Today In Black History: Misty Copeland
The first African American Principal Dancer for the American Ballet Theater
Issue #879 Today In Black History, Monday, June 30, 2025
Throughout June, “Black Music Month,” we are highlighting Black musicians and other artists.
Misty Copeland, the first Black female principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT), has announced her retirement from the company this fall, marking 25 years of service. Her final performance will be a special celebration of Romeo and Juliet on October 22. She plans to continue her work with the Misty Copeland Foundation, which focuses on bringing greater diversity, equity, and inclusion to the dance world.
She joined ABT in 2001 and became a principal dancer in 2015 after 15 years.
Born on September 10, 1982, in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in San Pedro, California, Copeland began studying ballet at the relatively late age of 13, at a Boys & Girls Club, guided by Cynthia Bradley. Despite her late start, Copeland's prodigious talent quickly became apparent. Her natural grace and technical prowess defied expectations, propelling her from obscurity to stardom in a matter of years.
Copeland began her ballet studies at the age of 13 at the San Pedro Dance Center when Cynthia Bradley began picking her up from school. After three months of study, Copeland was en pointe.
Her mother told Copeland that she would have to give up ballet, but Bradley wanted Copeland to continue and offered to host her. Copeland moved in with Bradley and her family. Copeland would spend most of her next three years with the Bradleys. By the age of fourteen, Copeland was the winner of a national ballet contest and won her first solo role.
Her memoir, "Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina," co-authored with Charisse Jones, offers an intimate look at her struggles and triumphs, highlighting the adversities she faced regarding race and body image. These discussions have sparked important conversations within the ballet community about inclusivity and the evolution of ballet's standard aesthetics.
Copeland has become a cultural icon, leveraging her platform to advocate for diversity in the arts and providing visibility to underrepresented groups.
Copeland's collaborations have introduced ballet to broader audiences. Her appearances in music videos, commercials, and partnerships with major brands have helped to elevate ballet's cultural relevance. Copeland's influence even reached the White House, where she served on the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition during the Obama administration.
Today In Black History
In 1847, enslaved Dred Scott filed suit in the St. Louis Circuit Court claiming that his temporary residence in a free territory should have made him a free man. Scott eventually lost the case, with the U.S. Supreme Court deciding that no Black people could claim citizenship in the United States and that no Black person had rights “that a white man was required to uphold.” The 14th Amendment, in part, was an answer to the Dred Scott case, granting all persons born in the United States citizenship.
In 1867, Alabama State University was founded in Montgomery, Alabama.
In 1874, Black inventor H. Pickett patented the scaffold.
In 1881, Henry Highland Garnet was named U.S. Minister to Liberia.
In 1906, Dr. John Hope became the first Black president of Morehouse College.
In 1960, the African nation of Zaire gained its independence.
In 1962, the African nations of Rwanda and Burundi gained their independence.
In 1974, Marcus Chennault of Dayton, Ohio, murdered Mrs. Martin Luther King, Sr. (Mother of the assassinated Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) and deacon Edward Boykin while she was at the organ during church services at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 1992, Willie L. Williams became the first Black police chief of Los Angeles, California.
In 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as the first Black woman to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. During her earlier Senate confirmation, all but one of the Senate Republicans, Mitt Romney, turned their backs on her and walked out of the Senate Chamber.
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She’s amazing. If you haven’t watched it, check out her Firing Line interview on PBS. You can watch it in their streaming app.