Black firsts : 500 years of trailblazing achievements and ground-breaking events

705 Pages·2021·10.455 MB·English

by  Jessie Carney Smith

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A V I P
LSO FROM ISIBLE NK RESS
African American Almanac: 400 Years of The Handy American History Answer Book
Triumph, Courage and Excellence By David L. Hudson, Jr.
By Lean’tin Bracks, Ph.D. ISBN: 978-1-57859-471-9
ISBN: 978-1-57859-323-1 The Handy Christianity Answer Book
The American Women’s Almanac: 500 By Stephen A. Werner, Ph.D.
Years of Making History ISBN: 978-1-57859-686-7
By Deborah G. Felder The Handy Islam Answer Book
ISBN: 978-1-57859-636-2 By John Renard, Ph.D.
Black Firsts: 4,500 Trailblazing ISBN: 978-1-57859-510-5
Achievements and Ground-Breaking Native American Almanac: More Than
Events 50,000 Years of the Cultures and
By Jessie Carney Smith, Ph.D. Histories of Indigenous Peoples
ISBN: ISBN: 978-1-57859-688-1 By Yvonne Wakim Dennis, Arlene
Black Heroes Hirschfelder, and Shannon Rothen-
By Jessie Carney Smith, Ph.D. berger Flynn
ISBN: 978-1-57859-136-7 ISBN: 978-1-57859-507-5
Freedom Facts and Firsts: 400 Years of the Native American Landmarks and
African American Civil Rights Festivals: A Traveler’s Guide to
Experience Indigenous United States and Canada
By Jessie Carney Smith, Ph.D., and Linda By Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene
T. Wynn Hirschfelder
ISBN: 978-1-57859-192-3 ISBN: 978-1-57859-641-6
The Handy African American History
Answer Book
By Jessie Carney Smith, Ph.D.
ISBN: 978-1-57859-452-8
PLEASE VISIT US AT WWW.VISIBLEINKPRESS.COM.
Black Firsts 4th edition.qxp 10/22/20 7:32 PM Page iii
about the author
Distinguished in the library profession and a
recognized educator, author, and scholar,
Jessie Carney Smith is Librarian Emerita of Fisk
University in Nashville, Tennessee. Previously,
she was dean of the library and held the Camille
Cosby Distinguished Chair in the Humanities at
Fisk. She completed her undergraduate degree at
North Carolina A&T State University, continued
her studies at Cornell University, holds master’s
degrees from Michigan State University and Van-
derbilt University, and received her Ph.D. degree
Photo: Vando Rogers from the University of Illinois.
Dr. Smith’s work with Visible Ink Press resulted in three previous edi-
tions of Black Firsts; two editions of Black Heroes; The Handy African Amer-
ican History Book; and, with her colleague Linda T. Wynn, Freedom Facts
and Firsts: 400 Years of the American Civil Rights Experience. Other works
that she wrote or edited include Black Women of the Harlem Renaissance Era
(with colleague Dr. Lean’tin L. Bracks); Encyclopedia of African American
Business (two volumes, two editions); Encyclopedia of African American Pop-
ular Culture (three volumes); Notable Black American Women (Books I, II,
and III); Notable Black American Men (Books I and II); Epic Lives: One Hun-
dred Black Women Who Made a Difference; Powerful Black Women; Ethnic Ge-
nealogy; and Black Academic Libraries and Research Collections.
Widely celebrated for her work, Dr. Smith’s recognitions include the
National Women’s Book Association Award; the Candace Award for excel-
lence in education; Sage magazine’s Anna J. Cooper Award for research on
African American women; the Academic/Research Librarian of the Year
Award from the Association of College and Research Libraries; the Distin-
guished Alumni Award from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University; the
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iv
Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Illinois, School of Li-
brary and Information Science; the Research Career Award from Fisk Uni-
versity; and the Belle Ringer Image Award from Bennett College for Women.
She has been cited by the American Library Association for her contribu-
tions to that organization and long tenure at Fisk.
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Black
Copyright © 2021 by Visible Ink Press®
Firsts This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright laws,
as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and other appli-
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Cover images: Tyler Perry (John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com), Ka-
mala Harris (U.S. Senate), Calvin Elam (U.S. Air Force), Serena Williams (Edwin Mar-
tinez), Ray Charles (Victor Diaz Lamich), Meghan Markle (Genevieve [Wikicommons]),
Tuskegee Airmen (Library of Congress), Alicia Boler Davis (Alicia Boler Davis), Presi-
dent Barack Obama (Pete Souza, The White House), Booker T. Washington (U.S.
Postal Service).
ISBN: 978-1-57859-688-1
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress.
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Printed in the United States of America.
Black Firsts 4th edition.qxp 10/22/20 7:32 PM Page vii
contents
Photo Sources ix Acknowledgments xv Introduction xvii
Further Reading 641 Name Index 655
Arts and Journalism
Entertainment 339
1
Military
Business 361
65
Miscellaneous
Civil Rights 393
and Protest
Organizations
97
427
Education
Religion
113
465
Government:
County & State Science &
Medicine
187
507
Government:
Federal Sports
229 537
Government: Writers
International 623
279
Government:
Local
293
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Photo Sources
Adundi (Wikicommons): p. 523 (middle).
[email protected]: p. 352.
Keith Allison: p. 567 (top).
AP/Wide World: pp. 42 (bottom), 593 (bottom), 614.
Apavlo (Wikicommons): p. 414 (top).
Arquivo/ABr: p. 286 (bottom).
Associated Press: p. 574.
Auburn University: p. 294.
Joyce Banda, President of Malawi: p. 284 (bottom).
Ralph Barrera: p. 252.
Baseball Digest: p. 545 (middle).
BeeCeePhoto: p. 51 (bottom).
Belize Foreign and Commonwealth Office: p. 279.
Bibliothèque Nationale de France: p. 32 (top).
Birmingham Public Library archives: p. 106 (top).
BlackLDS.org: p. 498.
Darrell Blakely: p. 165.
John Bracken: p. 158 (top).
Brightline (Wikicommons): p. 68.
Britannica.com: p. 511 (middle).
Brody2786 (Wikicommons): p. 296.
William Patrick Butler: p. 316 (top).
Canadian Film Centre: p. 403.
Carolina Digital Library and Archives: p. 486.
Marcello Casal Jr./ABr: p. 280.
Ethan Casey: p. 540 (top).
ix