Famous Firsts
February is Black History Month. Here are four firsts in Black history. These famous people led the way.
She won a big match.
ULLSTEIN BILD/GETTY IMAGESAlthea Gibson was the first Black tennis champion at Wimbledon. She won the big match in 1957.
She changed schools.
TAYLOR HILL—FILMMAGIC/GETTY IMAGESIn 1960, Ruby Bridges became the youngest Black child to go to a white school in the South.
He led a country.
HANNES MAGERSTAEDT—GETTY IMAGESBarack Obama was the 44th president of the United States, from 2009 to 2017. He was the country’s first Black president.
She leads the library.
MATT MCCLAIN—THE WASHINGTON POST/GETTY IMAGESCarla Hayden became the first Black Librarian of Congress, in 2016. She heads the world’s biggest library.