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Posts published in “African-American Firsts”

Rosa Parks Statue to be Added to Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill

By goodblacknews on January 23, 2013
Rosa Parks Statue Will Be Added to Capitol Later This Year

Civil Rights Activist Rosa Parks (Photo: CBS/Landov)

The late Rosa Parks continues to make history. Her likeness will be depicted in a statue later this year at Capitol Hill’s Statuary Hall, making her the first African-American woman to achieve the mark.

Each of the 50 states donates two statues of their most prominent citizens to Statuary Hall. Rosa Parks will be representative of the state of Alabama where she refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus and became the “mother of the civil rights movement.”  Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) announced the statue would be revealed in late 2013. As chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, he is also in charge of artwork in the Capitol.
Congress passed an order to place the statue in the hall in 2005. In 2008, the National Endowment for the Arts announced a design competition calling artists to submit designs for the statue.  The U.S. Postal Service is also commemorating the life of Rosa Parks. On Feb. 4, the postal service is issuing a special “Historic Forever” stamp in honor of Parks’ 100th birthday.
Detroit will be the first city to sell the Rosa Parks stamp.
 article by Natelege Whaley via bet.com

Born On This Day in 1906: Willa Brown, First Black Female Aviator to Acquire Pilot's License

By goodblacknews on January 21, 2013
Willa Brown
 (Photo: Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)
Willa Brown, born on Jan. 21, 1906, was one of the pioneer figures in the world of African-American aviators. She was the first Black female officer in the Civil Air Patrol and the first Black woman to hold a commercial pilot’s license in the United States.
Brown was the coordinator of war-training service for the Civil Aeronautics Authority and later was a member of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Women’s Advisory Board.
A native of Glasgow, Kentucky, Brown earned a degree from Indiana State Teachers College and a master’s degree from the Aeronautical University in Chicago. She later earned a master’s in business administration from Northwestern University. She and her husband, Cornelius Coffey, formed the Coffey School of Aeronautics to train African-American pilots. Brown retired in 1971 as a schoolteacher. She died of a stroke in 1992.
article by Jonathan P. Hicks via bet.com 

Barack Obama Sworn In to Second Term as US President

By goodblacknews on January 20, 2013
President Barack Obama is sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. in the Blue Room of the White House during the 57th Presidential Inauguration January 20, 2013 in Washington, D.C. Obama and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden were officially sworn in a day before the ceremonial inaugural swearing-in. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski-Pool/Getty Images)
President Barack Obama is sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. in the Blue Room of the White House during the 57th Presidential Inauguration January 20, 2013 in Washington, D.C. Obama and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden were officially sworn in a day before the ceremonial inaugural swearing-in. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski-Pool/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Stepping into his second term, President Barack Obama took the oath of office Sunday in an intimate swearing-in ceremony at the White House, the leader of a nation no longer in the throes of the recession he inherited four years ago but still deeply divided.

The president, surrounded by family in the ornate White House Blue Room, was administered the brief oath of office by Chief Justice John Roberts. With Obama’s hand resting on a Bible used for years by Michelle Obama’s family, the president vowed “to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” echoing the same words spoken by the 43 men who held the office before him.

Boston’s First Black Police Officer Honored for Breaking Barriers in 1878

By goodblacknews on January 9, 2013

HoratioHomerTo Randall Halstead and other ­minority officers in the Boston Police Department, the story of Sergeant Horatio J. Homer serves as a beacon of hope and of the power of perseverance.
Homer, who in 1878 became the department’s first African-American officer, ushered in a new era in the city over a 40-year career. In the decade ­after his appointment, the force hired as many as a half-dozen additional black officers, in large part on his recommendation.
Last week, the department unveiled a plaque honoring Homer at the Area B-2 police precinct in ­Roxbury, a neighborhood where he once resided. Halstead, a deputy super­intendent, presided over the ceremony, which some of Homer’s ­descendants attended.
“This man set a precedent,” said Halstead. “To move forward, you have to know where you come from.”
The tribute is the latest honor ­bestowed upon Homer by the ­Police Department.

Peter Ramsey, First African American to Direct an Animated Film, Discusses His Career on CNN

By goodblacknews on January 1, 2013


In this day and age, when we see stories about “the first African American” to do something. Today is the start of 2013 and these “firsts” are still happening across geographies and industries.  One last one to cross off the list is “first African American to direct an animated film.” Peter Ramsey directed the DreamWorks film Rise of the Guardians, the blockbuster holiday movie that, over the course of its six-week release, has grossed more than $90 million. This week, it rounds out the top ten with $4.9 million, in a field packed with movies like The Hobbit, This Is 40, Django Unchained, and Les Mis.
rise-of-the-guardians1-pfRise of the Guardians, is about a group of Immortal Guardians, including a tough-as-nails Easter Bunny and tattooed Santa Claus, who must protect the Earth from an evil spirit. The film has been a great success overseas, and has helped Ramsey’s profile rise in the past few weeks. The 49-year-old never finished college, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, but takes the time to speak to schoolkids, to let them know that this is something they can work towards.
“I want them to know they can do it. You can start with a piece of paper and a pencil. There’s no limit to the kinds of stories they can draw,” he says.

Above, CNN talks with Ramsey about his rise in the animated film industry.

 
Read more at http://madamenoire.com/250126/peter-ramsey-first-african-american-to-direct-an-animated-film-discusses-his-career/#TPrtWvTKsrTkojxW.99

Berkeley’s First Woman Firefighter Debra Pryor Retires as First Woman Chief

By goodblacknews on December 28, 2012

Berkeley Fire Chief Debra Pryor is retiring Dec. 28, 2012 after 27 years in the Berkeley fire department. She was the city’s first woman firefighter, the first woman chief and the second black woman to head a fire department in the nation. (Doug Oakley/Staff)

BERKELEY, CA — It’s a drizzly cold Tuesday evening and Berkeley Fire Chief Debra Pryor is outside the city’s public safety building talking to a homeless man with two shopping carts piled high with possessions.  The man loops in and out of lucidity, but Pryor doesn’t appear annoyed, pressed for time or afraid. She listens and talks to him, then politely wraps it up and approaches a second man to ask if he needs help deciphering the front desk hours of the police station.

Pryor, 51, is retiring Friday after 27 years in the fire department and 27 years of smashing race and gender barriers: she was the city’s first female firefighter, its first female fire chief and the second black female fire chief in the country behind Rosemary Cloud of East Point, Ga. (Earlier this year Oakland named Teresa Deloach Reed as its fire chief, making her the first black woman fire chief of a major metropolitan city.)

Jersey City Renames Street to Honor Former Tuskegee Airman and Local Entrepreneur

By goodblacknews on December 11, 2012
James 'Zimp' Smith street renaming ceremony on Dec. 8, 2012

James ‘Zimp’ Smith smiles as he greets his nephew, LeRoy Minnatee, after the street-renaming ceremony honoring Smith on Dec. 8, 2012 at the southeaster corner of Ocean and Dwight in Jersey City. (Alyssa Ki/The Jersey Journal)

A former Tuskegee Airman who became a prominent local African-American entrepreneur was honored today by town residents and local civic leaders during a street naming ceremony held in Jersey City this afternoon.

Roughly a hundred people gathered at the southeastern corner of Ocean Avenue and Dwight Street around 12 p.m. to celebrate the achievements of James “Zimp” Smith, the first successful African-American businessman to own his own franchise in Hudson County during an era when minority owned businesses were rare.

R.I.P. Charles V. Bush, the First Black Page in the U.S. Supreme Court

By goodblacknews on December 1, 2012

2CharlesBushAccording to UPI.com, Charles V. Bush, the first African-American to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court page, and one of the first black Air Force Academy graduates, has died in Montana. He was 72.  Bush’s wife, Bettina Bush, told The Washington Post he died from colon cancer Nov. 5 at his home in Lolo.

Bush, who grew up in segregated Washington, was fourteen years old when he was named a Supreme Court page in July 1954. Bush worked primarily in the anteroom of Chief Justice Earl Warren, who sought the appointment of an African-American.  Bush was a member of the debate and rugby teams and a squadron commander at the Air Force Academy, before graduating in 1963.

Bush also served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968, overseeing intelligence teams during the Tet Offensive and the Battle of Khe Sanh, the Post said.  He left the Air Force in 1970 with the rank of captain. His son, Chip Bush, said the elder Bush left in part because he thought he was overlooked for a promotion due to his race.

Besides his work in the corporate sector, Bush was a diversity consultant to the Air Force and the Air Force Academy, the Post said. His corporate career included work in executive-level positions for companies, including Max Factor and Hughes Electronics.  Survivors include his wife, three children, his mother, a sister, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.  To learn more about Bush’s life and career, click here.

article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

African-American Judges Head Up Oklahoma’s Two Highest Courts For First Time in History

By goodblacknews on November 26, 2012

In Oklahoma, two  judges have made history by becoming the first African-Americans to head up two of the state’s highest courts.

Tom Colbert is set to become chief justice of the nine-member Oklahoma Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Colbert’s law school classmate, David B. Lewis, is poised to become presiding judge of the five-member Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.

The Tulsa World describes what both men have in common:

Both men were raised by single mothers, are former prosecutors and worked in private practice.

Both are runners – Colbert is a sprinter, while Lewis runs for distance.

And former Gov. Brad Henry appointed both as the first blacks to hold a post on their respective appeals courts.

 Colbert says he owes his success to those who came before him and paved the way for him.

The chief justice will be in charge of overseeing district courts in Oklahoma’s 77 counties. But as far as Colbert is concerned, his job doesn’t stop there. He’s looking forward to mentoring kids so that he can pass on some of what he’s learned on his road to success.

Colbert also offered a bit of advice, saying,  ”There are great opportunities out there if you believe in yourself and try to stay on the right path,” he said.  Lewis said that he happy with his achievements, but went on to say that it is important for people to understand that success doesn’t happen overnight.

article via yourblackworld.net

 

Antron Brown Makes History as First African-American Top Fuel Champion

By goodblacknews on November 12, 2012

POMONA, Calif. (AP) — Antron Brown became the first black auto-racing champion in any NHRA pro series when he won the Top Fuel title on Sunday at the season-ending event.  Brown suffered minor burns to his hands when his engine popped in an opening-round loss during eliminations, then had to wait to celebrate his victory until the final, when teammate Tony Schumacher lost in a photo finish to Brandon Bernstein.