List of African-American arts firsts

Last updated

African Americans are a demographic minority in the United States. The first achievements by African Americans in various fields historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural change. The shorthand phrase for this is "breaking the color barrier". [1] [2]

Contents

This is a list of African-American firsts in the fine arts, popular arts, and literature. It is a wider listing than that of the major national firsts at List of African-American firsts.

18th century

1746

1760

1773

19th century

1825

1827

1858

1890

1892

20th century

1903

1910

1927

1931

1935

1936

1939

1940

Hattie McDaniel 1941hattie.jpg
Hattie McDaniel

1941

1943

1944

1945

1947

1948

1949

1950

1954

1955

1956

1957

1958

1959

1960

1961

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1980

1982

1983

1986

1987

1988

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

2000

21st century

2001

2002

2004

2009

2012

2013

2014

See also

Notes

  1. While considered a network for regulatory reasons, CBS TV was viewable only locally in 1948. By 1956, CBS and other networks were viewable nationwide.
  2. At that time, nominations were announced in November of the year of release, instead of early the following year.
  3. 1 2 3 The first Black superhero, Marvel's Black Panther, introduced in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966), is African, not African-American. This is also true of the first Black character to star in his own mainstream comic-book feature, Waku, Prince of the Bantu, who headlined one of four features in the multiple-character omnibus series Jungle Tales (September 1954 – September 1955), from Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comic book</span> Publication of comics art

A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and written narrative, usually, dialogue contained in word balloons emblematic of the comics art form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Kirby</span> American comic book artist, writer, and editor (1917–1994)

Jack Kirby was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew up in New York City and learned to draw cartoon figures by tracing characters from comic strips and editorial cartoons. He entered the nascent comics industry in the 1930s, drawing various comics features under different pen names, including Jack Curtiss, before ultimately settling on Jack Kirby. In 1940, he and writer-editor Joe Simon created the highly successful superhero character Captain America for Timely Comics, predecessor of Marvel Comics. During the 1940s, Kirby regularly teamed with Simon, creating numerous characters for that company and for National Comics Publications, later to become DC Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitney Houston</span> American singer and actress (1963–2012)

Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "the Voice", she is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold worldwide. In 2023, Rolling Stone named her the second-greatest singer of all time. Houston influenced many singers in popular music, and was known for her powerful, soulful vocals, vocal improvisation skills, and use of gospel singing techniques in pop music. She had 11 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and is the only artist to have seven consecutive number-one singles on the chart. Her accolades include eight Grammy Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, two Emmy Awards, and 28 Guinness World Records. Houston's inductions include the Grammy Hall of Fame (twice), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the New Jersey Hall of Fame, and the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superhero</span> Type of stock character

A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses superpowers, abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their powers to help the world become a better place, or dedicating themselves to protecting the public and fighting crime. Superhero fiction is the genre of fiction that is centered on such characters, especially, since the 1930s, in American comic books, as well as in Japanese media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colleen Doran</span> American writer-artist and cartoonist

Colleen Doran is an American writer-artist and cartoonist. She illustrated hundreds of comics, graphic novels, books and magazines, including the autobiographical graphic novel of Marvel Comics editor and writer Stan Lee entitled Amazing Fantastic Incredible Stan Lee, which became a New York Times bestseller. She adapted and did the art for the short story "Troll Bridge" by Neil Gaiman, which also became a New York Times bestseller. Her books have received Eisner, Harvey, Bram Stoker, Locus, and International Horror Guild Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Kane</span> American comic book artist, the co-creator of Batman

Robert Kane was an American comic book writer, animator and artist who co-created Batman and most early related characters for DC comics. He was inducted into the comic book industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1993 and into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Rucka</span> American writer

Gregory Rucka is an American writer known for the series of novels starring his character Atticus Kodiak, the creator-owned comic book series Whiteout, Queen & Country, Stumptown and Lazarus, as well as lengthy runs on such titles as Detective Comics, Wonder Woman and Gotham Central for DC Comics, and Elektra, Wolverine and The Punisher for Marvel. He has written a substantial amount of supplemental material for a number of DC Comics' line-wide and inter-title crossovers, including "No Man's Land", "Infinite Crisis" and "New Krypton".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Ross</span> American comic book artist

Nelson Alexander Ross is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries Marvels, on which he collaborated with writer Kurt Busiek for Marvel Comics. He has since done a variety of projects for both Marvel and DC Comics, such as the 1996 miniseries Kingdom Come, which Ross co-wrote. Since then he has done covers and character designs for Busiek's series Astro City, and various projects for Dynamite Entertainment. His feature film work includes concept and narrative art for Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, and DVD packaging art for the M. Night Shyamalan film Unbreakable. He has done covers for TV Guide, promotional artwork for the Academy Awards, posters and packaging design for video games, and his renditions of superheroes have been merchandised as action figures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Kubert</span> American comic book artist

Joseph Kubert was a Polish-born American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. He is also known for working on his own creations, such as Tor, Son of Sinbad, and the Viking Prince, and, with writer Robin Moore, the comic strip Tales of the Green Beret. Two of Kubert's sons, Andy Kubert and Adam Kubert, themselves became recognized comic book artists, as did many of Kubert's former students, including Stephen R. Bissette, Amanda Conner, Rick Veitch, Eric Shanower, Steve Lieber, and Scott Kolins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reginald Hudlin</span> American filmmaker

Reginald Alan Hudlin is an American film screenwriter, director, producer, and comic-book writer. Along with his older brother Warrington Hudlin, he is known as one of the Hudlin Brothers. From 2005 to 2008, Hudlin was President of Entertainment for Black Entertainment Television (BET). Hudlin has also written numerous graphic novels. He co-produced the 88th Academy Awards ceremony in 2016 as well as other TV specials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don McGregor</span> American comic book writer (born 1945)

Donald Francis McGregor is an American comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics; he is the author of one of the first graphic novels.

Robert Kanigher was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for over twenty years, taking over the scripting from creator William Moulton Marston. In addition, Kanigher spent many years in charge of DC Comics's war titles and created the character Sgt. Rock. Kanigher scripted what is considered the first Silver Age comic book story, "Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt!", which introduced the Barry Allen version of the Flash in Showcase #4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trina Robbins</span> American cartoonist and writer (born 1938)

Trina Robbins is an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the first female artists in that movement. She is a member of the Will Eisner Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congorilla</span> Fictional gorilla which appear in DC Comics and Vertigo Comics

Congorilla, originally a human character known as Congo Bill, is a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and Vertigo Comics. Originally co-created by writer Whitney Ellsworth and artist George Papp, he was later transformed into Congorilla by Robert Bernstein and Howard Sherman. The character first appeared in More Fun Comics #56.

Alan Brennert is an American author, television producer, and screenwriter. Brennert has lived in Southern California since 1973 and completed graduate work in screenwriting at the University of California, Los Angeles.

African Americans are an ethnic group in the United States. The first achievements by African Americans in diverse fields have historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural change. The shorthand phrase for this is "breaking the color barrier".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie Ormes</span> American cartoonist

Jackie Ormes was an American cartoonist. She is known as the first African-American woman cartoonist and creator of the Torchy Brown comic strip and the Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger panel.

Black people have been portrayed in comics since the medium's beginning, with their portrayals often the subject of controversy. Mainstream comic publishing companies have had a historical trend of being predominantly white and male, reflecting the lack of representation and inaccurate depictions of Black people in comics. The integration of black characters in mainstream and superhero comics has endured various obstacles and challenges. Critics have noted that black men and women have historically often been portrayed as jungle or ghetto stereotypes, and as sidekicks as opposed to primary characters. Occiasionally, comic book creators would lampshade stereotypes, lack of representation and emphasize social injustices. In recent years, with the integration of more Black people in mainstream comic writing rooms as well as the creation of comics on digital platforms has changed the representation and portrayals of Black people in comics and has started to reflect the complexities of Black people across the diaspora.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitney Ellsworth</span> American writer (1908–1980)

Frederick Whitney Ellsworth was an American comic book editor and sometime writer and artist for DC Comics during the period known to historians and fans as the Golden Age of Comic Books. He was also DC's "movie studio contact", becoming both a producer and story editor on the TV series The Adventures of Superman.

References

  1. Juguo, Zhang (2001). W. E. B. Du Bois: The Quest for the Abolition of the Color Line. Routledge. ISBN   978-0-415-93087-1
  2. Herbst, Philip H (1997). The Color of Words: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Ethnic Bias in the United States. Intercultural Press. p. 57. ISBN   978-1-877864-97-1
  3. 1 2 🖉 "Literature". Encyclopedia.com.
  4. "Lucy Terry's " Bars Fight. " Text from San Antonio College LitWeb". Alamo.edu. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  5. O'Neale, Sondra (2002). "Hammon, Jupiter". In William L Andrews; Frances Smith Foster; Trudier Harris (eds.). The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780195138832. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  6. Shields, John C. (2010). Phillis Wheatley and the Romantics. University of Tennessee Press. p. 1. ISBN   978-1-57233-712-1. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  7. Zack, Naomi (1995). American mixed race: the culture of microdiversity. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 66. ISBN   978-0-8476-8013-9. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  8. Brooks, Tim (2004). Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890–1919. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. pp. 15–71
  9. Slawson, Robert (2011-01-27). "Ann Bradford Stokes (1830–1903)". Black Past. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  10. Tardif, Elyssa (2013). Providence's Benefit Street. Arcadia Publishing. p. 70. ISBN   978-0-7385-9923-6. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  11. Susan Love Brown (2006). "Economic Life". In Paul Finkelman (ed.). Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619–1895: from the colonial period to the age of Frederick Douglass. Vol. 1. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 121–129. ISBN   0195167775.
  12. Brooks, Tim, and Dick Spottswood. Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890–1919. University of Illinois Press, 2004. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt2jcc81. Accessed 8 Oct. 2020.(pp. 254–258)
  13. Baker, Josephine; Bouillon, Joe (1977). Josephine (First ed.). New York: Harper & Row. ISBN   978-0-06-010212-8.
  14. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit, MI: Gale. 2004. pp. 455–456. ISBN   978-0-7876-9124-0.
  15. Baker, David. "Important Firsts: Groups and Their Leaders, and Groups and Personnel". Jazz in America. The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Archived from the original on January 15, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  16. Strunk, William Oliver; Treitler, Leo (1998). Source Readings in Music History. Norton. p. 1421. ISBN   978-0-393-03752-4. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  17. 1 2 3 Bogle, Donald (2001). Primetime Blues. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp.  9–14. ISBN   978-0-374-23720-2 . Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  18. Jackson, Carlton (1993). Hattie: The Life of Hattie McDaniel. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   978-1-56833-004-4. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  19. Epstein, Lawrence Jeffrey (2010). Political Folk Music in America from Its Origins to Bob Dylan. McFarland. p. 94. ISBN   978-0-7864-5601-7. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  20. Matt Baker at the Grand Comics Database. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. Artist credits were not routinely given in comic books in the 1940s, so comprehensive credits are very difficult if not impossible to ascertain.
  21. "1st African-American Published Comic – All Negro #1- (1947) Comes to Auction". Metropolis Collectibles Inc. / ComicConnect Corp. press release via BlackRadioNetwork.com. February 2009. Archived from the original on July 2, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  22. Sperb, Jason (2012). Disney's Most Notorious Film: Race, Convergence, and the Hidden Histories of Song of the South. Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 96. ISBN   978-0-292-74981-8. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  23. Smith, Catherine Parsons (2008). William Grant Still. American composers. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 68. ISBN   978-0-252-03322-3. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  24. Hill, George H. (1986). Ebony Images: Black Americans and Television. Carson, CA: Daystar Publishing Company. p. 24. ISBN   978-0-933650-01-5. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  25. "One of the first TV shows hosted by a black man". African American Registry. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  26. O'Dell, Cary (2012). June Cleaver Was a Feminist!: Reconsidering the Female Characters of Early Television. McFarland. p. 217. ISBN   978-0-7864-7177-5. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  27. Manos, Nick (February 3, 2009). "Blayton, Jesse B., Sr. (1879–1977)". BlackPast.org. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  28. Weaver, Joshua R. (June 9, 2011). "The Great Black Way? Black Tony Award Winners". TheRoot.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  29. Clarage, Elizabeth C; Elizabeth A Brennan, eds. (1999). Who's who of Pulitzer Prize winners. Phoenix, Arizona: Oryx Press. p.  522. ISBN   9781573561112.
  30. 1 2 Otfinoski, Steven (2010). "Dandridge, Dorothy". African Americans in the Performing Arts. A to Z of African Americans (Revised ed.). New York: Facts On File. pp. 51–52. ISBN   978-1-4381-2855-9 . Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  31. Keiler, Allan (2002). Marian Anderson: A Singer's Journey. University of Illinois Press. p. 274. ISBN   978-0-252-07067-9. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  32. "The Black Presence in American Dance: Arthur Mitchell". (Biographical capsule) Spelman College. Archived from the original on December 14, 2004.
  33. "John Kitzmiller". Festival de Cannes 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  34. "Winners −1958: First Annual Grammy Awards". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015. Presented May 4, 1959, for recordings made in 1958.
  35. "Cicely Tyson Biography (1924–2021)". Biography.com . Retrieved February 28, 2019. In 1963 Tyson became the first African American star of a TV drama in the series East Side/West Side...
  36. Cosham, Ralph H. (November 25, 1963). "Negro Comes to Television; Sponsors Happy". Nashville Banner. United Press International. p. 29. Retrieved January 29, 2021 via Newspapers.com. …only one dramatic program features a Negro as a regular member of the cast. She is Cicely Tyson, who portrays a social worker in the new CBS series East Side, West Side.
  37. Hudson, David (n.d.). "Black Cinema". GreenCine.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Update of Hudson (June 10, 2003). "SFBFF: Experience and Empowerment". Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011. Note: Asian-American interracial marriage had previously been portrayed.
  38. Duncan, Randy; Smith, Matthew J. (2013). Icons of the American Comic Book: From Captain America to Wonder Woman. ABC-CLIO. p. 83. ISBN   978-0-313-39924-4. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  39. Nancy Sinatra (May 2, 2000). Movin' with Nancy (DVD Commentary Track). Chatsworth, California: Image Entertainment.
  40. "A. S. McWilliams, 77, Comic Strip Cartoonist". The New York Times. March 25, 1993. Archived from the original on April 17, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  41. Horn, Maurice, ed. (1996). 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics. New York: Gramercy Books. pp. 91–92. ISBN   0-517-12447-5.
  42. Boyd, Todd (2008). African Americans and Popular Culture. Westport, CN: Praeger. p. 162. ISBN   978-0-313-06408-1. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  43. Bould, Mark; Butler, Andrew M.; Roberts, Adam; Sherryl Vint (2009). The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction. Taylor & Francis. p. 131. ISBN   978-0-203-87131-7. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  44. The earliest known humorous interracial kiss was in the story "Home Cooking" in Premier Magazine's satirical comic book Nuts #1 (March 1954), per its listing at the Grand Comics Database. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013.
  45. "Sammy's Visit". All in the Family. Season 2. Episode 34. February 12, 1972. CBS. In the comedy All in the Family , at the last moment as a picture is taken, Sammy Davis, Jr., playing himself, chides the bigoted but celebrity-fawning Archie Bunker with a humorous kiss on the cheek.
  46. O'English, Mark (2014). "Killraven". In Booker, M. Keith (ed.). Comics through Time : A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas. Greenwood Publishing. p. 666. ISBN   978-0313397509.
  47. Mitchell, Gail (October 29, 2005). "From One Man's Vision To An Empire: BET". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 44. p. 24. ISSN   0006-2510.
  48. Alban, Debra (June 28, 2009). "Michael Jackson broke down racial barriers". CNN. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  49. Kourlas, Gia (May 6, 2007). "Dance: Where Are All the Black Swans?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 7, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  50. Thompson, Gayle (2020-01-07). "53 Years Ago: Charley Pride Becomes the First Black Singer to Perform at the Grand Ole Opry". The Boot. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  51. Trust, Gary (August 29, 2016). "This Week in Billboard Chart History: In 1995, Michael Jackson Made a Record Start" . Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  52. Price, Emmett George; Kernodle, Tammy L.; Maxile, Horace Joseph, eds. (2011). Encyclopedia of African American music. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN   9780313342004. OCLC   699474764.
  53. Weisman, Jon (July 30, 2013). "Cheryl Boone Isaacs Elected President of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences". Variety . Archived from the original on April 24, 2015.
  54. Silverstein, Melissa (December 11, 2014). "Ava DuVernay Becomes First African American Woman Nominated for Best Director Golden Globe". Indiewire.com. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014.