Colonel Charles Young was a highly-decorated member of the U.S. Army that went on to achieve a number of firsts. Despite enduring extreme racism as a student at the West Point Military Academy, Young became the first Black man to achieve the rank of colonel and was also the first Black military attaché for Liberia. […]
Dr. Louis T. Wright was a surgeon, medical researcher, and NAACP chairman who wrote notable scientific papers and developed necessary medical techniques. He attended HBCU Clark Atlanta University and Harvard Medical School, carrying on an educational and medical legacy. Wright was born July 23, 1891 in LaGrange, Georgia. His father was born as slave, eventually […]
James Harris was a chemist who was part of an American team of researchers that discovered the elements 104 and 105, the first African-American to do so in the capacity. Harris, who attended Texas HBCU Huston-Tillotson University, was also the only member of his team to not have a doctorate degree. James Andrew Harris was […]
Bernard Tyson, the current CEO of Kaiser Permanente, is the first Black person to hold the position for the company. For the past three decades, Tyson has held several key positions with Kaiser, emerging as a prominent voice regarding social issues of the day as well. Born January 20, 1959 and raised in Vallejo, California, […]
Elston Howard broke the color lines of the New York Yankees in 1955, some deeming him the Jackie Robinson of the pinstripes. Howard’s stellar MLB career had many highs, and perhaps the biggest was him becoming the American League’s first Black MVP player on this day in 1963. Howard was born February 23, 1929 in […]
Sharon Pratt made history on this day in 1990 when she was elected as mayor in Washington, D.C. She was the city’s first woman to hold the seat, adding to a number of achievements in her career. Born Sharon Pratt on January 30, 1944, the Washington native attended Howard University as an undergraduate student. She […]
Lovely Warren, the current mayor of Rochester, New York, is the first woman and second African-American to hold the seat. After winning the Democratic Party primary last month in a resounding fashion, Warren is setting her sights on re-election this coming November. Warren, 40, was born and raised in upstate New York. She attended John […]
Dr. Samuel L. Kountz Jr. brought several innovations to the realm of kidney transplants. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences graduate is the first surgeon to perform a successful kidney transplant between two people who were not identical twins. Kountz was born on October 20, 1930 in […]
Jupiter Hammon was the first Black poet and writer in the United States, with his first work published at the age of 50 in 1761. Hammon was born on this day in 1711, and was enslaved for his entire life. Hammon was born to his enslaved parents in Long Island, New York, living under the […]
High-stakes poker player Phil Ivey has been called the “Tiger Woods” of his profession, with some experts saying he’s the best in the game. Over the course of his career, Ivey has amassed around $23 million in winnings and after battling a bit of controversy seems poised to return to the top. Ivey was born […]
The NFL has found itself at the center of a political firestorm with currently unemployed quarterback Colin Kaepernick igniting a huge debate. Fans have been discussing a boycott of the league this year in support of Kaepernick and his peaceful protests, causing some to look back at a 1965 pro football boycott along similar racial […]
The Smithsonian Institute’s Anacostia Community Museum is celebrating its 50th year in existence this month, and has the distinction of being the first federally-funded community museum in the United States. The museum was first opened for Black residents east of the Anacostia River to hopefully inspire them to visit the larger Smithsonian museums on the […]
