(December 1, 1940- April 9, 2011) Photo credits: The Estate of Jerry Lawson (Jerry Lawson) Before Xbox, PlayStation, or even Atari, you had to buy a...

Self-made Millionaire at the age of 15

April 5, 2019

Wally Amos was the first black talent agent and entrepreneur who founded Famous Amos cookies.

April 7, 2019

Inventors

Black Firsts

Dr. Percy Lavon Julian, the Chemist Who Defied Boundaries and Changed Medicine

tellersuntold - February 17, 2025

Introduction Black History Month is a time to celebrate the contributions of African Americans who have shaped our world. While figures like Martin Luther King...

Celebrating Black History: The Legacy of James Edward Maceo West and His Revolutionary Electret Microphone

February 6, 2025

Marie Van Brittan Brown: The Trailblazing Inventor Behind the First Home Security System

October 24, 2024

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African-American Firsts

Willa Brown: The First Black American Woman to Earn Both a Pilot’s License and a Commercial License

Black Firsts tellersuntold - April 4, 2023

Introduction Years after relocating to Chicago, I learned about Bessie Coleman, the first black woman to obtain a pilot's license in the United States in...

Ruth Jean Baskerville: A Pioneer in Black Talent Representation

Black Firsts tellersuntold - October 15, 2023

This blog celebrates and highlights the remarkable life and career of Ruth Jean Baskerville, President of the world's largest black-owned talent and entertainment company,...

Frank “Sugar Chile” Robinson: A Child Prodigy

Black Firsts tellersuntold - June 28, 2022

Frank "Sugar Chile" Robinson is an American jazz pianist and singer. He became famous as a child prodigy in the mid–1940s, and this little...

Matthew Alexander Henson: One of the First to Reach the North Pole

Black Firsts Nonso Nwagbo - May 6, 2021

Matthew Alexander Henson was born on August 8, 1866, in Charles County, Maryland, U.S. He was an African American explorer. "My thoughts were on the...

The first black-American is known to have earned a bachelor’s degree

Podcast Notes tellersuntold - January 14, 2020

EPISODE 31 Podcast Notes Introduction to Alexander Twilight His parents father, Ichabod was black or mulatto His mother, Mary's race, is not certain His education He completed not only the secondary...

Jesse Owens: the Buckeye Bullet!