As Black History Month begins, it is essential that we remember the man who made this month possible, Carter G. Woodson. As a historian, Woodson always had a deep connection to the study of history–especially Black history. He strongly believed that in order for African Americans to be successful in their future, they needed to know that it was also their contributions that helped to build this nation. Therefore, in 1915, he became a member of what is now known as the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History, and in 1926 he began Black History Week. The week was intended for the observation of the birthday of Frederick Douglass and to honor the great contributions of African Americans to the United States. The week was so well received that it was eventually extended to a month.

Black residents make up 13.5 percent of the U.S. population.
(U.S. Census Bureau)
The largest U.S. populations of Blacks are in Mississippi (38 percent) and in Louisiana (32 percent).
(U.S. Census Bureau)
Blacks are the largest minority group in 23 states–Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. They are also the largest in the District of Columbia.
(U.S. Census Bureau)
In 2007, 2.4 million Blacks were military veterans in the United States, making them the largest traditionally underrepresented group among military veterans.
(U.S. Census Bureau)
In the fall of 2006, 2.3 million college students were Black–an increase of 1 million from 15 years prior.
(U.S. Census Bureau)
Black-owned businesses totaled 1.2 million in 2002 and grossed $88.6 billion in revenue in 2002.
(U.S. Census Bureau)
Twenty-seven percent of Blacks ages 16 and older work in management, professional and related occupations: 49,730 Black physicians and surgeons, 70,620 postsecondary teachers, 49,050 lawyers and 57,720 chief executives.
(U.S. Census Bureau)

Government

The first Black appointed governor was P.B.S. Pinchback, who served in Louisiana from Dec. 9, 1872, to Jan. 13, 1873.
The first Black elected governor was Joseph Rainey; the first Black female U.S. representative was Shirley Chisholm, congresswoman from New York from 1969 to 1983.
The first Black U.S. senator was Hiram Revels in Mississippi, from Feb. 25, 1870, to March 4, 1871. Carol Moseley Braun became the first Black woman senator serving from 1992 to 1998 in Illinois. (There has been a total of five Black senators in U.S. history; the remaining three are Blanche K. Bruce (1875–1881), Edward William Brooke (1967–1979) and Barack Obama (as of 2005).
The first Black U.S. Secretary of State was Gen. Colin Powell, 2001-2004. The first Black female Secretary of State was Condoleezza Rice in 2005.
Sen. Barack Obama became the first Black person to be nominated as a major party nominee for president and became the first Black person to be elected president of the United States.

Law

The first Black editor of the Harvard Law Review was Charles Hamilton Houston, in 1919. Barack Obama became the first Black president of the Harvard Law Review.
The first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice was Thurgood Marshall, 1967–1991. Clarence Thomas became the second Black person to serve on the court in 1991.

Diplomacy

The first Black Nobel Peace Prize winner was Ralph J. Bunche, who received the prize in 1950 for mediating the Arab-Israeli truce.

Military

The first Black casualty of the American Revolutionary War was Crispus Attucks.
The first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was Colin Powell, from 1989 to 1993.

Scholarship

The first Black Rhodes Scholar was Alain L. Locke in 1907.
The first Black person to receive a Ph.D. was Edward A. Bouchet from Yale University.

Medicine & Science

The inventor of the blood bank, a Black man, was Charles Drew.
Daniel Hale Williams performed the first successful open-heart surgery and organized the first Black hospital, Provident Hospital.

Literature

The first Black woman Nobel Prize winner for literature was Toni Morrison in 1993.
The first Black Pulitzer Prize winner in poetry was Gwendolyn Brooks in 1950.

Entertainment

The first Black male Grammy award winner was Count Basie in 1958 for Best Jazz Performance, Group and Best Performance by a Dance Band for his album “Basie.”
The first Black person to win an Academy Award was Hattie McDaniel in 1940 for Best Supporting Actress in “Gone with the Wind.”

Sports

The first Black Olympic medalist was George Poage in 1904. He won two bronze medals for the 200- and 400-meter hurdles.
The first Black tennis champion was Althea Gibson, who was the first Black woman to compete on the world tennis tour and to win a Grand Slam title.

Miscellaneous

The first Black millionaire was Madame C. J. Walker.
The first Black billionaire was Robert Johnson, owner of Black Entertainment Television.

Civil-Rights Heroes

Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger and was arrested. Her arrest was a catalyst for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which eventually would lead to the racial integration of public transportation.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a great civil-rights leader and leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott who advocated peace. His efforts would have a powerful impact on improving the status of Blacks in the United States.

Thurgood Marshall was the first Black U.S. Supreme Court judge and was a civil-rights lawyer who helped to win the Brown vs. Board of Education case, which integrated public education in the United States.

The Little Rock Nine, after a strenuous and life-threatening battle, were the first Blacks to attend an all-white high school in Little Rock, Ark. Although racial segregation in the public school system was outlawed by this time, many public schools were not honoring the law.