Title of Bulletin Board: African Americans in Sports

Category: Multicultural

Suggested Grade Level: All

Materials: PIctures of athletes and descriptions

Description:

For black history month, I created a bulletin board showing the first African Americans in sports. I found pictures on the internet and write a short bio about each athlete to display.

Moses Fleetwood Walker - 1884 - First African American in major league baseball (Team - Toledo)
Marshall "Major" Taylor - 1899 - First African American World Cycling Champion
George Poage - 1904 - First African American to win a medal at the Olympics (event - 200 m hurdles and 400 m hurdles)
Jack Johnson - 1908 - First African American to win the title of heavyweight boxing champion
Louise Stokes & Tidye Pickett - 1932 - First African Americans to qualify for the Olympics, but weren't allowed to participate because of their race. 1936 - Stokes and Pickett became the first African American women in the Olympics.
Jackie Robinson - 1947 - First African American in major league baseball of the modern era ( Team - Brooklyn Dodgers)
Charles Cooper - 1950 - First African American to play for the NBA (Team - Boston Celtics)
Willie Thrower - 1953 - First African American quarterback in the NFL (Team - Chicago Bears)
Althea Gibson - 1957 - First African American player (male or female) to compete in the US Lawn Tennis Association. Gibson was the first African American to play and win Wimbledon and the US National Tennis Championship. Gibson was the first African American woman to win the title of Female Athlete of the Year. 1964 - Gibson also became the first African American woman to join the Ladies Professional Golf Association.
Willie O'Ree - 1958 - First African American to play for the NHL (Team - Boston Bruins)
Debi Thomas - 1986 - First African American woman to win the US figure skating singles championship.