Black "Firsts" We're Celebrating this Black History Month [Updated]

Photo:  Chip Somodevilla / Staff (Getty Images), Kevin Dietsch / Staff (Getty Images), Mary DeCicco / Stringer (Getty Images)
Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Staff (Getty Images), Kevin Dietsch / Staff (Getty Images), Mary DeCicco / Stringer (Getty Images)

Black History Month calls for a history lesson! Black people have been shattering glass ceilings and raising the bar for us all over the last few years. Here we shout out some new Black “firsts” worth remembering.

Wes Moore

Photo:  Drew Angerer / Staff (Getty Images)
Photo: Drew Angerer / Staff (Getty Images)

In January 2023 Wes Moore officially became the first Black governor of Maryland and the third Black person in history to be a governor. In February 2023 he appointed the first Black superintendent of the Maryland state police, Colonel Roland Butler.

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Keechant Sewell

Photo:  Alexi Rosenfeld / Contributor (Getty Images)
Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld / Contributor (Getty Images)

Keechant Sewell was appointed by Major Eric Adams of New York City to be the 45th Police Commissioner of the city in 2021. Sewell is the first Black woman to lead the police department.

Mike Grier

Photo:  Bruce Bennett / Staff (Getty Images)
Photo: Bruce Bennett / Staff (Getty Images)

Mike Grier became the first Black general manager for a Nation Hockey League team in 2022, leading the San Jose Sharks. Grier is a former NHL player and was the first Black player to be born and train exclusively in the United States.

Erin Jackson

Photo:  Jean Catuffe / Contributor (Getty Images)
Photo: Jean Catuffe / Contributor (Getty Images)

Erin Jackson is the first Black woman to win a gold medal for solo speed skating, winning at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. She won the race with a time of 37.04 for the 500-meter event.

Kamala Harris

Photo:  Bloomberg / Contributor (Getty Images)
Photo: Bloomberg / Contributor (Getty Images)

Kamala Harris became the first female and first Black and Asian American Vice President of the United States in January 2021. Prior to the position, Harris was a U.S. Senator and Attorney General for California.

Beyoncé

Photo:  Frazer Harrison / Staff (Getty Images)
Photo: Frazer Harrison / Staff (Getty Images)

Beyoncé’s 2023 Grammy win for Renaissance made her the first Black woman to win the Best Dance/Electronic Album. The same night she beat the record for the most Grammy awards won in history.

Lebron James

Photo:  Robert Gauthier / Contributor (Getty Images)
Photo: Robert Gauthier / Contributor (Getty Images)

Lebron James beat Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for the most scoring points in NBA history, with 38,390 points, being three points over Abdul-Jabbar.

Fisk Gymnastics

Photo:  Stew Milne / Contributor (Getty Images)
Photo: Stew Milne / Contributor (Getty Images)

Fisk University announced that it would be creating the first HBCU gymnastics team in February 2022. In January 2023, the team competed in its first meet, placing fourth. According to Deadline, a docuseries is being made about the team.

Claudine Gay

Photo:  Boston Globe / Contributor (Getty Images)
Photo: Boston Globe / Contributor (Getty Images)

Claudine Gay, who was previously a dean of arts and sciences at Harvard University, was made the 30th president of the Ivy League institution in 2023. She is the first Black woman to be president of the school.

Autumn Lockwood

Photo:  Gregory Shamus / Staff (Getty Images)
Photo: Gregory Shamus / Staff (Getty Images)

The NFL announced before the 2023 Super Bowl that Autumn Lockwood, a coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, would be the fourth woman and first Black woman to be coaching in a playoff game.

Quinta Brunson

Photo:  Michael Buckner / Contributor (Getty Images)
Photo: Michael Buckner / Contributor (Getty Images)

Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson made history by getting the most Emmy comedy nominations for a Black woman in one year. She is also the youngest Black woman to be nominated in the comedy acting category.

Karine Jean-Pierre

Photo:  Anna Moneymaker / Staff (Getty Images)
Photo: Anna Moneymaker / Staff (Getty Images)

Karine Jean-Pierre made history in 2022 as she was named the first Black person and LGBTQ person as the White House press secretary.

Aaron Judge

Photo:  Mary DeCicco / Stringer (Getty Images)
Photo: Mary DeCicco / Stringer (Getty Images)

Outfielder for the New York Yankees Aaron Judge made a Major League Baseball record in 2022 by having 62 home runs in a season.

Angela Bassett

Photo:  Kevin Mazur / Contributor (Getty Images)
Photo: Kevin Mazur / Contributor (Getty Images)

Angela Bassett is the first actor to win a Golden Globe for a Marvel movie, after accepting the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) nearly 30 years after winning her first Globe in 1994.

Missy Elliott

Photo:  Paras Griffin / Contributor (Getty Images)
Photo: Paras Griffin / Contributor (Getty Images)

In 2023, Missy Elliot received the huge honor of being the first female hip-hop artist nominated to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Ketanji Brown Jackson

Photo:  OLIVIER DOULIERY / Contributor (Getty Images)
Photo: OLIVIER DOULIERY / Contributor (Getty Images)

We witnessed the resilient Ketanji Brown Jackson being sworn in as the first Black woman to serve as a Supreme Court Justice in early 2022. Prior to the position, Jackson was a U.S. circuit judge in the Washington D.C. Court of Appeals.

Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts

Photo:  Carmen Mandato / Staff (Getty Images), Gregory Shamus / Staff (Getty Images)
Photo: Carmen Mandato / Staff (Getty Images), Gregory Shamus / Staff (Getty Images)

The 2023 Super Bowl has for the first time in NFL history two Black starting quarterbacks MVP Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts.

Summer Lee

Photo:  Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images (AP)
Photo: Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images (AP)

In November 2022, Democratic Congresswoman Summer Lee became the first Black woman elected to Congress to represent Pennsylvania.

Karen Bass

Photo:  Jerod Harris / Stringer (Getty Images)
Photo: Jerod Harris / Stringer (Getty Images)

Karen Bass was elected as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles in 2022, being the first Black woman to lead the city.

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