Carol Moseley Braun

Carol Moseley Braun was the 1st black woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate, Illinois, 1992

Thomas L. Jennings

Thomas L. Jennings was the 1st black to hold a patent for a dry-cleaning process, 1821

Mary Jane Patterson (1840-1894) was the 1st black woman to earn a B.A, Oberlin College in 1862. BlackHistoryEveryday.com

Ghana was the 1st African state to achieve independence from British colonialism.

Kofi Annan was the 1st black secretary of the United Nations.

Freedom’s Journal was the 1st black owned-and-operated newspaper, 1827

Vincent R. Stewart was the 1st black person to lead a major intelligence agency: Defense Intelligence Agency, 2015

In Dahomey was the 1st Broadway musical written by blacks, and the first to star blacks, 1903

Loretta Lynch was the 1st black woman Attorney General of the United States, 2015

Sarah Jane Woodson Early was the 1st black woman college instructor: Wilberforce College, 1858