African-Americans are a demographic minority in the United States. The first achievements by African-Americans in various fields historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural change. The shorthand phrase for this is "breaking the color barrier".Juguo, Zhang (2001). W. E. B. Du Bois: The Quest for the Abolition of the Color Line. Routledge. Herbst, Philip H (1997). The Color of Words: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Ethnic Bias in the United States. Intercultural Press. p. 57.
This is a list of African-American firsts in the fine arts, popular arts, and literature. It is a wider listing than that of the major national firsts at List of African-American firsts.
18th century 1746 First known African-American (and slave) to compose a work of literature: Lucy Terry with her poem "Bars Fight", composed in 1746🖉 and first published in 1855 in Josiah Holland's "History of Western Massachusetts
1760 First known African-American published author: Jupiter Hammon (poem "An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries", published as a broadside)
1773 First known African-American woman to publish a book: Phillis Wheatley (Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral)
19th century
1825 First African-American actor to play Othello on an English and then continental stages - First African-American star - best paid actor: Ira Aldridge
1827 First African-American owned-and-operated newspaper: Freedom's Journal, founded in New York City by Rev. Peter Williams Jr. and other free blacks.
1858 First published play by an African-American:The Escape; or, A Leap for Freedom by William Wells Brown
1890 First African-American to record a best-selling phonograph record: George Washington Johnson, "The Laughing Song" and "The Whistling Coon."Brooks, Tim (2004). Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890–1919. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. pp. 15–71 First female African-American to earn a military pension for their own military service: Ann Bradford Stokes.
1892 First African-American to sing at Carnegie Hall: Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones
20th century 1903 First Broadway musical written by African-Americans, and the first to star African-Americans: In Dahomey
1910 First female African-American millionaire: Madam C. J. Walker First African-American female to be recorded commercially: Daisy TapleyBrooks, Tim, and Dick Spottswood. Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890–1919. University of Illinois Press, 2004. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt2jcc81. Accessed 8 Oct. 2020.(pp. 254–258) (Recording source- Library of Congress)
1927 First African-American to star in an international motion picture: Josephine Baker in La Sirène des tropiques
1931 First African-American composer to have their symphony performed by a leading orchestra: William Grant Still, Symphony No. 1, by Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
1935 First known multethnic jazz group: Benny Goodman Trio (Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa)
1936 First African-American to conduct a major U.S. orchestra: William Grant Still (Los Angeles Philharmonic)
1939 First African-American to star in their own television program: Ethel Waters, The Ethel Waters Show, on NBC
1940
First African-American to win an Oscar: Hattie McDaniel (Best Supporting Actress, Gone with the Wind, 1939)
1941 First African-American to give a White House Command Performance: Josh White
1943 First African-American artists to have a #1 hit on the Billboard charts: Mills Brothers ("Paper Doll"), topped "Best Sellers in Stores" chart on November 6 (See also: Tommy Edwards, 1958; The Platters, 1959)
1944 First known African-American comic book artist: Matt Baker in Jumbo Comics #69 for Fiction HouseMatt Baker at the Grand Comics Database. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. Artist credits were not routinely given in comic books in the 1940s, so comprehensive credits are very difficult if not impossible to ascertain.
1945 First African-American member of the New York City Opera: Todd Duncan
1947 First African-American artist to receive sole credit for a #1 hit on the Billboard charts: Count Basie ("Open the Door, Richard"), topped "Best Sellers in Stores" chart on February 22 (See also: Mills Brothers, 1943; Nat King Cole, 1950; Tommy Edwards, 1958; The Platters, 1959) First comic book produced entirely by African-Americans: All-Negro Comics
1948 First African-American man to receive an Oscar: James Baskett (Honorary Academy Award for his portrayal of "Uncle Remus" in Disney's Song of the South, 1946) (See also: Sidney Poitier, 1964) First African-American composer to have an opera performed by a major U.S. company: William Grant Still (Troubled Island, New York City Opera) First known African-American star of a regularly scheduled network television series: Bob Howard, The Bob Howard ShowWhile considered a network for regulatory reasons, CBS TV was viewable only locally in 1948. By 1956, CBS and other networks were viewable nationwide. (See also: 1956) First African-American to star in a network television sitcom: Amanda Randolph, The Laytons
1949 First African-American-owned and -operated radio station: WERD, established October 3, 1949 in Atlanta, Georgia by Jesse B. Blayton Sr. First African-American to sing at a presidential inauguration, performing at President Harry S. Truman's inaugural gala: Dorothy Maynor
1950 First African-American to win a Tony Award: Juanita Hall (Best Featured Actress in a Musical, South Pacific) First African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize: Gwendolyn Brooks (Book of poetry, Annie Allen, 1949) First African-American solo singer to have a #1 hit on the Billboard charts: Nat King Cole ("Mona Lisa"), topped "Best Sellers in Stores" chart on July 15 (See also: Mills Brothers, 1943; Count Basie, 1947; Tommy Edwards, 1958; The Platters, 1959)
1954 First African-American woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress: Dorothy Dandridge (Carmen Jones, 1954). First individual African-American woman as subject on the cover of Life magazine: Dorothy Dandridge, November 1, 1954
1955 First African-American member of the Metropolitan Opera: Marian Anderson First African-American male dancer in a major ballet company: Arthur Mitchell (New York City Ballet); also first African-American principal dancer of a major ballet company (NYCB), 1956. (See also: 1969) First African-American singer to appear in a telecast opera: Leontyne Price in NBC's production of Tosca
1956 First African-American star of a nationwide network TV show: Nat King Cole of The Nat King Cole Show, NBC (See also: 1948)
1957 First African-American to win the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival: John Kitzmiller (Dolina Miru)
1958 First African-American to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Tommy Edwards ("It's All in the Game"), September 29 (See also: The Platters, 1959)
1959 First African-American Grammy Award winners, in the award's inaugural year: Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie (two awards each) Presented May 4, 1959, for recordings made in 1958. First African-American group to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: The Platters ("Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"), January 19 (See also: Tommy Edwards, 1958)
1960 1961 First African-American tenor to sing leading roles for the Metropolitan Opera: George Shirley
1963 First African-American to appear as a series regular on a primetime dramatic television series: Cicely Tyson, "East Side/West Side" (CBS). First African-American to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award: Diahann Carroll, for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role, for episode "A Horse Has a Big Head, Let Him Worry" of Naked City (See also: 1968)
1964 First movie with African-American interracial marriage: One Potato, Two Potato, Update of Note: Asian-American interracial marriage had previously been portrayed. actors Bernie Hamilton and Barbara Barrie (White), written by Orville H. Hampton, Raphael Hayes, directed by Larry Peerce
1965 First African-American nationally syndicated cartoonist: Morrie Turner (Wee Pals) First African-American title character of a comic book series: Lobo (Dell Comics).The first Black superhero, Marvel's Black Panther, introduced in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966), is African, not African-American. This is also true of the first Black character to star in his own mainstream comic-book feature, Waku, Prince of the Bantu, who headlined one of four features in the multiple-character omnibus series Jungle Tales (September 1954 – September 1955), from Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics. (See also: The Falcon, 1969, and Luke Cage, 1972) First African-American star of a network television drama: Bill Cosby, I Spy (co-star with Robert Culp) First African-American cast member of a daytime soap opera: Micki Grant who played Peggy Nolan Harris on Another World until 1972. First African-American Playboy Playmate centerfold: Jennifer Jackson (March issue)
1966 First African-American male to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and first African-American to win a Primetime Emmy Award: Bill Cosby, I Spy First African-American model on the cover of a Vogue (British Vogue) magazine: Donyale Luna
1967 First African-American woman, and first woman, to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine: Tina Turner. First African-American interracial kiss on network television: entertainers Nancy Sinatra (Italian-American) and Sammy Davis Jr. (African-American) on Sinatra's variety special Movin' With Nancy, airing December 11 on NBC (See also: 1968)
1968 First African-American interracial kiss on a network television drama: Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols (African-American), and Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner (Jewish Canadian): Star Trek: "Plato's Stepchildren" (See also: 1967) First fine-arts museum devoted to African-American work: Studio Museum in Harlem First African-American actress to star in her own television series where she did not play a domestic worker: Diahann Carroll in Julia (see also: 1963) First African-American starring character of a comic strip: Danny Raven in Dateline: Danger! by Al McWilliams and John Saunders. First African-American actor to star in the lead role on a TV western series: Otis Young in The Outcasts
1969 First African-American superhero: The Falcon, Marvel Comics' Captain America #117 (September 1969). (See also: Lobo, 1965 and Luke Cage, 1972) First African-American director of a major Hollywood motion picture: Gordon Parks (The Learning Tree) First African-American founder of a classical training school and company of ballet: Arthur Mitchell, Dance Theatre of Harlem (See also: 1955) First African-American woman to appear on the Grand Ole Opry: Linda Martell
1970 First African-American woman to win a Primetime Emmy Award: Gail Fisher, for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, for Mannix (see also: 1971)
1971 First African-American to win a Golden Globe Award: Gail Fisher for Mannix (see also: 1970) First African-American to appear by herself on the cover of Playboy: Darine Stern (October issue)
1972 First African-American superhero to feature in own comic-book series: Luke Cage, Marvel Comics' Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (June 1972). (See also: Lobo, 1965, and the Falcon, 1969)