Thread by @rikki613

For #blackhistorymonth I've decided to promote one figure from black history every day. Today we're kicking it off with Madame CJ Walker, the first American woman to become a self-made millionaire. madamcjwalker.com/#&panel1-1

Day two! Congressman Robert Smalls, who stole a Confederate ship and sailed 17 slaves to freedom. And that was literally just his first amazing act. I learned about him from this video from @cracked cracked.com/video_20215_ho…
And here's more info:
pbs.org/wnet/african-a…

Day three! Marsha P. Johnson, a pivotal figure in LGBTQIA rights since the beginning. Her efforts during the Stonewall Riots (50 years ago this year!) helped pave the way for the progress the community has made in the past half-century. sites.psu.edu/womeninhistory…

Day four! It's gonna be Rosa, because it's her birthday. Going off-book a bit here, because we all know Ms. Parks' amazing contributions (and if you don't, shame on you). So I'll just say watch the Doctor Who episode "Rosa" from this past season. Absolutely phenomenal!

Day five! Marie Daly and Alice Ball, chemistry queens! Daly was the first Black woman to earn a chem PhD (Columbia, 1947), while Ball was the first female chem professor at the Univ of Hawaii. Daly made great strides with proteins, while Ball essentially cured leprosy.

Today's Black History hero is also an LGBTQIA hero, Bayard Rustin. Rustin was a close associate of Dr. MLK Jr, but had his public exposure limited because of his sexuality. pbs.org/wnet/african-a…

Day 7: Toni Morrison, the first Black woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (1993). Also a great representative of how powerfully Ohioans contribute to literary history! tonimorrisonsociety.org

Today's Black History hero is Vonetta Flowers, who in 2002 became the first Black person to earn a gold medal in the #WinterOlympics along with her bobsled partner, Jill Bakken. #blackhistorymonth en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vonetta_F…

Piggybacking on yesterday's Olympic hero, today's choice is John Baxter Taylor, who won gold in the 1908 men's relay in London, becoming the first Black person to win an Olympic gold. He unfortunately died of typhoid just 6 months later at 26. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tayl…

Order in the court! Charlotte Ray, the first black female lawyer (1872), demands your attention. She even argued before SCOTUS (Gadley v. Gadley, 1875). One could say she...raised the bar? ;) en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte…

Two for Grammy representation: Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald, the first black male and female to win a Grammy (both in 1958!).

Day 12 is Charles Gittens, the first black Secret Service agent. He was a hero on many fronts, fighting valiantly in Korea, then joining the secret service from 56-79, then working at the Dept of Justice investigating Nazi war criminals. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_G…

I'm at a technology conference, so I'd love to share this amazing list of 25 black inventors. Did you know an African-American invented the super soaker? Lonnie Johnson is an American hero! #blackhistorymonth complex.com/pop-culture/20…

The great William Harvey Carney is in today's place of honor as the first black Medal of Honor winner. His actions with the 54th are roughly documented in the movie "Glory". Born a slave, died a war hero. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H…

Today we celebrate Claudette Colvin, who Rosa Parksed 9 months before Rosa at age 15. How many 15-year-olds do you know that would stand up for their constitutional rights when they could literally be lynched for it? #blackhistorymonth

In lieu of a hero, I've decided instead to share this photo series of 50 Black history images from @BuzzFeedNews. Some I've seen, some I haven't, and some are impacting no matter how often you see them. Also, Flo-Jo's legs. Just. Damn. buzzfeednews.com/article/gabrie…

Let's talk about Patrick Healy. First black Jesuit minister,1st African-American to earn a doctorate(in Belgium, 1865),1st black professor at a white University (Georgetown, 68)and then 1st black president of the same(74). Why? Bc he could pass for white. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_F…

It's President's Day! Martin H. Freeman is the first black president of a university (Avery, 1856), Johnnetta Cole is the first black female president (Spelman, 1988), and Ruth Simmons is the first black ivy league pres (Brown, 2001). More ed firsts here: jbhe.com/chronology/

My husband and I love voice actors. @JMichaelTatum @TheJohnDiMaggio @CrispinFreeman and @IAmCreeSummer are some faves. The first black professional voice actor was Arthur Burghardt and he deserves mad props for bringing Destro, Devastator, and Venom to life. #blackhistorymonth

Juanita Hall was the first African-American to win a Tony, and the first winner of the featured actress Tony, for her 1950 role in South Pacific. Here's to the Tonys for being a ton more diverse than the Oscars.(50+ black winners>16 for Oscars). en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juanita_H…

The first African-American to hold a patent was Thomas Jennings in 1821 for a dry cleaning process. The first African-American woman to hold a patent was Sarah Goode in 1885 for a bed that folded into a cabinet. Black inventors gave us so many things! google.com/amp/s/amp.inte…

I also saw Judy Reed as the first Black female to own a patent for a dough kneader in 1884. Not sure why two different women come up for that, but thanks to both for setting a precedent for great Black female inventors!

Here are some black firsts from 2018: Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald (Obama Smithsonian portrait artists), Lorna Mahlock (female Marine general), Stacey Abrams (female candidate for governor), Daryl Williams (superintendent of West Point).

Black Sports Firsts:
NFL player: Fritz Pollard and Bobby Marshall (1920)
MLB: Jackie Robinson (1947)
NHL: Willie O'Ree (1958)
NBA: Earl Lloyd (1950)
PGA: Charles Sifford (1967)
Tennis champion: Althea Gibson (1957)
Heavyweight Boxing Champ: Jack Johnson (1908)

I can think of no one better to honor today than #RuthCarter, first black Oscar for costume design, and #HannahBeachler, first black Oscar for production design. Congrats, ladies! #WakandaForever #Oscars #blackhistorymonth #blackherstorymonth

Dr Rebecca Lee Crumpler,MD was the first black female doctor in the US in 1864. She worked for the Freedmen's bureau to provide medical care for freed slaves. She then wrote a book about medicine for women and children, the 1st black and 1st woman to publish a medical book.

Today I'd like to remember all the young African-Americans who will never have the chance to be the first at anything because their lives were unjustly ripped from them. Emmett, Trayvon, Freddie, Philando, the list goes on and on. #blackhistorymonth #blacklivesmatter

Throwing a bonus black first on here because @spacepenguin98 and I are watching @nbctitangames and saw Brehanna Daniels, the first black woman to work as a NASCAR tire changer. She is killer strong and inspirational. Go @Mindless_BMD! #blackhistorymonth

This is the one I've been waiting for. The most important Black first is the one that hasn't been achieved yet, the one that will be earned by any of the amazing Black students I've had the pleasure of teaching. Some day the world will know how awesome they are. I already know.

@threadreaderapp please unroll this thread for me! Thanks!