The following are short descriptions of the women and men who have contributed to the shaping of African American history. These encyclopedia entries serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources. For additional information please consult the print or website sources cited in the entry.
Political activist and educator Anna Arnold Hedgeman was the first African American woman to serve on the cabinet of a New York mayor when she worked during the term of New York City Mayor Robert Wagner from 1957-1958. Her career spanned more than six decades … Read MoreAnna Arnold Hedgeman (1899-1990)
Jill Elaine Brown became the first African American woman to serve as a pilot for a major U.S airline when she was hired by Texas international Airlines at the age of 28. Her passion for flying began as a teenager, leading her into the U.S. … Read MoreJill Elaine Brown
Cecil Bassett Moore was a lawyer, civil rights activist and leader of the Philadelphia National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1963 to 1967. A charismatic politician, Moore was able to mobilize large numbers of working class African Americans into direct political … Read MoreCecil Moore (1915-1979)
Benjamin Pelham was a powerful Detroit politician and journalist. He was the Wayne County accountant from 1906 until 1942 and the proprietor and editor of the first successful black newspaper in Detroit, the Plaindealer. Pelham, the youngest of six children born to Robert Pelham, a … Read MoreBenjamin Pelham (1862-1948)
William “Bill” Pinkney is the first African American, and only the fourth person in the world to circumnavigate the globe alone by boat. Pinkney was born on September 15, 1935, in Chicago, Illinois to Marion Henderson Pinkney and William Pinkney, Sr. He attended Tilden Tech … Read MoreWilliam “Bill” Pinkney (1935- )
Perry Young Jr, an airplane and helicopter pilot, was the first African American person to be hired by a commercial airline with regularly scheduled passenger flights. Young was born to his parents Henry Young Sr. and Edith Lucille Young on March 12, 1919 in Orangeburg, … Read MorePerry Young Jr. (1919-1998)
Max Robinson was an American broadcast journalist for ABC News and served as a co-anchor for ABC World News Tonight. He was the first African American broadcast network news anchor in the history of American television. He was also one of the original founders of … Read MoreMax Robinson (1939-1988)
Briton Hammon, whose birth and death dates are unknown, was the author of A Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings, and Surprizing Deliverance of Briton Hammon, A Negro Man, considered to be the first published autobiography by a black American. Hammon is thought by scholars to … Read MoreBriton Hammon (?-?)
Beverly Johnson is a model, actress, singer, and businesswoman who in 1971 became the first African American woman to appear on the cover of a major magazine. Johnson was born on October 13, 1952, in Buffalo, New York to middle class parents. Her father was … Read MoreBeverly Johnson (1952- )
Businesswoman and entertainer Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, known as the Mother of Blues, was the most popular blues singer/ songwriter of the 1920s. She is considered to be the first woman to introduce blues into her performances. As a single woman, she established her own entertainment … Read MoreGertrude “Ma” Rainey (1886-1939)
