African American Reference Library

Summaries by subject include the event and a brief biography of the individual involved in the hundreds of firsts by African Americans.

This latest title in Gale's UXL series for middle-schoolers highlights firsts in African American history and is derived from Black Firsts: 2000 Years of Extraordinary Achievement (Gale, 1994). Organized by subject, events are then listed chronologically. Subjects include Business and Labor; Justice, Law Enforcement, and Public Safety; Religion; and Science, Medicine, and Invention. A typical section, Periodicals, under the larger subject Media, lists eight events, ranging from the founding of the Emancipator in 1820 to the appointment of Time's first black national correspondent in 1963.

Each of the 500 entries consists of three or four sentences on the person or event with the original source or sources cited. These include the Negro Almanac, Ebony, Crisis, Encyclopedia of Black America, Bennett's Before the Mayflower, and Who's Who among Black Americans. Throughout the text are black-and-white photographs of some of the persons listed. See also references note when a person's achievements are in more than one subject area, such as Maya Angelou, who is cited under Literature as well as Film and Television. A bibliography of all sources consulted is followed by an index.

There are several chronologies available on African Americans, but this one is unique in being arranged by subject and limited to firsts. African American Breakthroughs will find a place on the shelves of media centers and public libraries and is recommended for purchase.