firsts Archives - Harlem World Magazine

Harlem’s Historic “Scullers Row,” The Birthplace Of Rowing In The USA, 1840’s-1950’s

Around the 1840's Harlem and New York City was the birthplace of rowing in the United States and continued to be the center of rowing activity until the 1950's. Continue reading

Harlem’s Patricia Era Bath, A Career Of Firsts, An Inventor And Founder, 1942 – 2019

Patricia Era Bath, November 4, 1942 – May 30, 2019, was an American ophthalmologist, inventor, humanitarian, and academic. Continue reading

Marvel Cooke, A Trailblazing Harlem Journalist, Writer, And Civil Rights Activist 1903 – 2000 (Updated)

Marvel Jackson Cooke, April 4, 1903 – November 29, 2000, was a pioneering Harlem journalist, writer, civil rights, and activist.Continue reading

Harlem’s Alvin Bragg, Takes Oath As Manhattan’s New And First Black District Attorney

At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day, history maker Alvin Bragg became Manhattan’s first Black district attorney and only the fourth prosecutor elected to the office in the past 80 years.Continue reading

The Legendary Doris Elsa Fleischman Bernays, Writer, Public Relations First, And Feminist, 1891 – 1980

Doris Elsa Fleischman Bernays, July 18, 1891 – July 10, 1980, was a writer, public relations executive, and feminist activist.Continue reading

First All-Black Classical Symphony Orchestra At Carnegie Hall In Its 130-Year History

The Gateways Music Festival Orchestra makes its Carnegie Hall debut on April 24, 2022, marking the first featured performance by an all-Black classical symphony orchestra in the venue’s recorded, 130-year history*.Continue reading

Celebrating 25 Years, First Black Woman And ‘Raising The Bar’ From Harlem To Hollywood

Founded in 1996 by Hall of Fame Rhythmic Gymnast Wendy Hilliard,Continue reading

Harlem’s Dorothy Maynor Harlem School Of The Arts Founder And A Woman Of Many Firsts

Dorothy Maynor, September 3, 1910 – February 19, 1996, was an American soprano, concert singer, and the founder of the Harlem School of the Arts.Continue reading

Otto Huiswoud, First Black Member Of The US Communist Movement 1893 – 1961

Otto Eduard Geradus Majelia Huiswoud,1893 - 1961, was a Suriname-born political activist who was a charter member of the Communist Party of America in Harlem, NY.Continue reading

The First Fashion Doll, Harlem’s Madame Alexander Museum And Doll Hospital, NY, 1953-

Alexander Doll Company is an American manufacturer of collectible dolls. The business was founded in 1923 by Beatrice Alexander, a New York City woman who designed and sewed high-quality cloth dolls.Continue reading

Joe Biden Chooses Sen. Kamala Harris For Vice President In 2020 Election (Video)

Joe Biden has selected Sen. Kamala Harris, a law-and-order former prosecutor from California, to be his vice-presidential running mate in the November 3, 2020 election.Continue reading

NASA Names Headquarters After First Black Female Engineer Mary W. Jackson (Video)

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced Wednesday the agency’s headquarters building in Washington, D.C., will be named after Mary W. Jackson, the first Black female engineer at NASA.Continue reading

Harlem’s Barbara Hillary, First African-American Woman To Visit The North Pole Passes

Growing up poor in Harlem Barbara Hillary, who was in her 70s when she became the first black woman to officially make it to the North and South poles, has died at 88.Continue reading

Harlem’s Ron Brown, The First Black US Secretary Of Commerce And Chair Of The DNC

Ronald H. Brown, August 1, 1941 – April 3, 1996, was an American politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Commerce during the first term of President Bill Clinton. Continue reading

In A Community Known For Firsts, NYC’s First Proton Therapy Center Opens In East Harlem

Harlem is known for its firsts, from the Patricia Era Bath, the first woman member of the Jules Stein Eye Institute to Samuel Jesse Battle the NYPD’s first black lieutenant to Shirley Chisholm the first black woman elected to Congress and many, many more firsts.Continue reading