Sugar Ray Johnson, a black professional boxer, was one of the 1st blacks to establish himself as a star outside sports with his restaurant “Sugar Ray’s,” 2000; New York.

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Scott Joplin was a black composer and pianist who was known as the “King of Ragtime” , 44 popular ballets and operas, including the “Maple Leaf Rag,” his 1st and most influential hit; 1899.

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Gloria Dean Randle Scott 1st black woman to be elected national president of the Girl Scouts, 1975.

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Dr. Albert E. Manley, the first black and male president of Spelman College from 1953 to 1976.

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Alvin Ailey was a black choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Ailey School in New York City; 1958.

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Marian Wright Edelman 1st black woman to be admitted to the bar in Mississippi, 1964.

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Faye Wattleton, a black woman, was the first woman of any race to become president of Planned Parenthood in 1978.

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In 2015, ESPN named him the best center in NBA history, and ranked him No. 2 behind Michael Jordan among the greatest NBA players ever.

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Norma Merrill Sklarek 1st black woman to become a licensed architect in NY, 1954, and CA, 1962. She was the only licensed black women architect in CA until 1980.

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Thomas J. Bradley was the only black mayor of Los Angeles, and his 20 years in office mark the longest tenure by any mayor in the city’s history: 1973 to 1993.

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