(January 28, 1901 – March 5, 1989) was an African American sculptor known for his many public works, including the Toussaint L’Ouverture Monument in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and a sculpture of Rose McClendon for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater House. In 1924, with the aid of a Catholic priest, the...

E. Denise Simmons was the mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts during the 2008-2009 term, and she was the first openly lesbian African-American mayor in the United States. A Justice of the Peace and Notary Public, Simmons came to public office with 12 years of experience with the city-funded citizen rights...

Simone Bell is a community organizer and politician from Atlanta, GA, and the first African-American out lesbian elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in December 2009 from the state’s 58th district in DeKalb and Fulton counties. The seat had been held by Rep. Robbin Shipp (D-Atlanta)...

Daniel Hale Williams (January 18, 1858 – August 4, 1931) was an American surgeon. He was the first African-American cardiologist, and is sometimes attributed with performing the first successful surgery on the heart. He also founded Provident Hospital, the first non-segregated hospital in the United...

The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with African-American performers. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is the home of Showtime at the Apollo, a nationally syndicated...

Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American model, singer, songwriter and actress. In 1984, she became the first woman of African American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal caused her to relinquish her title. Williams rebounded by launching a career as an entertainer, earning...

John Arthur Johnson (March 31, 1878 – June 10, 1946), better known as Jack Johnson and nicknamed the “Galveston Giant”, was an American boxer, the best heavyweight of his generation and the first black world heavyweight boxing champion (1908-1915). He was born in Galveston, TX to former slaves...

The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II as the 332nd Fighter Group of the US Army Air Corps. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces. During World War II, African Americans...

Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1895 – October 26, 1952) was an American actress and the first black performer to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939). McDaniel was also a professional singer-songwriter, comedienne, stage actress,...

Early Life Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman (January 26, 1892 – April 30, 1926) was an American civil aviator. Popularly known as “Queen Bess”, she was the first person of African American descent to become a licensed airplane pilot,[1] and the first American of any race or gender to hold...