The People Who Paved the Way

Trailblazers

Pioneers, barrier-breakers, and history-makers who changed what's possible.

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Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris

Politics & Law

Kamala Devi Harris has been the first at every stage of her career — first Black woman elected District Attorney of San Francisco, first Black woman elected Attorney General of California, first Black and first South Asian woman elected to the U.S. Senate from California, and first woman, first Black person, and first person of […]
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Sports

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. — retired as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points, a record that stood for nearly four decades. His skyhook, an elegant and virtually unblockable shot released from above his 7’2″ frame, was the most devastating weapon in basketball history. But Abdul-Jabbar’s legacy extends far beyond […]
Katherine Dunham

Katherine Dunham

Arts & Culture

Katherine Mary Dunham was the mother of Black concert dance — a choreographer, dancer, anthropologist, and activist who created an entirely new dance technique rooted in the movement traditions of the African diaspora. The Dunham Technique, which fuses African, Caribbean, and modern dance forms, is still taught in studios worldwide and has influenced virtually every […]
Katherine Johnson

Katherine Johnson

Science & Technology

A NASA mathematician whose orbital calculations were critical to America's first crewed spaceflights — Katherine Johnson computed the trajectory that put John Glenn into orbit and brought him safely home.
K

Kellee Edwards

Media & Entertainment

Kellee Edwards is a travel show host, adventurer, and licensed pilot who became the first Black woman to host a travel show on a major television network when her series Mysterious Islands premiered on the Travel Channel in 2017. She is also a skydiver with over 2,000 jumps and a scuba diver — using every […]
Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar

Music

The first rapper to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music — Kendrick Lamar has elevated hip-hop into high art while never losing touch with the streets of Compton that made him.
Ketanji Brown Jackson

Ketanji Brown Jackson

Politics & Law

The first Black woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court — Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation in 2022 was a historic moment that moved a nation to tears.
Kizzmekia Corbett

Kizzmekia Corbett

Science & Technology

The immunologist who was the scientific lead behind the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine — Kizzmekia Corbett's decade of coronavirus research helped save millions of lives during the pandemic.

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