Kansas

Dr. Jessye (1895-1992) was a preeminent Conductor, Choral Director, founder of the Eva Jessye Choir, and the first Black woman to earn international distinction as a director of a professional choral group. She was the first musical director for the original production of Porgy and Bess and, devoted to Civil Rights, Jessye and the Eva Jessye Choir were appointed by Dr. Martin Luther King the official choir of the 1963 March on Washington.

On May 1, 1950, Gwendolyn Brooks was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and became the first African American to win a Pulitzer.

McDaniel (1895-1952) was the first Black person to win an Academy Award, receiving the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mammy in "Gone with the Wind" (1939). Despite her groundbreaking achievement, she faced significant racial discrimination throughout her career: She was barred from the film's premiere at the whites-only Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta and was forced to sit at a segregated table in a side room during the Academy Awards ceremony.

Brown, (1918-1999) is considered the second African American woman to become a licensed architect in the U.S.