About This Site

First Black Person is a reference site documenting the Black Americans who did something first: the first elected official, the first astronaut, the first billionaire, the first Oscar winner, and dozens more across every field.

These stories are scattered across Wikipedia articles, textbook sidebars, and Black History Month features that appear in February and vanish in March. This site keeps them in one place, organized by category, connected by a timeline, and written to be useful year-round.

What This Site Is

A historical reference. Each article covers one "first," documenting who the person was, what they achieved, what barriers stood in their way, and what happened after they broke through. The facts are sourced from Senate archives, military records, university histories, league records, and published biographies.

The site is organized into categories (politics, sports, entertainment, business, space, medicine, and more) with a chronological timeline that spans from 1768 to the present day.

What This Site Is Not

This is not an encyclopedia of Black history. It covers a specific slice: the people who were first. Other excellent resources cover broader Black history, including BlackPast.org, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the work of historians like Henry Louis Gates Jr.

This site also does not rank or compare achievements. Every "first" on this site represents a barrier broken. Some barriers were legal, some institutional, some social. All of them were real.

Who Made This

This site was created as a personal project to make these stories more accessible, especially for students, teachers, and anyone looking up "who was the first Black person to..." and hoping for a clear, well-sourced answer.

Corrections and Additions

History is not static. If you spot an error, know of a "first" that should be included, or have a primary source that would strengthen an article, please get in touch. Accuracy matters more than speed.