Black Entertainment History Timeline

Courtesy of Filmation

February is Black History Month! Kidzworld takes a look at some important moments in Black Entertainment History.

1824 - The African Company became the first African-American drama group and produced plays at the African Grove in New York City.

1912 - The Railroad Porter, a comedy directed by Bill Foster (a pioneering black filmmaker), became the first black film.

1914 - Sam Lucas was the first African American actor to star in a full-length film playing the title role in Uncle Tom's Cabin.

1921 - Shuffle Along opens on Broadway as the first musical written and performed by African Americans.

1922 - Louis Armstrong revolutionized jazz music after arriving in Chicago to play second trumpet in King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band.

1930 - Katherine Dunham started Ballet Negres, America’s first black ballet company.

1933 - Caterina Jarboro became the first black person to perform with an American Opera company.

1940 - Hattie McDaniel was the first black person to win an Oscar, after winning best supporting actress for her role in Gone With the Wind.

1945 - Ebony magazine is founded by John H. Johnson and is an instant success.

1955 - Musician Chuck Berry arrives in Chicago and records Maybellene, an immediate sensation among teenagers. The hit helps shape the evolution of rock and roll.

1956 - Arthur Mitchell, future director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, becomes the only black dancer in the New York City Ballet.

1959 - Motown Record Corporation is founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. The Motown sound dominates African-American popular music through the 1960s and attracts a huge crossover audience becoming the sound of young america.

1959 - Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, becomes the first drama written by a black woman to be produced on Broadway.

1963 - Sidney Poitier wins the Academy Award as best actor for his performance in Lilies of the Field.

1965 - Bill Cosby became the first black lead actor on television in the drama I Spy.

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