30 Black Trailblazing Historical Figures To Celebrate This Black History Month

When most people think of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the first name that comes to mind tends to be Rosa Parks. But, what if I told you that while Parks’ arrest may have been the catalyst for the boycott, she was not the first African-American woman to refuse to give up her seat to a white passenger? In fact, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin was actually the first Black woman to be arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for the same act, nine months prior.

Nevertheless, Black civil rights leaders halted protests due to Colvin’s age and pregnancy at the time, deeming her an “inappropriate representation” for their cause. Following her arrest, she became one of four plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle, which ruled that Montgomery’s segregated bus system was unconstitutional.

Before Elvis and Johnny Cash, there was Sister Rosetta Tharpe—affectionately dubbed “The Godmother Of Rock ‘N’ Roll.” Tharpe—best known for her gospel vocals and unique electric guitar playing—paved the way for new artists and genres. Her distinctive voice and style, which fused Delta blues, New Orleans jazz, and gospel music, attracted fans across races during a time when it was a rarity to see a female guitarist and vocal artist that explored, in tandem, religious and secular genres.

Most notably, in 1938, Tharpe joined the Cotton Club Revue, a popular New York City club during the Prohibition era, at just 23, where she composed her first single, “Rock Me.”

One of the most prominent figures of the gay liberation movement of the 1960s and ’70s, Marsha P. Johnson paved the way for queer rights in New York City and everywhere.

She’s most well-known for her involvement in The Stonewall Uprising of 1969, but also played a pivotal role as an advocate for homeless LGBTQ youth, those affected by HIV and AIDS, and gay as well as transgender rights.

Along with civil rights pioneer Sylvia Rivera, Johnson founded STAR, short for Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, in 1970, which offered a social space and shelter for trans sex workers as well as LGBTQ youth.

If you’re a lover of poetry, Maya Angelou may be one of the first Black woman poets that comes to mind. But, it’s time for people to give Gwendolyn Brooks her flowers.

ICYDK, Brooks was the first African-American author to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1950 for her collection of poetry, Annie Allen. She was a major trailblazer for literary talents, especially as it related to using poetry to increase public understanding about Black culture in America. Brooks’ poems continuously shed light on the lived experiences of the poor as well as inequalities within the Black community.

Lawyer, newspaper publisher, and editor, Robert Sengstacke Abbott founded The Chicago Defender—the highest circulated Black-owned newspaper in the U.S. for decades—in 1905.

Once proclaimed as “The World’s Greatest Weekly,” by the beginning of World War I, the paper was the country’s most influential Black weekly newspaper with more than two-thirds of its readership based outside of the city of Chicago (you know, NBD).

Contrary to today’s climate where women like Allyson Felix, Athing Mu, and Sha’Carri Richardson dominate track and field in the U.S., Alice Coachman came from an era where participating in sports was considered “unladylike.”

Yet, Coachman goes down in history as the first Black woman of any nationality to win an Olympic gold medal when she competed in the high jump at the 1948 summer games in London. Throughout her brief, yet successful career (she retired shortly after her Olympic win despite only being 25), not only did she set a new Olympic record for clearing the 5’6 1/8” bar on her first attempt (uh, casual), but she also won 34 national titles and was inducted into nine halls of fame, paving the way for hundreds of Black female athletes of today.

Gordon Parks is known as one of the most groundbreaking figures in 20th century photography. His documentary photojournalism from the 1940s until the ’70s revealed important aspects of Black American culture, civil rights, poverty, U.S. race relations and urban life.

Not only was he a prominent documenter of the Civil Rights Movement, but in 1969, Parks became the first African-American to write and direct a major Hollywood film, The Learning Tree, based on his 1963 semi-biographical novel of the same name.

What did Jane Bolin accomplish? The real question is: What didn’t she accomplish?

For starters, Bolin was the first Black woman granted a law degree from Yale Law School, the first African-American female judge, the first Black woman to work at the New York City Corporation Counsel’s office, and the first Black woman to be admitted to the Bar Association of New York City (phew, what a resume). She spent four decades of her career advocating for children and families while serving on the country's Family Court bench.

As the saying goes, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Well, that’s exactly what Mae Jemison did as the first African-American woman to travel into space in 1992.

In addition to being a former NASA astronaut, Jemison is also a physician and engineer (talk about women in STEM). She’s been inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, National Medical Association Hall of Fame, and has received multiple awards and honorary degrees through her lifetime including the National Organization for Women’s Intrepid Award and the Kilby Science Award.

After six years at NASA, in 1993, she left the association to start The Jemison Group, a tech consulting firm that encourages the integration of socio-cultural issues into the design of new technologies and services.

Ever wonder who is really behind the lyrics of your favorite artists’ most famous songs? Well, Rose Marie McCoy could have been one of those people.

In the 1950s, McCoy broke into the mostly white, male-dominated music business and became a highly sought-after songwriter whose career lasted over six decades. Throughout her long-running career, she wrote over 850 songs and jingles for the likes of Elvis, Aretha Franklin, Nat King Cole, Ike and Tina Turner, Ray Charles, and more. (Hi, yes, she deserved all the awards.)

You can’t talk about the movers and shakers of dance without mentioning Alvin Ailey.

ICYDK, Alvin Ailey was a choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York in 1958 as a haven for nurturing Black creatives, and to bring dances created and popularized by Black Americans to all. While he may have left the world too soon, Ailey’s theater continues to serve established and emerging Black movement artists, plus the greater public. The artists of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater have performed for more than 20 million people around the world (no biggie).

Ella Baker was an African-American civil and human rights activist whose career spanned more than five (!!) decades. Baker worked mostly behind-the-scenes as a field secretary and then director of movement branches from 1943 until 1946. In 1955, she co-founded an organization to raise money that would go towards combating Jim Crow Laws in the deep South.

Most known for his military career, Benjamin O. Davis Sr. became the first Black general in the United States Army. He led the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and played an essential role in integrating the U.S. Air Force (oh, yeah, and he was the second Black general in Air Force history, too). Not only did Davis Sr. break barriers, but he was also instrumental to the eventual desegregation of the U.S. military. To that I say: “Thank you for your service.”

William Hastie Jr. was a lawyer, judge, professor, public official, and civil rights advocate. In 1937, he became the first Black federal judge when FDR appointed him to the Federal District Court in the Virgin Islands. Hastie served on the Virgin Islands bench for two years before returning to the Howard University School of Law as dean and professor of law.

Hastie is remembered as a fierce civil rights lawyer and well-respected jurist. Throughout his lifetime, he received several honors for his activism and public service; the Third Circuit Library in Philadelphia is named in his honor.

Black folks aren’t only pioneers in politics, activism, and literature, but also in geographic discovery.

Case in point: Legacy explorer Matthew Henson, along with Robert Edwin Peary and four Inuit assistants, were the first human beings to set foot on the North Pole in 1909—a feat that took the pair nearly 18 years to accomplish. Not only was Henson one of the first men to arrive in the Arctic, but he was also the first African-American man to do so. He died in 1955 in The Bronx.

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw is a pioneering scholar and writer whose work primarily focuses on civil rights, critical race theory, and Black feminist legal theory and law. ICYDK, Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality" and developed intersectional theory, which is the study of intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination, or discrimination.

Before there was Serena Williams, there was Althea Gibson.

Gibson was more than just an American tennis player and professional golfer (hello, multi-hyphenate), she was also one of the first Black athletes to bypass the color divide of international tennis. In 1956, she won a Grand Slam title—the first African-American to do so. In the ’60s, she made even more history as the first Black competitor on the women’s pro golf tour (Althea stays winning!).

In 1971, Gibson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and later served as Commissioner of Athletics for the State of New Jersey.

Fritz Pollard, née Frederick Douglas Pollard, was a prominent American athlete and coach. He was one of the first Black players in the NFL, along with Bobby Marshall, in 1920. In 1921, he became the first African-American head coach in the league. In 2005, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Max Robinson Jr. was a prominent American television journalist in the 1970s and ’80s. Most notably, he served as co-anchor on ABC World News Tonight from 1978 until 1983.

Robinson was the first African-American broadcast network news anchor in the country. He was also one of the founders of the National Association of Black Journalists in 1975, an organization that offers training, career advancement opportunities, and advocacy for Black journalists (#payingitforward).

While many people have heard of the Tuskegee Airmen, a.k.a the first Black U.S. Army pilots who flew during World War II, Jesse LeRoy Brown leaves a legacy as the first African-American pilot to complete the U.S. Navy’s basic flight training program (uh, yeah, give it up for him).

Additionally, Brown was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal. He was tragically killed while serving in the Korean War.