12 Black Pioneers Whose Contributions Undoubtedly Changed Education in America

Alexander Twilight (Sept. 23, 1795 – June 19, 1857)

Twilight was the first African-American to receive a bachelor’s degree in America from Middlebury College in 1823. In 1836, Twilight also became the first Black man elected to public office. He served in the Vermont General Assembly.

Henry Ossian Flipper (March 21, 1856 – May 3, 1940)

Flipper changed the academic scene at West Point by being its first African-American graduate in 1877, and then the first commissioned officer. He led the 10th Calvary of the Buffalo Soldiers, the first Black person to do that.