Thomson Reuters
Find Law: Supreme Court Justices: Thurgood Marshall
Here is an overview of the life and career of Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993), an advocate for civil rights and the first African-American Supreme Court justice. Read about Marshall's family, education, and career in law and government.
Other
The Official Website of Misty Copeland
Learn about the background and artistic influence of ballet dancer Misty Copeland, the first African American female principal dancer for the acclaimed American Ballet Theater. The site also provides links to videos and magazine articles...
A&E Television
History.com: Colin Powell
Colin Powell (1937-2021) ascended from a humble upbringing in New York City to rise through military ranks and eventually become a four star general, a national security adviser, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first...
Read Works
Read Works: Famous African Americans Jackie Robinson
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage contains biographical information about the first African American to play in Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces...
Duke University
Duke University Libraries: Digitized Collections: African American Women
Access Civil War-era documents that give us a rare first-hand glimpse into the lives of African American women at the time: letters of two slave women from the 1830s and 1850s and a hand-written memoir of another woman born shortly after...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Marian Anderson's Performance
Marian Anderson was the first African American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera. She had to overcome prejudice many times in her career. The Library of Congress tells you more with words and pictures.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Althea Gibson Won Again!
Althea Gibson made it possible for the Williams sisters to play at Wimbledon. As the first African-American to win that title, she was a pioneer. See photos and read more about her on this Library of Congress site.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1844 1877: Reconstruction: The First Kkk
Explains how the Ku Klux Klan came into existence and how they terrorized African Americans as well as those who sympathized with them. The Klan would suppress the black vote so that Democrats had a better chance of winning an election...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story:jackie Robinson Throws Opening Pitch
Jackie Robinson was not only one of the all-time great baseball players, he was the first African American to play in the Major Leagues. The Library of Congress presents a site with information and photographs of this amazing man.
University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge: The First Black Female Poet?
This article looks at a ballad, 'Bars Fight,' by 18th century African-American writer Lucy Terry. It considers the literary qualities of a ballad, and its historical role in society. It then goes on to consider why a Black slave might...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Dancing Towards Dreams
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...
Other
Irin: Niger: Tandja Wins Second Term as President in Historic First
An overview of the African country of Niger's political, economic, and historic background. Biographical details of President Tandja are included. (Published December 8, 2004)
US House of Representatives
History, Art, and Archives: Barbara Charline Jordan 1936 1996
One of the first African-Americans elected from the Deep South and the first black Congresswoman ever from that region, read about how Barbara Jordan emerged as a powerful interpreter of the Watergate impeachment investigation.
Poetry Foundation
Poetry Foundation: Gwendolyn Brooks (1917 2000)
A biography of Gwedolyn Brooks, the first African American woman author to win the Pulitzer prize. With career information and links to many of her poems, some with audio. Listen to podcasts about her work and read articles about the...
American Academy of Achievement
Academy of Achievement: Sidney Poitier
A biography of actor Sidney Poitier. After a very humble beginning in life, Poitier struggled for years to overcome his lack of education and to break through racial barriers, eventually receiving recognition for his acting abilities. He...
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Girls Changing History Alice Coachman
A biographical view of Alice Coachman who was the first African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal, in 1948.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: 300 Women Who Changed History: Phillis Wheatley
Encyclopedia Britannica provides a brief biography of Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784 CE), the first African-American to have a book of poetry published.
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Condoleezza Rice
Learn interesting facts about Condoleezza Rice, the first African American woman to hold several positions, including Secretary of State.
Other
Florence Beatrice Price: African American Composer
Learn about the first African American women to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra. This resource lists information about her birth, her marriage and a list of nearly all of her compositions.
PBS
Africans in America: Margaret Washington on the Earliest Africans in Va.
In a brief answer, Margaret Washington, Assoc. Professor of History at Cornell University, discusses where the first Africans to colonial Virginia were from, who they were, and what it may have been like for them.
York University
York University: African Canadian Online: Black Pioneers
Black people have played an important part in the history of Canada from its earliest days when the first black man came to Canada in 1606. Learn about these pioneers and their accomplishments.
PBS
Pbs: Cet: Africans in America: The First Slave Auction at New Amsterdam in 1655
This website contains a general description of the time and reason for the first large slave auction held in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. Click on Teacher's Guide for teaching resources.
The Washington Post
Washington Post: Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light
A fascinating first chapter from the book, Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light. Read about how African American laborers and troops were treated by their white American compatriots and see how that contrasted with the...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: 1913: Fifty Years, Making of African American Identity: V. 2
A poem, an address, and a blues song that express black life in the first fifty years after the Emancipation Proclamation. The texts examine whether the true meaning of the proclamation carried forward to the lives African Americans.