A superb historical study of black achievement. – Houston Chronicle. Readers will revel in the stories of barrier-breaking pioneers in all fields-arts, entertainment, business, civil rights, education, government, inventing, journalism, religion, science, sports, and more. And they will rejoice in their triumphs. With hundreds of illustrations and a daily calendar of firsts, this book is the culmination of many hours of work, courage, and perseverance, the exact qualities represented within. A testament to a rich but often overlooked part of history, this chronicle reveals stories of a people overcoming adversity to emerge triumphant and celebrates those who have won personal victories against the forces arrayed against them.
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This update to the first, 1994 edition has been expanded by more than 1,000 firsts, arranged in 16 chapters. The chapters survey broad fields such as "Arts and Entertainment," "Government: Local," and "Science and Medicine" and are broken down into more specific subject headings. "Arts and Entertainment," for example, encompasses "Architecture," "Dance," "Music," and "Television," among others. Under each of these headings, firsts are arranged chronologically. Each is described in an entry ranging from a line or two to half a page, and sources are always cited.
New entries extend coverage into 2002 but also add pre-1992 firsts that did not appear in the previous edition. Although a new chapter documents accomplishments in international government, emphasis is on African Americans. Frequent sidebars add information ("Blacks Commemorated on Postage Stamps") as well as drawing attention to particular firsts ("The First Black Car Dealership"). Many of the sidebars highlight achievements by women, and the author notes in her introduction that she made a deliberate effort to seek our firsts by women for the revision. Missing from this edition is the useful index of major black achievements by year.
Black Firsts remains an important part of the reference collection, and school, public, and academic libraries will welcome this updated version. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
About the Author
Jessie Carney Smith is a noted author, biographer, and black studies scholar. She is William and Camille Cosby Professor in the Humanities at Fisk University in Nashville, where she also serves as the university librarian. Among Dr. Smith's numerous awards are the 1992 National Women's Book Association Award, the Candace Award for excellence in education, and Sage magazine's Ann J. Cooper Award for her published works on African American Women. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Concise, informative, and entertaining,
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This review is from: Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events (Paperback)
An encyclopedia's worth of facts, the familiar known as well as the obscure, about African-Americans, this volume is a must. It features some of the most intriguing facts that would probably go unnoticed (the first black auto dealership, the first black to author a detective story, the first black to win an Emmy, etc.) by the average student of history.This is a book that is vital at a time when there are still so many unknowns about the contributions made by African-Americans to the many aspects of the nation's, along with the world's, development. A five-star recommendation is not enough for this mammoth undertaking.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A History Buff's Treasure,
By The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events (Paperback)
BLACK FIRSTS is a wonderful collection of historical facts reaching through the hands of time. Ms. Smith provides insight to more than 3,000 individuals and events in BLACK FIRSTS. She opens our eyes and introduces us to these great pioneers. The book is broken into various topics such as sports, writers, religion, civil rights and education just to name a few.Using the book as my reference guide, I created a trivia game for Black History Month. Examples of questions included: "Who was the first Black woman to head a major educational institution for Blacks?" The answer is Fanny Jackson Coppin who was in charge of the Institute for Colored Youth of Philadelphia. Another question was based on publishing-icon John H. Johnson and Johnson Publishing Company, which currently publishes such great magazines as Ebony and Jet. The trivia question was "Which well-known Black publisher first published the Negro Digest in 1942? With such comprehensive information contained within this BLACK FIRSTS, it lent itself well to my attempt to become more familiar with Black history. Admittedly I am not a history buff, yet this book I found to be very comprehensive and interesting. Ms. Smith consistently cites her references and captures the information beautifully. For anyone looking to learn a little more about themselves by travelling back into history, then BLACK FIRSTS is a necessary read. This review refers to the first published addition, ISBN 1578591171. Reviewed by Nedine of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Black First,
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This review is from: Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events (Paperback)
Black First presents a variety of events that identify Black firsts from all over the country.
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black women, federal appointees, miscellaneous industries, college foundings, black bishops, federal employees, first black city manager, first black chancellor, first black executive director, first black woman member, first black woman judge, first black elected president, first black chair, first black police chief, first black fire chief, first black director, first black elected mayor, first black woman president, first black vice president, first black woman mayor, first black general manager, native graduated, first black winner, black chairperson, first black named Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
African Americans, Contemporary Black Biography, Notable Black American Men, New York, Notable Black American Women, Encyclopedia of Black America, United States, Negro Almanac, Dictionary of American Negro Biography, North Carolina, Famous First Facts, Los Angeles, Black Americans, South Carolina, Ebony Success Library, Howard University, New Jersey, Hard Road, Chronology of African-American History, Nashville Tennessean, New Orleans, World War, Negro Firsts, Harvard University, Famous First Blacks Browse Sample Pages:
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black women, federal appointees, miscellaneous industries, college foundings, black bishops, federal employees, first black city manager, first black chancellor, first black executive director, first black woman member, first black woman judge, first black elected president, first black chair, first black police chief, first black fire chief, first black director, first black elected mayor, first black woman president, first black vice president, first black woman mayor, first black general manager, native graduated, first black winner, black chairperson, first black named Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
African Americans, Contemporary Black Biography, Notable Black American Men, New York, Notable Black American Women, Encyclopedia of Black America, United States, Negro Almanac, Dictionary of American Negro Biography, North Carolina, Famous First Facts, Los Angeles, Black Americans, South Carolina, Ebony Success Library, Howard University, New Jersey, Hard Road, Chronology of African-American History, Nashville Tennessean, New Orleans, World War, Negro Firsts, Harvard University, Famous First Blacks Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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