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

Hilton Als is a writer for The New Yorker and won a Pulitzer Prize in 2016.

Virginia State University was the 1st fully state-supported four-year institution of higher learning for blacks, 1882