: Wayne Embry

First African-American interracial romantic kiss in a mainstream comics magazine: "The Men Who Called Him Monster", by writer Don McGregor (See also: 1975) and artist Luis Garcia, in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror-comics magazine Creepy #43 (Jan. 1972) (See also: 1975)^[189]

First African-American interracial male kiss on network television: Sammy Davis Jr. (African American) and Carroll O'Connor (Caucasian) in All in the Family^[190]

First African American inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame: Team-owner and coach Bob Douglas, in the category of "contributor" (See also: New York Renaissance, 1963; player Bill Russell, 1975; coach Clarence Gaines, 1982)

First African-American woman Broadway director: Vinnette Justine Carroll (Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope)

First African-American comic-book creator to receive a "created by" cover-credit: Wayne Howard (Midnight Tales #1)

1973

First African-American artistic director of a professional regional theater: Harold Scott (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park)

First African-American Bond villain: Yaphet Kotto, playing Mr. Big/Dr. Kananga, Live and Let Die.

First African-American Bond Girl in a James Bond movie: Gloria Hendry (playing Rosie Carver), Live and Let Die.

First African American elected mayor of Los Angeles: Tom Bradley

First African-American psychologist in the U.S. Air Force: John D. Robinson

First African-American woman mayor of a U.S. metropolitan city: Doris A. Davis, Compton, California

1974

First African-American model on the cover of American Vogue magazine: Beverly Johnson

1975

First African American elected mayor, and first mayor, of Washington, D.C.: Walter Washington

First African-American game show host: Adam Wade (CBS' Musical Chairs)

First African-American four-star general: Daniel James Jr.

First African American inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player: Bill Russell (See also: New York Renaissance, 1963; Bob Douglas, 1972; Clarence Gaines, 1982)

First African-American interracial couple in a TV-series cast: The Jeffersons, actors Franklin Cover (Caucasian) and Roxie Roker (African-American) as Tom and Helen Willis, respectively; series creator: Norman Lear

First African-American interracial romantic kiss in a color comic book: Amazing Adventures #31 (July 1975), feature "Killraven: Warrior of the Worlds", characters M'Shulla Scott and Carmilla Frost, by writer Don McGregor and artist P. Craig Russell^[191] (See also: 1972)

First African-American manager in Major League Baseball: Frank Robinson (Cleveland Indians)

First African-American model on the cover of Elle magazine: Beverly Johnson

First African-American psychologist in the U.S. Navy: John D. Robinson

First African American to play in a men's major golf championship: Lee Elder (The Masters)

First African American to be named Super Bowl MVP in NFL: Franco Harris (Pittsburgh Steelers). Of mixed heritage, Harris was also the first Italian American to win the award.

First African-American women named as Time magazine's Person of the Year: Barbara Jordan and Addie L. Wyatt ^[192]

1976

First African-American woman elected officer of international labor union: Addie L. Wyatt

First African American appointed as a judge in Federal District Court in Virginia: Robert H. Cooley III (1939–1998), appointed to the Eastern District^[193]

1977

First African American, and first woman, appointed director of the Peace Corps: Carolyn R. Payton

First African American drafted to play professional basketball, first woman to dunk in a professional women's game: Cardte Hicks ^[194]

First African-American woman in the U.S. Cabinet: Patricia Roberts Harris, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

First African-American woman whose signature appeared on U.S. currency: Azie Taylor Morton, the 36th Treasurer of the United States

First African-American publisher of mainstream gay publication: Alan Bell (Gaysweek)^[195]^[196]

First African-American woman to join the Daughters of the American Revolution: Karen Batchelor^[197]

First African-American Major League Baseball general manager: Bill Lucas (Atlanta Braves)

First African-American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest: Pauli Murray.^[198]

1978

First African-American broadcast network news anchor: Max Robinson

First African-American woman pilot for a major commercial airline: Jill E. Brown, Texas International Airlines^[199]

1979

First African-American U.S. Marine Corps general officer: Frank E. Petersen

First African American to win a Daytime Emmy Award for lead actor in a soap opera: Al Freeman Jr. (Ed Hall in One Life to Live)

First African-American woman ordained in the Lutheran Church in America (LCA), the largest of three denominations that later combined to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: Earlean Miller^[200]

1980s

1980

First African-American-oriented cable channel: Black Entertainment Television^[201]

1981

First African American to play in the NHL: Val James (Buffalo Sabres)^{[Note 20]}

1982

First African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Charles Fuller for A Soldier's Play

First African American inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach: Clarence Gaines (See also: New York Renaissance, 1963; Bob Douglas, 1972; Bill Russell, 1975)

First African-American U.S. Army four-star General: Roscoe Robinson Jr.

First African-American woman to become a principal dancer of a major American ballet company: Debra Austin at Pennsylvania Ballet

1983

First African-American astronaut: Guion Bluford (Challenger mission STS-8).^[202]^{[Note 21]}

First African-American mayor of Chicago: Harold Washington

First African-American Miss America: Vanessa L. Williams

First African-American owners of a major metropolitan newspaper: Robert C. and Nancy Hicks Maynard, (Oakland Tribune)

1984

First African American to win a delegate-awarding U.S. presidential primary/caucus: Jesse Jackson (Louisiana, the District of Columbia, South Carolina, Virginia and one of two separate Mississippi contests).

First African-American New York City Police Commissioner: Benjamin Ward

1985

First African American to become a member of the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels precision flying team: Donnie Cochran. Also first African American to command the team (1994).

First African-American woman general: Sherian Cadoria

1986

First African-American Formula One racecar driver: Willy T. Ribbs^{[Note 22]} (See also: Ribbs, 1991)

First African-American musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in the inaugural class: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, and Little Richard

1987

First African-American woman, and first woman, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Aretha Franklin

First African American Radio City Music Hall Rockette: Jennifer Jones

First African American man to sail around the world: Teddy Seymour

1988

First African-American woman elected to a U.S. judgeship, and first appointed to a state supreme court: Juanita Kidd Stout

First African-American candidate for President of the United States to obtain ballot access in all 50 states: Lenora Fulani

First African-American NFL referee: Johnny Grier

1989

First African-American NFL coach of the modern era: Art Shell, Los Angeles Raiders

First African-American mayor of New York City: David Dinkins

First African-American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Colin Powell

First African-American woman, and first woman, ordained bishop in the Episcopal Church: Barbara Clementine Harris

First African-American Chairman of the Democratic National Committee: Ron Brown

1990s

1990

First elected African-American governor: Douglas Wilder (Virginia) (See also: P. B. S. Pinchback, 1872)

First African American elected president of the Harvard Law Review: Barack Obama^[203] (See also: 2008, 2009)

First African-American Miss USA: Carole Gist

First African-American Playboy Playmate of the Year: Renee Tenison

First African-American woman to become a principal dancer at Houston Ballet: Lauren Anderson (Houston Ballet)^[204]

1991

First African American nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director: John Singleton for Boyz n the Hood

First African American to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 auto race: Willy T. Ribbs (See also: Ribbs, 1986)

First African-American woman mayor of Washington, D.C.: Sharon Pratt Kelly

First African-American NBA Coach of the Year: Don Chaney (Houston Rockets)

1992

First African-American woman astronaut: Dr. Mae Jemison (Space Shuttle Endeavour)

First African-American woman elected to U.S. Senate: Carol Moseley Braun (Illinois)

First African-American woman to moderate a Presidential debate: Carole Simpson (second debate of 1992 campaign)

First African-American Major League Baseball manager to reach (and win) the World Series: Cito Gaston (Toronto Blue Jays) 1992 World Series

1993

First African-American woman appointed U.S. Secretary of Energy: Hazel R. O'Leary

First African American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature: Toni Morrison

First African-American woman named Poet Laureate of the United States: Rita Dove; also the youngest person named to that position

First African American appointed Surgeon General of the United States: Joycelyn Elders

First African American appointed Director of the National Drug Control Policy: Lee P. Brown

First African-American United States Secretary of Commerce: Ron Brown

First African American to serve as home plate umpire for World Series game: Charlie Williams for Game 4 of the 1993 World Series

First African American to be inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry: Charley Pride^{[citation needed]}

1994

First African-American woman director of a major-studio movie: Darnell Martin (Columbia Pictures' I Like It Like That)

First African American to win the United States Amateur Championship: Tiger Woods^{[Note 23]}

1995

First African-American inductee to the National Radio Hall of Fame: Hal Jackson

First African-American Sergeant Major of the Army: Gene C. McKinney

First African-American Miss Universe: Chelsi Smith

1996

First African-American U.S. Navy four-star admiral: J. Paul Reason^[205]

1997

First African American to win a men's major golf championship: Tiger Woods (The Masters)^{[Note 23]}

First African-American model to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition: Tyra Banks

First African-American UFC champion: Maurice Smith

First African-American actor to star in the lead role in a comic-book adaptation movie (Spawn): Michael Jai White

First African-American Director of the National Park Service: Robert Stanton^[206]

1998

First African American appointed U.S. Secretary of Labor: Alexis Herman

First African-American woman rear admiral in the U.S. Navy: Lillian Fishburne

First African-American Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard: Vincent W. Patton III

First African American to play in the Presidents Cup: Tiger Woods^{[Note 23]}

1999

First African American to be awarded the International Grandmaster title in chess: Maurice Ashley

First African-American Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps: Alford L. McMichael

First African-American CEO of a Fortune 500 company: Franklin Raines of Fannie Mae^[207]

First African-American woman university president: Shirley Ann Jackson at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute^[208]

21st century

2000s

2000

First African American nominated for Vice President of the United States by a Federal Election Commission-recognized and federally funded political party: Ezola B. Foster (See also: 1952; FEC established 1975)

First African American to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame: Charley Pride^[209]

2001

First African-American Secretary of State: Colin Powell

First African-American president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: The Most Reverend Wilton Daniel Gregory

First African-American president of the Unitarian Universalist Association: Rev. William G. Sinkford

First African-American president of an Ivy League university: Ruth J. Simmons at Brown University

First African-American woman to win the ASCAP Pop Music Songwriter of the Year award: Beyoncé Knowles

First African-American woman National Security Advisor: Condoleezza Rice (See also: 2005)

First African-American billionaire: Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television (see also 2002)

First African-American woman billionaire: Sheila Johnson

2002

First African American to become majority owner of a U.S. major sports league team: Robert L. Johnson (Charlotte Bobcats, NBA)^{[Note 24]} (see also 2001)

First African-American woman combat pilot in the U.S. Armed Services: Captain Vernice Armour, USMC (See also: 2008)

First African American to be ranked #1 in tennis: Venus Williams

First African American to be named year-end world champion by the International Tennis Federation: Serena Williams

First African-American Arena Football League head coach to win ArenaBowl: Darren Arbet (San Jose SaberCats), ArenaBowl XVI

First African-American general manager in the National Football League: Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore Ravens)

First African-American woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress: Halle Berry

2003

First African American to win a Career Grand Slam in tennis: Serena Williams (See also: Althea Gibson, 1956; Arthur Ashe, 1968)

First African-American American Bar Association president: Dennis Archer^[210]

2004

First African-American to win Broadway theater's Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Play: Phylicia Rashad

First African-American inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame: Charlie Sifford

2005

First African-American woman Secretary of State: Condoleezza Rice (See also: 2001)

First African-American woman U.S. Coast Guard aviator: Jeanine Menze

2006

First African American to command a United States Marine Corps division: Major General Walter E. Gaskin

First African American to reach the peak of Mount Everest: Sophia Danenberg

First African-American woman to receive Dharma transmission in Zen Buddhism: Merle Kodo Boyd^[211]

2007

First known African-American woman to reach the North Pole: Barbara Hillary^[212]

First African-American White House Chief Usher: Stephen Rochon^[213]

First African American NFL coach to win a Super Bowl: Tony Dungy (Super Bowl XLI)

2008

Barack Obama

First African American to be nominated as a major-party U.S. presidential candidate: Barack Obama, Democratic Party^[214]

First African American elected President of the United States: Barack Obama^[215]

First African American to referee a Super Bowl game: Mike Carey (Super Bowl XLII)

First African-American woman elected Speaker of a state House of Representatives: California Rep. Karen Bass

First African American to be appointed to the United States Senate by a state governor: Roland Burris

First African-American woman combat pilot in the United States Air Force: Major Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell (See also: 2002)

2009

First African-American First Lady of the United States: Michelle Obama

First African-American chair of the Republican National Committee: Michael Steele

First African-American United States Attorney General: Eric Holder

First African-American woman United States Ambassador to the United Nations: Susan Rice

First African-American United States Trade Representative: Ron Kirk

First African-American woman Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: Lisa P. Jackson

First African-American White House Social Secretary: Desirée Rogers

First African American to appear by himself on a circulating U.S. coin: Duke Ellington (District of Columbia quarter).^[216]

First African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for History: Annette Gordon-Reed, The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family

First African-American Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Charles F. Bolden Jr.

First African-American woman rabbi: Alysa Stanton

First African-American woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company: Ursula Burns, Xerox Corporation.

First African-American doubles team to be named year-end world champion by the International Tennis Federation: Serena and Venus Williams

2010s

2010

First African-American to win Stanley Cup: Dustin Byfuglien with Chicago Blackhawks.^[217]

2011

First African-American Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons: Charles E. Samuels Jr.^[218]

2012

First African American to be re-elected President of the United States: Barack Obama^[219]

First African-American Combatant Commander of United States Central Command: Lloyd Austin^[220]

First African American elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC): Fred Luter^[221]^[222]

First African American to direct an animated film with a budget in excess of $100 million: Peter Ramsey (Rise of the Guardians)

2013

First African-American U.S. Senator from the former Confederacy since Reconstruction: Tim Scott^[223]

First African-American president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: Cheryl Boone Isaacs^[224]

First African-American United States Secretary of Homeland Security: Jeh Johnson^[225]

2014

First African-American woman four-star admiral: Michelle J. Howard^[226]

First African-American senator to be elected in the South since Reconstruction: Tim Scott, elected in South Carolina^[227]

First African-American woman to be nominated for Best Director by the Golden Globe Awards: Ava DuVernay for Selma^[228]

2015

First African-American woman Attorney General of the United States: Loretta Lynch^[229]

First African-American to lead a major intelligence agency: Vincent R. Stewart, Defense Intelligence Agency^[230]

First African-American to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame: Wendell Scott^[231] (See also: 1952)

First African-American commissioner of a major North American sports league: Jeffrey Orridge, Canadian Football League^[232]

First African-American elected as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church: Bishop Michael Curry^[233]

First African-American woman American Bar Association president: Paulette Brown^[234]

2016

First African-American president of a major broadcast TV network: Channing Dungey

First African-American Librarian of Congress: Dr. Carla Hayden^[235]

2017

First African-American CEO of a Major league Baseball team: Derek Jeter^[236]

2018

First African-American artist commissioned for US president portrait to be displayed in the Smithsonian: Kehinde Wiley

First African-American artist commissioned for US first-lady portrait to be displayed in the Smithsonian: Amy Sherald

First African-American president of the American Psychiatric Association: Altha Stewart^[237]

First African-American woman to be major party nominee for state governor: Stacey Abrams^[238]

First African-American superintendent of the United States Military Academy: Darryl A. Williams

First African-American woman U.S. Marine Corps general officer: Lorna Mahlock

2019

First African American to win an Academy Award for Best Costume Design: Ruth Carter for Black Panther^[239]

First African American to win an Academy Award for Best Production Design: Hannah Beachler for Black Panther^[239]

Notes

^ This claim is contested by the First Baptist Church, Petersburg, Virginia (1774) and the First Colored Baptist Church, renamed First African Baptist Church, Savannah, Georgia (recognized 1788, first congregation 1773).

^ Because it was published in the U.K., the book is not the first African-American novel published in the United States. This credit goes to one of two disputed books: Harriet Wilson's Our Nig (1859), brought to light by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. in 1982; or Julia C. Collins' The Curse of Caste; or The Slave Bride (1865), brought to light by William L. Andrews, an English literature professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Mitch Kachun, a history professor at Western Michigan University, in 2006. Andrews and Kachun document Our Nig as a novelized autobiography, and argue that The Curse of Caste is the first fully fictional novel by an African American to be published in the U.S.

^ Founded earlier; not fully owned and operated by African Americans until 1863

^ Revels, the Mississippi State Senate's Adams County representative, was elected by the U.S. Senate in January 1870 to fill an unexpired term.

^ Rainey, a South Carolina state senator, was elected to fill the seat vacated by B. Franklin Whittemore. Rainey took his seat on December 12, 1870. John Willis Menard was actually the first African-American elected to the House (1868) but he was denied his seat.

^ Douglass did not seek the nomination or campaign after being nominated.

^ Parker graduated from Mount Holyoke when it was still a seminary.

^ This was previously thought to be Sarah E. Goode (for the cabinet bed, Chicago, Illinois).^[58]

^ His son, Benjamin O. Davis Jr., was the first African-American general in the United States Air Force.

^ Gravely was also the first African American to command a U.S. Navy warship (1962), and the first promoted to the rank of admiral (1971).

^ L. Clifford Davis applied to the law school in 1946, and after several failed attempts was granted admission in September 1947, but was unable to enroll in classes. Hunt later enrolled on February 2, 1948.^[129]

^ While considered a network for regulatory reasons, CBS TV was viewable only locally in 1948. By 1956, CBS and other networks were viewable nationwide.

^ Clifton was the first to sign an NBA contract and subsequently play, Cooper was the first to be drafted by an NBA team, and Lloyd was the first to play in an NBA regular-season game because his team's opening game was one day before the others.

^ At that time, nominations were announced in November of the year of release, instead of early the following year.

^ While two black players won Gold Gloves that year, only Mays is African-American. The other, Minnie Miñoso, is Afro-Cuban.

^ In 1998, the award would be renamed the Oscar Robertson Trophy after its first recipient.

^ Harris' milestone came a year after Marlon Green, who had been rejected as a Continental Airlines applicant in 1957, won the United States Supreme Court case "Colorado Anti-Discrimination Commission v. Continental Airlines, Inc. 372 U.S. 714 no. 146" which found Green had been unlawfully discriminated against.^[175]

^ ^a^b^c The first Black superhero, Marvel's Black Panther, introduced in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966), is African, not African-American. This is also true of the first Black character to star in his own mainstream comic-book feature, Waku, Prince of the Bantu, who headlined one of four features in the multiple-character omnibus series Jungle Tales (September 1954 – September 1955), from Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics.

^ At the time, the NCAA had not yet adopted its three-division system. Illinois State was in the NCAA University Division, which became Division I in 1973. The NCAA retroactively considers University Division members to have been Division I members.

^ The NHL had fielded black players for more than 20 years, with the first being Willie O'Ree in 1958, but all previous black players were Black Canadians and not African Americans. In 1996, Mike Grier (Edmonton Oilers) became the first to have been both born and exclusively trained in the U.S., per Allen, Kevin (January 14, 2008). "Willie O'Ree still blazing way in NHL 50 years later". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2014..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}

^ Cosmonaut Arnaldo Mendez was the first person of African descent in space, in 1980.

^ Lewis Hamilton became the first black Formula One racer in 2006, but he is a British citizen of Grenadan ancestry, and not an African American. Ribbs did not compete in a race, but drove a Formula One car professionally in January 1986 as a tester for the Brabham–BMW at Estoril, Portugal.

^ ^a^b^c Woods' mixed ancestry — ¼ Chinese, ¼ Thai, ¼ African-American, ⅛ white, and ⅛ Native American — also makes him the first Asian American to achieve this feat. He is also the first of only four golfers of primarily non-European descent to win a men's major, with the others being Vijay Singh (an Indian Fijian), Michael Campbell (a Māori from New Zealand), and Y.E. Yang (South Korean).

^ Announced as Bobcats owner in December 2002, although team did not begin play until 2004.

References

Footnotes

^ Juguo, Zhang (2001). W. E. B. Du Bois: The Quest for the Abolition of the Color Line. Routledge.
ISBN 978-0-415-93087-1

^ Herbst, Philip H (1997). The Color of Words: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Ethnic Bias in the United States. Intercultural Press. p. 57.
ISBN 978-1-877864-97-1

^ Sailes, Gary Alan (1998). "Jackie Robinson: Breaking the Color Barrier in Team Sports". African Americans in Sport: Contemporary Themes, Transaction Publishers. p. 8.
ISBN 978-0-7658-0440-2

^ O'Neale, Sondra (2002). "Hammon, Jupiter". In William L Andrews, Frances Smith Foster, Trudier Harris (eds.). The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195138832.CS1 maint: Uses editors parameter (link)

^ He was of mixed race, one-quarter African and three-quarters European, and listed in the US Census as white.

^ Shields, John C. (July 27, 2010). Phillis Wheatley and the Romantics. University of Tennessee Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-57233-712-1. Retrieved 28 May 2013.

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[9] This claim is contested by the First Baptist Church, Petersburg, Virginia (1774) and the First Colored Baptist Church, renamed First African Baptist Church, Savannah, Georgia (recognized 1788, first congregation 1773).

[23] Because it was published in the U.K., the book is not the first African-American novel published in the United States. This credit goes to one of two disputed books: Harriet Wilson's Our Nig (1859), brought to light by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. in 1982; or Julia C. Collins' The Curse of Caste; or The Slave Bride (1865), brought to light by William L. Andrews, an English literature professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Mitch Kachun, a history professor at Western Michigan University, in 2006. Andrews and Kachun document Our Nig as a novelized autobiography, and argue that The Curse of Caste is the first fully fictional novel by an African American to be published in the U.S.

[32] Founded earlier; not fully owned and operated by African Americans until 1863

[47] Revels, the Mississippi State Senate's Adams County representative, was elected by the U.S. Senate in January 1870 to fill an unexpired term.

[49] Rainey, a South Carolina state senator, was elected to fill the seat vacated by B. Franklin Whittemore. Rainey took his seat on December 12, 1870. John Willis Menard was actually the first African-American elected to the House (1868) but he was denied his seat.

[53] Douglass did not seek the nomination or campaign after being nominated.

[parker-63] Parker graduated from Mount Holyoke when it was still a seminary.

[goode-66] This was previously thought to be Sarah E. Goode (for the cabinet bed, Chicago, Illinois).^[58]

[Davis,_Jr.-120] His son, Benjamin O. Davis Jr., was the first African-American general in the United States Air Force.

[gravely-126] Gravely was also the first African American to command a U.S. Navy warship (1962), and the first promoted to the rank of admiral (1971).

[140] L. Clifford Davis applied to the law school in 1946, and after several failed attempts was granted admission in September 1947, but was unable to enroll in classes. Hunt later enrolled on February 2, 1948.^[129]

[143] While considered a network for regulatory reasons, CBS TV was viewable only locally in 1948. By 1956, CBS and other networks were viewable nationwide.

[160] Clifton was the first to sign an NBA contract and subsequently play, Cooper was the first to be drafted by an NBA team, and Lloyd was the first to play in an NBA regular-season game because his team's opening game was one day before the others.

[dandridge-nomination-169] At that time, nominations were announced in November of the year of release, instead of early the following year.

[182] While two black players won Gold Gloves that year, only Mays is African-American. The other, Minnie Miñoso, is Afro-Cuban.

[185] In 1998, the award would be renamed the Oscar Robertson Trophy after its first recipient.

[airline-192] Harris' milestone came a year after Marlon Green, who had been rejected as a Continental Airlines applicant in 1957, won the United States Supreme Court case "Colorado Anti-Discrimination Commission v. Continental Airlines, Inc. 372 U.S. 714 no. 146" which found Green had been unlawfully discriminated against.^[175]

[marvel_group=Note-196] The first Black superhero, Marvel's Black Panther, introduced in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966), is African, not African-American. This is also true of the first Black character to star in his own mainstream comic-book feature, Waku, Prince of the Bantu, who headlined one of four features in the multiple-character omnibus series Jungle Tales (September 1954 – September 1955), from Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics.

[205] At the time, the NCAA had not yet adopted its three-division system. Illinois State was in the NCAA University Division, which became Division I in 1973. The NCAA retroactively considers University Division members to have been Division I members.

[221] The NHL had fielded black players for more than 20 years, with the first being Willie O'Ree in 1958, but all previous black players were Black Canadians and not African Americans. In 1996, Mike Grier (Edmonton Oilers) became the first to have been both born and exclusively trained in the U.S., per Allen, Kevin (January 14, 2008). "Willie O'Ree still blazing way in NHL 50 years later". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2014..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}

[223] Cosmonaut Arnaldo Mendez was the first person of African descent in space, in 1980.

[224] Lewis Hamilton became the first black Formula One racer in 2006, but he is a British citizen of Grenadan ancestry, and not an African American. Ribbs did not compete in a race, but drove a Formula One car professionally in January 1986 as a tester for the Brabham–BMW at Estoril, Portugal.

[Tiger-227] Woods' mixed ancestry — ¼ Chinese, ¼ Thai, ¼ African-American, ⅛ white, and ⅛ Native American — also makes him the first Asian American to achieve this feat. He is also the first of only four golfers of primarily non-European descent to win a men's major, with the others being Vijay Singh (an Indian Fijian), Michael Campbell (a Māori from New Zealand), and Y.E. Yang (South Korean).

[233] Announced as Bobcats owner in December 2002, although team did not begin play until 2004.

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List of African-American firsts