Category: This Week in Black History

Los Angeles actor James Baskett becomes the first Black man to receive an Academy Award when he wins an honorary Oscar for playing the role […]

Maurice Ashley becomes the first Black person to become a chess grandmaster. The rank is conferred by the International Chess Federation to players who amass […]

Andrew Brimmer becomes the first Black governor of the Federal Reserve Board. He was appointed by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. For more information on Black […]

March 2, 1962 Philadelphia Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game against the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Warriors defeated […]

Debi Thomas becomes the first African American to medal at a Winter Olympics when she wins the bronze medal in women’s figure skating at Calgary, […]

Joe Frazier knocked out Jimmy Ellis in the second round of their fight at Madison Square Garden to become the world heavyweight boxing champion. – […]

Educator W.E. B. DuBois is one of 60-plus activists who form the NAACP to fight for racial equality for Black Americans. As editor of Crisis […]

Former St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Bill White is named president of the National League, becoming the first African American to lead a major sports […]

President Barack Obama signs his first bill as president of the United States. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 revised the statute of limitations for […]

Jefferson High School and UCLA graduate Ralph Bunche, the first African American to win the Nobel Prize for his efforts to establish peace in the […]