She was the first African American woman to serve as United States Secretary of State, and the first African American and the first woman to serve as the President’s National Security Advisor.

Founded by Barry Gordy in 1959, this company became one of the most successful black-owned companies in the nation and cultivated the careers of music greats such as Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

After completing the STS-8 mission aboard the Challenger, this engineer and astronaut became the first black man in space.

This writer and sociologist was a co-founder of the NAACP and was one of the most famous social activists during the Harlem Renaissance.

This Olympic track star won three gold medals and two silver medals, and still holds world records in 100-meter and 200-meter races, which were set in 1988.

In 1993, this Illinois native became the first African American woman elected to the United States Senate.

This event lasted five days and left 43 dead and 467 injured; it is reputed to have deepened the divide between whites and blacks in Detroit, instigate a frantic spike in “white flight” out of the city, and created extremist groups within each racial group.

He invented electronic control devices for guided missiles, IBM computers, and the control unit for pacemakers.

This was the birthplace of the Harlem Renaissance, which was called a literary and intellectual flowering that fostered a new black cultural identity in the 1920s and 1930s.

Also a social activist and philanthropist, he was the first boxer to win the world heavyweight championship three times.

In 1998, he became the first African American general in the United States Army.

In 1974, he was elected as the first black mayor of Detroit.

In 1993, she became both the first African-American and the first woman to serve as Surgeon General.

Credited as one of the founding fathers of the Harlem Renaissance, this playwright/poet/novelist became famous for his first published poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”.

He broke the color barrier in baseball and became the first African American to play in the major leagues.

1967, he became the first African American U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

This Detroit native refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Alabama, which spurred a nation-wide effort to end segregation of public facilities.

He invented the “SuperSoaker” in 1989.

This official publication of the National Urban League employed Harlem Renaissance writers and editors, published poems and short stories by African Americans, and promoted African American literature.

Following her careers in college and professional basketball, she became the first female member of the Harlem Globetrotters in 1985.

This foreign policy advisor became the first African American woman to serve as an ambassador to the United Nations.

He delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech first in Detroit, before taking it to Washington.

He is credited with performing the first open heart surgery on July 9, 1853.

This theatre rose to prominence during the Harlem Renaissance, during which time it was reputed to only hire black entertainers; of these were James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday.

In 1961, he broke the color barrier in golf when he became the first African American to play in the PGA tour.