The People Who Paved the Way

Trailblazers

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

All A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

W.E.B. Du Bois

The first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard, W.E.B. Du Bois was a scholar, activist, and intellectual architect of the modern civil rights movement who co-founded the NAACP.

Westley Watende Omari Moore became the first Black governor in the history of Maryland when he was inaugurated on January 18, 2023 — and only the third Black person elected governor of any U.S. state, after Douglas Wilder of Virginia (1989) and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts (2006). He won by the largest margin of any […]

Whitney Houston

Music

Whitney Elizabeth Houston possessed the most extraordinary voice of her generation — a soprano instrument of such power, clarity, and emotional range that it redefined what popular music could sound like. Her rendition of “I Will Always Love You” remains one of the best-selling singles in history, and her self-titled debut album made her the […]

Whoopi Goldberg

Media & Entertainment

Caryn Elaine Johnson — Whoopi Goldberg — is one of only 19 people in history to achieve EGOT status (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), and she is the first Black woman to do so. From her one-woman Broadway show to The Color Purple to Ghost to The View, Goldberg has remained one of the most recognizable […]

Willie Mays

Sports

Willie Howard Mays Jr. — the Say Hey Kid — played baseball with a joy and brilliance that transcended statistics, though his numbers were staggering: 660 home runs, 3,283 hits, 338 stolen bases, and a defensive prowess in center field that produced “The Catch” — the over-the-shoulder grab in the 1954 World Series that remains […]

Wilma Rudolph

Sports

Told she would never walk again after childhood polio, Wilma Rudolph became the fastest woman on Earth — winning three Olympic gold medals at the 1960 Rome Games.

Wilt Chamberlain

Sports

Wilton Norman Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single NBA game on March 2, 1962 — a record so absurd it has stood for over six decades and will likely never be broken. But that one game, legendary as it is, doesn’t capture the full scope of Chamberlain’s dominance. He averaged 50.4 points per game […]

Community

Know someone who belongs here?

Help us build the most comprehensive directory of Black excellence. Nominate a trailblazer — past, present, or future.

Nominate a Trailblazer →

Trailblazers

W.E.B. Du Bois

Wes Moore

Whitney Houston

Whoopi Goldberg

Willie Mays

Wilma Rudolph

Wilt Chamberlain

Know someone who belongs here?

Get the Best of BOTWC Weekly