African Americans are ademographic minority in the United States. Thefirst 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]
First African American woman to win an Olympic gold medal:Alice Coachman[26]
First African American on an Olympic basketball team and first African-American Olympic gold medal basketball winner:Don Barksdale, in the1948 Summer Olympics
First African Americans inducted to theBasketball Hall of Fame:New York Renaissance, inducted as a team. (See also: Bob Douglas, 1972; Bill Russell, 1975; Clarence Gaines, 1982)
First African American to initiate the concept of free agency. He refused to accept a trade following the 1969 season, ultimately appealing his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The trend of free agency expanded across the entire landscape of professional sports for all races and all cultures:Curt Flood (St. Louis Cardinals)[Note 3]
First African American inducted to theBasketball Hall of Fame: Team-owner and coachBob Douglas, in the category of "contributor" (See also: New York Renaissance, 1963; player Bill Russell, 1975; coach Clarence Gaines, 1982)
First African American to sail solo around the world following theAge of Sail route around the southern tips of South America (Cape Horn) and Africa (Cape of Good Hope), avoiding thePanama andSuez Canals: Bill Pinkney[48] (See also: 1987)
^Clifton was the first to sign an NBA contract and subsequently play, Cooper was the first to bedrafted by an NBA team, and Lloyd was the first to play in an NBA regular-season game because his team's opening game was one day before the others.
^At the time, the NCAA had not yet adopted its three-division system. Illinois State was in the NCAA University Division, which became Division I in 1973. The NCAA retroactively considers University Division members to have been Division I members.
^Although Flood's legal challenge was unsuccessful, it brought about additional solidarity among players as they fought against baseball's reserve clause and sought free agency.
^Lewis Hamilton became the first black Formula One racer in 2006, but he is a British citizen ofGrenadan ancestry, and not an African American.Ribbs did not compete in a race, but drove a Formula One car professionally in January 1986 as a tester for theBrabham–BMW atEstoril, Portugal.
^Announced as Bobcats owner in December 2002, although team did not begin play until2004.
^Smith and Dungy both reached this milestone on the same day, although Smith was technically the first due solely to scheduling. TheNFC andAFC Championship Games are always held on the same day. In theplayoffs that followed the 2006 NFL season, the NFC game was played first.
^Juguo, Zhang (2001).W. E. B. Du Bois: The Quest for the Abolition of the Color Line. Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-93087-1
^Herbst, Philip H (1997).The Color of Words: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Ethnic Bias in the United States. Intercultural Press. p. 57.ISBN978-1-877864-97-1
^Sailes, Gary Alan (1998). "Jackie Robinson: Breaking the Color Barrier in Team Sports".African Americans in Sport: Contemporary Themes, Transaction Publishers. p. 8.ISBN978-0-7658-0440-2
^Aaseng, Nathan (2003)."Taylor, Marshall Walker".African-American Athletes. Facts on File library of American history. New York: Infobase Publishing. p. 218.ISBN1438107781.Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. RetrievedOctober 27, 2015.
^Grasso, John (November 15, 2010). "Lew, Harry Haskell "Bucky"".Historical Dictionary of Basketball. Scarecrow Press.ISBN978-0810875067.
^Smith, Frederick D. (January 1, 2009). "Pollard, Fritz". In Jessie Carney Smith; Linda T. Wynn (eds.).Freedom Facts and Firsts: 400 Years of the African American Civil Rights Experience. Visible Ink Press.ISBN978-1578591923.
^abWilson, Joseph; David Addams (2006)."Football". In Paul Finkelman (ed.).Encyclopedia of African American history, 1619–1895. Vol. 1. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 234–237.ISBN0195167775.
