Category: Black Excellence

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hattie_Scott_Peterson

Hattie T. Scott Peterson (1913–1993)^[1] is believed to be the first African-American woman to gain a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.^[2][3]

In 1947, Peterson began working as a survey and cartographic engineer for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).^[4]

Peterson joined the local U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in 1954, making her the first female engineer to work for USACE.^[5] Peterson’s work was focused on flood risk reduction, but she also advocated for engineering as a profession for women and women’s rights as a whole.^[5]

https://www.dougoster.com/doug-oster/ralph-brock-was-pennsylvanias-first-african-american-forester

It was a box of letters discovered in 1966, which reintroduced the world to Ralph Elwood Brock, the first African-American forester in the United States. They date back to the early 1900s. Since then, the stack of letters, ledgers, and notes from Brock had been stored away at the Penn State Monto Alto campus. 

They languished in obscurity again until the late 1990s when they were rediscovered by forestry historians, anxious to retell the story of this pioneer who was in the first class of the Pennsylvania State Forest Academy. “He was good with trees, he loved plants, he was a natural,” said Dr. Peter Linehan, associate professor of forestry at the University. Linehan is the latest to carry the torch for Brock. 

He spoke about him in 2016 to a group from the DCNR bureau forestry, keeping Brock’s name alive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toluse_Olorunnipa

Toluse “Tolu” Olorunnipa (Toe-Loo Oh-lo-roon-NEE-pa) is a Nigerian-American journalist and political commentator. He is the first reporter of native African and Nigerian descent to cover the White House.^[1] Of Yoruba heritage, Olorunnipa was named the White House Bureau Chief for The Washington Post in July 2022.^[2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwynne_Wilcox

Gwynne A. Wilcox is an American attorney who has served on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Career

Wilcox is a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.^{[citation needed]} She is also a member of the Labor and Employment Law sections of both the American Bar Association and New York State Bar Association.^{[citation needed]} She is a partner at Levy Ratner, P.C, an employment law firm that deals with unions.^[2] Part of Wilcox’s work is to represent unions before the NLRB.^[2]

https://mountainjournal.org/first-black-woman-forester-shares-concerns-about-working-for-us-forest-service

Melody Mobley, the first African-American woman forester in the storied land management agency, offers suggestions following a career punctuated by adversity

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovie_Simone

Lovie Simone Oppong (born November 29, 1998)^[1][2] is an American actress, best known for her role as Zora Greenleaf in drama series Greenleaf (2016–2020), and Keisha Clark in the critically acclaimed Netflix teen drama series Forever (2025).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ewing_Jr.

John Ewing Jr. (born April 18, 1961)^[1] is an American politician, minister, former police officer, and the mayor-elect of Omaha, Nebraska. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in 2025, defeating incumbent mayor Jean Stothert. Previously, Ewing served as Omaha deputy police chief and had been the treasurer of Douglas County, Nebraska since January 2007.^[2] Ewing is the first African American to be elected mayor of Omaha.^[3][4]

Butcher Brown’s limitless musical range shows no boundaries by genre and time. The Virginia-bred collective announces their new album Letters From The Atlantic will release on March 28 via Concord Jazz, offering a seamless blend of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, soul, bossa nova and more. The new record moves toward an indie groove, featuring female guest artists Yaya Bey, Melanie Charles, Leanor Wolf, Mia Gladstone, Victoria Victoria, along with Nicholas Payton & Neal Francis. Today, Butcher Brown shares the new single and video “Ibiza,” which follows last month’s “Montrose Forest.” Tapping into deep house music influences, “Ibiza” is a ubiquitous earworm that weaves a slick saxophone line through instrumental songscapes.

https://www.npr.org/2024/02/28/1234195743/tiny-desk-concert-butcher-brown