Jessie Carney Smith - Black firsts: 4,000 ground-breaking and pioneering historical events

Photo: Vando Rogers

N oted author, scholar, educator, and librarian Jessie Carney Smith is Dean of the Library and William and Camille Cosby Professor in the Humanities at Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee. She is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, Michigan State University, and Vanderbilt University, and she holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.

In addition to the first and second editions of Black Firsts, her Visible Ink publications are Black Heroes and, with Linda T. Wynn, Freedom Facts and Firsts: 400 Years of the African American Civil Rights Experience. Other important works that she has written or edited include Encyclopedia of African American Popular Culture (3 volumes), Notable Black American Women (Books I, II, and III), Notable Black American Men (Books I and II), Encyclopedia of African American Business (2 volumes), African American Almanac (8th edition), Ethnic Genealogy, and Black Academic Libraries and Research Collections.

Dr. Smith had been honored widely with recognitions such as the National Womens Book Association Award; the Candace Award for excellence in education; the Anna J. Cooper Award for research on African American women from Sage magazine; the Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award from the Association of College and Research Libraries; the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Illinois, Graduate School of Library and Information Science; and the Research Career Award from Fisk University.

African American Almanac: 400 Years of Triumph, Courage and Excellence

by Leantin Bracks, Ph.D.

ISBN: 978-1-57859-323-1

Black Heroes

by Jessie Carney Smith

ISBN: 978-1-57859-142-8

Freedom Facts and Firsts: 400 Years of the African American Civil Rights Experience

by Jessie Carney Smith and Linda T. Wynn

ISBN: 978-1-57859-192-3

The Handy History Answer Book, Third Edition

by David L Hudson, Jr.

ISBN: 978-1-57859-372-9

Please visit us at www.visibleinkpress.com.

BLACK FIRSTS

Copyright 2013 by Visible Ink Press

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Managing Editor: Kevin S. Hile

Art Director: Mary Claire Krzewinski

Typesetting: Marco Di Vita

Proofreaders: Chrystal Rosza and Sarah Trenz

Indexing: Shoshana Hurwitz

ISBN 978-1-57859-369-9

Cover images: Shutterstock.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Black firsts : 4,000 ground-breaking and pioneering events / [edited by] Jessie Carney Smith. 3rd ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-57859-369-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. African AmericansHistoryMiscellanea. 2. BlacksHistoryMiscellanea. 3. World recordsUnited StatesMiscellanea. I. Smith, Jessie Carney, 1930

E185.B574 2013

920.009296073dc23

[B]

2012034407

Printed in the United States of America

All rights reserved

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R esearch projects such as Black Firsts often engage numerous contributorsfrom those who are involved in the intricate research project, to those who submit names that they know, to those who take a critical look at what has been said, or simply those who offer words of praise and encouragement throughout the project. I must not overlook those who appreciate the first two editions, often expressing their love for them and defining the projects helpfulness in their teaching or quest for knowledge. Simply saying thank you is never enough, but it is at least a way of publicly acknowledging that their efforts and words were sustenance to me.

I could not have predicted that a whole family would join the project as if it were their own. My library colleague at Fisk, Cheryl Jones Hamberg, and the Hamberg familyher husband, Dr. Marcelle, and son Marcdevoted an unbelievable amount of time to this work. They remained alert to the various new firsts that emerged and discovered others who had achieved previously and were already selected for the current edition. Do you have this person? they asked, and marveled when I did or felt a sense of helpfulness when I didnt. They read and corrected entries that I felt inadequate to handle, and even built a chart. As this project became a family affair, we began to refer to the book as our book. Thank you, my friends, the Hamberg family.

Others on my staff at Fisk helped to make the book possible as well. Thank you, Kathy Harrell, for searching references and for your extensive photocopying of materials needed for the bookand for enjoying the entire process. This facilitated my work more than you will never know. And Jason Harrison, you were always ready to retrieve materials from our Special Collections, copy articles, and return items to the shelvessomething that I never liked to do. Thank you, Jason, for your work and the pleasant attitude that you demonstrated during the process. I am grateful to other staff members, as well, who handled a myriad of activities, from retrieving faxes to re-shelving books and more. I appreciate your assistance Susie Harris, Mattie McHollin, Ester McShepard, Mike Powell, and researcher Vanessa Smith of libraries at Fisk and Meharry Medical College. It is painful to remember the help of Beth Howse, our Special Collections Librarian, who recently outran us to the great beyond. Let this be a posthumous thanks to Beth for always lending much-needed support. For all of my friends (especially former Fisk dean Carrell Horton) and Fisk colleagues, thank you for your suggestions and understanding when I put you on hold as I worked on the research project. I appreciate and thank all of my readers who made suggestions, corrected errors, and made the work a better product. I thank all of you for joining me in anticipating this new edition. And to my son, Rick Smith, thank you for keeping my old computer alive, rebuilding it, and finally replacing it as a beautiful birthday gift.