Gwendolyn Brooks was the 1st black woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, 1950.

Read more "Gwendolyn Brooks"

Quvenzhané Wallis became the youngest nominee for an Academy Award in the Best Actress category at ten years old, 2013.

Read more "Quvenzhané Wallis"

Ethel Waters was the 1st black person to star in her own television show, “The Ethel Waters Show,” 1939.

Read more "Ethel Waters"

Suzan-Lori Parks made history with her play Topdog/Underdog, a production that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama—making her the 1st female black writer to do so—in 2002.

Read more "Suzan-Lori Parks"

Alain LeRoy Locke graduated from Harvard University and was the 1st black man to win a Rhodes Scholarship, 1907.

Read more "Alain LeRoy Locke"

Charlayne Hunter-Gault was the 1st black woman to enroll at the University of Georgia, as well as one of the 1st two African-American students to integrate the school, in 1961.

Read more "Charlayne Hunter-Gault"

Arthur Mitchell created the 1st black classical ballet company, Dance Theatre of Harlem, 1969.

Read more "Arthur Mitchell"

Lucy Terry’s 1746 poem, “Bar’s Fight” is her only surviving poem and is considered the oldest known work of literature by a black person.

Read more "Lucy Terry"

Mae C. Jemison was the 1st black woman to be admitted into NASA’s astronaut training program, 1987.

Read more "Mae C. Jemison"

Elaine Welteroth was the youngest and 1st black Editor in Chief at Teen Vogue at age 29.

Read more "Elaine Welteroth"