Matthew Henson was the first black person to be made a life member of The Explorers Club in 1937 and, in 1948, was elevated to the highest level of membership.

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Marie Gilmore was the city of Alameda, California’s first elected black mayor of any gender in 2010.

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Marvin Gaye was one of the 1st artists in Motown to break away from a production company, paving the way for Stevie Wonder, Tamla Records In the 1970’s.

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Beverly Smith is a writer, feminist, academic, and activist. She and Barbara Smith are twins.

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Alex Haley received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP for his research and literary skills in the 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family in1977.   

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Alice Walker born 1944 is a writer, poet, and activist. She coined the term “womanist” to describe a feminist of color. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for The Color Purple.

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Marcus Garvey was the Jamaican-born President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL); 1927.

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Black Bourbon Society is the first black bourbon Society to have a barrel pick with Makers Mark.

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Zelda “Jackie” Ormes born in 1911, died in 1985 was the first black woman cartoonist to have a syndicated column with Torchy Brown in Dixon Harlem 1937 to 1942 followed by Patty-Jo n Ginger from 1945 to 1956.

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Arthur Ashe was the 1st black tennis player selected for the United States Davis Cup team, 1963.

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