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Title details for Black Firsts by Jessie Carney Smith - Available

Black Firsts

500 Years of Trailblazing Achievements and Ground-Breaking Events

by Jessie Carney Smith
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A celebration of achievement, accomplishments, and pride!

The first African American president, U.S. senator, and the first black lawyer in the Department of Education. The first black chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first African American commissioned officer in the Marine Corps. The first black professors in a variety of fields. The first African American advertising agency. The first African American Olympian. The first black pilot for a scheduled commercial airline. The first recorded slave revolt in North America. The first African American cookbook writer.

Revel and rejoice in the renowned and lesser-known, barrier-breaking trailblazers in all fields—arts, entertainment, business, civil rights, education, government, invention, journalism, religion, science, sports, music, and more. Black Firsts: 500 Years of Trailblazing Achievements and Ground-Breaking Events, 4th edition, bears witness to the long and complex history of African Americans! This massive tome captures remarkable episodes of discipline, will, transcendence, and sometimes belated, but always well-deserved, recognition.

Expanded, updated, and revised for the first time in over eight years, Black Firsts collects more than 500 all-new achievements and previously unearthed firsts. This doorstopper of a book proves that African American accomplishments are wide-ranging and ongoing, documenting thousands of personal victories and triumphs.

  • Who was the first black American depicted on a postage stamp? (1940 Booker Taliaferro Washington)
  • Who was the first African American bookseller? (1834 David Ruggles, New York City)
  • Where was the first black car dealership? (1941 Edward Davis, Detroit, Studebaker)
  • When was the first black-owned company listed on a major stock exchange? (1971 Johnson Products)
  • Who was the first black U.S. senator? (1870 Hiram Rhoades [Rhodes] Revels, Mississippi)
  • Who was the African American columnist who won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary? (1989 Clarence Page)
  • Who was the U.S. Supreme Court's first black justice? (1967 Thurgood Marshall)
  • Who first broke the color barrier to become a flight attendant? (1958 Ruth Carol Taylor)
  • Who became the first black to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point? (1877 Henry Ossian Flipper)
  • Which model was the first black to grace Sports Illustrated cover? (1997 Tyra Banks)
  • Who became the American Medical Association's first black president? (1995 Lonnie Bristow)
  • What is the oldest surviving black church in America? (The African Meeting House, built in 1806 and known as the Joy Street Baptist Church, in Boston)
  • Who became the first black pitcher to win a World Series game? (1952 Rookie of the Year, Joe Black, of the Brooklyn Dodgers)
  • Who was the first regularly recognized black physician in the United States? (1780s James Durham [Derham])
  • Who was the first black actress to receive an Emmy Award? (1969 Gail Fisher)
  • Who became the first black professional football player? (1904 Charles W. Follis)
  • What was first short story published by a black woman in the United States? (1859 Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's "The Two Offers")
  • Who was the black explorer who joined the Lewis and Clark expedition? (York)
  • Who was the first black lawyer to argue a case before the Supreme Court? (1880 Samuel R. Lowery)
  • Which two songs by black Americans were the first to be send out of the solar system? (1977 Chuck Berry's song "Johnny B. Goode" and Blind Willie...

    • Creators

    • Series

      The Multicultural History & Heroes Collection

    • Publisher

    • Release date

      January 1, 2021

    • Formats

      • Kindle Book

        • ISBN: 9781578597307

      • OverDrive Read

        • ISBN: 9781578597307

      • EPUB ebook

        • ISBN: 9781578597307
        • File size: 63205 KB

    • Languages

      • English

    • Reviews

      • Library Journal

        February 1, 2021

        For the fourth edition of this work (last updated in 2013), Smith (librarian emerita, Fisk Univ.; editor, The Handy African-American History Answer Book) includes additions and updates to some of the thousands of entries, which range in length from a paragraph (Dave Chappelle) to a column (Madame C.J. Walker) and occasionally longer. Entries are arranged chronologically in broad professional categories (science and medicine; arts and entertainment), with photos and boxed text interspersed. Occasional tables on topics such as Black pioneers of higher education convey material succinctly. Sources appear at the end of each entry, with further reading found at the book's conclusion. VERDICT A wide-ranging overview that will result in hours of browsing and serve as a strong jumping-off point for research projects or deeper study.

        Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

      • Booklist

        July 21, 2021
        A valuable resource for young adult students and library reference desks, Smith's exacting overview of Black achievement will answer classroom questions and pique curiosity about innovators in 16 categories. Coverage, which favors politics and sports, begins chronologically with short entries and source lists and includes photos and sidebars, such as the 18 winners of the Spingarn Medal and nine recipients of the Miss USA title. Smith accords special honors to female firsts, and balances genders in representation and photos. A 14-page bibliography precedes a thorough name index with subtopics. Particularly suited to middle-school libraries, the compilation also deserves a place in the YA section of public libraries.

        COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    Formats

    • Kindle Book
    • OverDrive Read
    • EPUB ebook

    subjects

    Languages

    • English

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