On this day in 1978, NASA graduated its first group of Space Shuttle astronauts which signaled a new day for the space program. Among the group of 35, three Black men went on to leave their mark on history as explorers of space. Maj. Frederick D. Gregory of Washington, Col. Guion Bluford of Pennsylvania, and […]
June Bacon-Bercey is a pioneer in the field of meteorology, becoming the first Black woman to earn a degree in the science in the ’50’s. She is also an internationally recognized expert in aviation and weather, and is the first woman and African-American woman to win the American Meteorological Society’s “seal of approval” honor for […]
Janie L. Miles made her mark on military history by becoming the first Black woman to graduate from the United States Naval Academy. Miles went on to a stellar career in business after ending her time with the U.S. Navy. Born in 1958 in Aiken, S.C., the 1976 Aiken High School graduate and honor student […]
Agbani Darego became the first native African to be crowned Miss World on this day in 2001. While other African nation-based models have won the coveted title, the women were not of African descent. Ms. Darego was born December 22, 1983 in Lagos State, Nigeria, as one of eight children. After the passing of […]
Lee Roy Young Jr. grew up in Texas hoping to join the elite Rangers Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Young’s boyhood dream came true on this day in 1988 when he was sworn in as a Texas Ranger. Young was born January 8, 1947 in Del Rio, Texas. Raised by his grandparents […]
Malvin R. Goode was a pioneer in broadcast journalism, becoming the first African-American news correspondent for a major television network on this day in 1962. Goode arrived at the pinnacle of his career later in life, but his accomplishment serves as a testament to the work ethic he developed in the steel mills of Pittsburgh. […]
FORT KNOX, Ky.— For Marcia Anderson, the promotion from brigadier general to major general validates the work of everyone who came before her. Anderson on Thursday became the first African-American woman given a second star as a general in the U.S. Army during a ceremony at Fort Knox. It’s a day, Anderson said, that black […]
