Alexander Miles

Alexander Miles (1838 – 1918) was the first person awarded a patent for automatically opening and closing elevator doors in 1887.

Janet Emerson Bashen

Janet Emerson Bashen became the first black woman to obtain a software patent after creating, LinkLIne, to assist with web-based Equal Employment Opportunity investigations in 2007.

Richard Spikes

Richard Spikes (1878 – 1963) was the first person to hold a patent for an automatic gear shift for cars in 1932.

Darine Stern

Model, Darine Stern (1947 – 1994) , became the first black woman on the cover of Playboy in 1971.

Sammy Davis Jr.

Singer and entertainer, Sammy Davis Jr. (1925 – 1990) became the first black man to land the cover of GQ in 1967.

Naomi Sims

Model, Naomi Sims (1948 – 2009), was the first black woman on the cover of Ladies Home Journal in 1968.

Elbert Frank Cox

Elbert Frank Cox (1895-1969) was the first black person to receive a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Cornell in 1925.

Aileen Hernandez

Aileen Hernandez 1926 – 2017, was a union organizer, activist, president of NOW from 1970 – 1971, co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus and Black Women Organized for Political Action.

Cuba Gooding Jr.

Cuba Gooding Jr. was the youngest black male actor to win an Academy Award at the age of 29 for his role in Jerry Maguire in 1996.

Barbara Johns

Barbara Johns, 1935 – 1991, in 1951 led her classmates in a strike in Virginia to protest segregation in schools and her subsequent court case was folded into Brown v. Board of Education.

Black History Everyday

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black history everyday 24/7/365