Black Firsts - 500 Years of Trailblazing Achievements and Ground-Breaking Events

Previous editions sold a combined 200,000 units

More than 4,000 history-making achievements, ground-breaking successes, and pioneering accomplishments

Fully revised with more than 500 new accomplishments¿as well as newly uncovered historic firsts

Thoroughly researched and documented history

First revision in eight years

History made accessible with fascinating stories of accomplishment, richly illustrated text, colorful personality studies, and fun facts.

Written for and aimed at general audiences

The first, best place to turn for an overview of history basics

Authoritative reference on African American history and powerful, lesser-known stories

Logical organization makes finding information quick and easy

Clear and concise answers

Numerous black-and-white photographs

Thoroughly indexed

Authoritative resource

Written to appeal to anyone interested in African American achievements, history, and pride¿including students, teachers, and researchers

Publicity and promotion aimed at the wide array of websites devoted to history and education

Back-to-school promotion targeting more mainstream media and websites on a popular topic

Promotion targeting magazines and newspapers

List of contents

About the Author

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

01. Arts & Entertainment

02. Business

03. Civil Rights and Protest

04. Education

05. Government: County & State

06. Government: Federal

07. Government: International

08. Government: Local

09. Journalism

10. Military

11. Miscellaneous

12. Organizations

13. Religion

14. Science and Medicine

15. Sports

16. Writers

Bibliography

Index

About the author

Distinguished in the library profession and recognized educator, author and scholar Jessie Carney Smith is dean of the library and holds the Camille Cosby Distinguished Chair in the Humanities at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. She completed her undergraduate work at North Carolina A&T State University and holds master’s degrees from Michigan State University and Vanderbilt University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Among Dr. Smith’s numerous awards are the National Women’s Book Association’s Award, the Candace Award for excellence in education, Sage magazine’s Anna J. Cooper Award for research on African American women, and the Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award from the Association of College and Research Libraries. Her work includes Black Firsts, Black Heroes, The Handy African American History Answer Book, and with co-author Linda T. Wynn, Freedom Facts and Firsts all published by Visible Ink Press. She resides in Nashville, Tennessee.

Summary

A celebration of achievement, accomplishments, and pride!

The first African American president, U.S. senator, and the first black lawyer in the Department of Education. The first black chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first African American commissioned officer in the Marine Corps. The first black professors in a variety of fields. The first African American advertising agency. The first African American Olympian. The first black pilot for a scheduled commercial airline. The first recorded slave revolt in North America. The first African American cookbook writer.

Revel and rejoice in the renowned and lesser-known, barrier-breaking trailblazers in all fields—arts, entertainment, business, civil rights, education, government, invention, journalism, religion, science, sports, music, and more. Black Firsts: 500 Years of Trailblazing Achievements and Ground-Breaking Events, Fourth Edition bears witness to the long and complex history of African Americans!

Expanded, updated, and revised for the first time in over eight years, Black Firsts collects more than 500 all-new achievements and previously unearthed firsts. This massive tome proves that African American accomplishments are wide-ranging and ongoing, documenting thousands of personal victories and triumphs.

Who was the first black American depicted on a postage stamp? (1940 Booker Taliaferro Washington)

Who was the first African American bookseller? (1834 David Ruggles, New York City)

Where was the first black car dealership? (1941 Edward Davis, Detroit, Studebaker)

When was the first black-owned company listed on a major stock exchange? (1971 Johnson Products)

Who was the first black U.S. senator? (1870 Hiram Rhoades [Rhodes] Revels, Mississippi)

Who was the African American columnist who won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary? (1989 Clarence Page)

Who was the U.S. Supreme Court’s first black justice? (1967 Thurgood Marshall)

Who first broke the color barrier to become a flight attendant? (1958 Ruth Carol Taylor)

Who became the first black to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point? (1877 Henry Ossian Flipper)

Which model was the first black to grace Sports Illustrated cover? (1997 Tyra Banks)

Who became the American Medical Association’s first black president? (1995 Lonnie Bristow)

What is the oldest surviving black church in America? (The African Meeting House, built in 1806 and known as the Joy Street Baptist Church, in Boston)

Who became the first black pitcher to win a World Series game? (1952 Rookie of the Year, Joe Black, of the Brooklyn Dodgers)

Who was the first regularly recognized black physician in the United States? (1780s James Durham [Derham])

Who was the first black actress to receive an Emmy Award? (1969 Gail Fisher)

Who became the first black professional football player? (1904 Charles W. Follis)

What was first short story published by a black woman in the United States? (1859 Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s “The Two Offers”)

Who was the black explorer who joined the Lewis and Clark expedition? (York)

Who was the first black lawyer to argue a case before the Supreme Court? (1880 Samuel R. Lowery)

Which two songs by black Americans were the first to be send out of the solar system? (1977 Chuck Berry’s song “Johnny B. Goode” and Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” on Voyager I)

What famous inventor and agronomist has a national monument named after him in Diamond, Missouri? (1960 George Washington Carver)

What movie featured the first black female lead in a Disney animated feature? (2009 “The Princess and the Frog” starred Anika Noni Rose)

Who was the first black American to win a gold medal in the women’s all-around final competition.? (2012 Gabrielle “Gabby” Christina Victoria Douglas)

Who were the Tuskegee Airmen and why are they so famous? (1941 The U.S. Congress established the first combat unit for blacks in the Army Air Corps with a training facility for black airmen, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, located at Tuskegee Institute, Alabama)

Who participated in the first armed encounter of the American Revolution and later became the first black to receive an honorary master's degree? (Lemuel Haynes)

Who was the author of a book of poetry that won the first Pulitzer Prize awarded to a black American? (1950 Gwendolyn Brooks for “Annie Allen”)

What was the first black record company? (Pace Phonograph Company established 1921 by Henry Pace)

Who was the black hero who sacrificed himself at the Boston Massacre, an event that would help inspire the American Revolution? (1770 Crispus Attucks)

Who was the first black entertainer to host his own talk show on national television? (1989 Arsenio Hall)

Who was the first African American to lead the NASA space program? (2009 Charles Frank Bolden Jr.)

Who was the first black American to win the Nobel Peace Prize? (1944 Ralph Johnson Bunche)

Who was the first black American athlete to win an Olympic gold medal? (1908 John Baxter “Doc” Taylor Jr. winner of the 4 X 400-meter relay in London)

Which inventor had the first patent granted an African American? (1872 Elijah McCoy)

Who was the first African American to win a Grammy Award? (1959 Count [William] Basie)

Who is thought to be the United States’ first black millionaire? (1890 Thomy Lafon, New Orleans real estate speculator and moneylender)

Who was the first black named Association of College and Research Librarian of the Year? (1985 Jessie Carney Smith)

Which black first sang a principal role with the Metropolitan Opera? (1955 Marian Anderson)

When was the first black judge appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals? (1966 Spottswood Robinson)

Which black artist was the first to be featured in a solo exhibit at New York’s Museum of Modern Art? (1937 William Edmondson)

When was the first black mayor of Dallas elected? (1995 Ron Kirk)

Who was the first elected black chairman of Republican National Convention? (1884 John Roy Lynch)

Who was the first known black to graduate from an American college? (1823 Alexander Lucius Twilight received a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College in Vermont)

With more than 350 photos and illustrations, this information-rich book also includes a helpful bibliography and an extensive index, adding to its usefulness. This vital collection will appeal to anyone interested in America’s amazing history and resilient people.

Additional text

“Trailblazing tales: Chronicling Black pioneers over 30 years … “Black Firsts: 500 Years of Trailblazing Achievements and Ground-Breaking Events” is a proud celebration of Black success.”– San Francisco Chronicle

“A valuable resource for young adult students and library reference desks, Smith’s exacting
overview of Black achievement will answer classroom questions and pique curiosity about
innovators …” – Booklist

“I really believe that this book empowers you to know that the narrative that's been placed upon [Black people] is not really what it is. We have done so many powerful things in this country. We need to teach kids about Black history.” – Rockland/Westchester Journal News

“Black Firsts: 500 Years of Trailblazing Achievements and Ground-Breaking Events” is a proud celebration of Black success. … now in its fourth edition, was begun nearly 30 years ago. It remains dedicated to “the abounding success of our people who, despite the odds, continue to reach new heights.” … Like the story of Black achievement in every field, it’s a history of hard work and often incremental progress. … the struggle goes on, and [Author Jessie Carney] Smith vows to keep chronicling it. “I am not yet done with writing about first black achievers and black hidden figures,” she writes. “In the words of one of Fisk University’s dean of women, Juliette Derricotte, who reflected on her travels in India, Japan, and China in the late 1920s, ‘There is so much more to know than I accustomed to knowing — and so much more to love than I accustomed to loving.’”— New York Daily News

“…  uncovers African American accomplishments in all areas … such as arts and entertainment, journalism, military, and religion, with separate sections devoted to local government, county and state government, federal government, and international government.” – Protoview Book News

Praise for the previous edition ...

"The third edition of this invaluable resource of African American achievements updates the previous edition. Recommended for anyone from elementary-school age to adults who are interested in African American history."— Booklist

"In the new book Black Firsts by Jessie Carney Smith, you’ll find information on tens of thousands of folks who’ve gone before you – in a good way."— Bookworm Sez

"Black Firsts is a book full of hope."— Chicago Sun-Times

"A superb historical study of black achievement."— Houston Chronicle

"The well-researched sketches provide a great deal of information. This is an excellent resource for starting research on black history, but its sheer volume may be overwhelming to casual researchers. The lesser-known figures, however, make the title worth digging into."— Library Journal

"An exhaustive listing of the accomplishments of black Americans in the arts, business, education, the military, medicine and science, and sports."— Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

"This authoritative work, with its brief biographies of many accomplished and famous African-Americans, is one that writers, researchers, and libraries will want to keep close at hand for its valuable information."— Richmond Times-Dispatch

"This is a must-have reference."— St. Paul Pioneer Press

"...comprehensively catalogs the achievements of everybody from Hank Aaron to Bruce Yuille..."— Syracuse Post-Standard

"An excellent reference source, but, more than most such encyclopedia collections, it also can be read."— The Salt Lake Tribune

Product details

• Authors: Jessie Carney Smith
• Publisher: Visible Ink Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.01.2021
• EAN: 9781578597413
• ISBN: 978-1-57859-741-3
• No. of pages: 704
• Series: Multicultural History & Heroes; The Multicultural History & Heroes Collection
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Ethnology > Folklore; HISTORY / African American, REFERENCE / Questions & Answers, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Civil Rights