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Dr. Mae Jemison
In 1992, Dr Mae Jemison became the first Black woman to go into space. Prior to her career in space, she founded served as a doctor in the Peace Corps and after her time in space, she founded an organization that provided space camps for students. She has been a trailblazer across the STEM world. -
Freeman Robertson Bosley Jr
Freeman R. Bosley Jr. (born July 20, 1954 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American politician who served as the 43rd mayor of St. Louis (from 1993 to 1997), and the city's first African-American mayor. Bosley graduated from Central High School in 1972 and went on to attend Saint Louis University and Saint Louis University School of Law.[1] He graduated from Saint Louis University in 1976 with two undergraduate degrees, a B.A. in Urban Affairs and a B.A. in Political Science -
Corey D. Flourney
Corey D. Flourney is elected as president of the Future Farmers of America Convention. “I figured if I had to pay $7.50 for dues, I might as well be active," Flourney, only 20, tells the Los Angeles Times upon being named president at the FFA convention, after his selection from a pool of 39 candidates after a grueling, months-long process that included interviews and tests. At the time, only 5% of the group's members are Black, the Times notes. -
Lonnie Bristow
He is appointed to be president of the American Medical Association and is the first Black person to hold the position. Dr. Lonnie Bristow has long been an advocate for patients and doctors alike, and, on June 21, 1995, he prepared to use his skills and energy to lead the largest society of physicians in the UnitedStates-the 300,000-member American Medical Association (AMA). -
George Walker
The first Black person to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music is George Walker. Walker receives the award for the composition “Lilies for Soprano or Tenor and Orchestra.” NPR.org notes that Walker is a person of many firsts, in addition to the Pulitzer: -
Lee Patrick Brown
Lee Patrick Brown is elected mayor of Houston—the first Black person to hold such a position. He is reelected twice to serve three terms—the maximum allowed—from 1998 to 2004. -
Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins
The National League of Women Voters elects its first Black president Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins. Jenkins notes of her historic first:As the only women of color to have served as national president in the League’s 100-year history (1998-2002), it is both my honor and obligation to make sure that the accomplishments of the women upon whose shoulders I stand are also celebrated. -
Maurice Ashley
Maurice Ashley becomes the first Black chess grandmaster. He later becomes the first African American to be inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis in April 2016. -
Paul Boateng
Paul Boateng is appointed chief secretary to the Treasury, becoming the first black cabinet minister. Paul Yaw Boateng, Baron Boateng is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Brent South from 1987 to 2005, becoming the UK's first Black Cabinet Minister in May 2002, when he was appointed as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. -
Baroness Amos
Baroness Amos becomes the first black female cabinet minister. Valerie Ann Amos, Baroness Amos, LG, CH, PC is a British Labour Party politician and diplomat who served as the eighth UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Before her appointment to the UN, she served as British High Commissioner to Australia.