| 100% | DOUG | 4 | ___ Williams, first Black quarterback to start in, and win, a 15 Across |
| 40% | DIAHANNCARROLL | 14 | First Black performer to win a Tony Award for Lead Actress in a Musical, for "No Strings" in 1962: 2 wds. |
| 40% | TONYDUNGY | 9 | Hall-of-Famer who was the first Black head coach to win a 15 Across |
| 40% | MAHERSHALAALI | 13 | First black actor to win two Oscars in the same category, and only the second to win two competitive Oscars: 2 wds. |
| 40% | TONI | 4 | First name of the first Black woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature |
| 40% | JAMESEARLJONES | 14 | First Black performer to win a Tony Award for Lead Actor in a Play, for "The Great White Hope" in 1969: 3 wds. |
| 39% | PHYLICIARASHAD | 14 | First Black performer to win a Tony Award for Lead Actress in a Play, for "A Raisin in the Sun" in 2004: 2 wds. |
| 39% | ERIN | 4 | ___ Jackson, first Black woman to win a Winter Olympics gold medal in an individual sport (2022) |
| 38% | GWENDOLYNBROOKS | 15 | First black poet to win a Pulitzer Prize |
| 38% | JOHNSALLEY | 10 | First NBA player to win a championship in three different decades and who is also a vegan activist: 2 wds. |
| 38% | MORRISON | 8 | First Black woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature |
| 37% | HARRIETQUIMBY | 13 | First woman to earn a pilot's license in the United States and the first woman to fly across the English Channel (2 wds.) |
| 37% | JOHNNYMANZIEL | 13 | First freshman to win the 15-Across, in 2012: 2 wds. |
| 37% | KURTWARNER | 10 | Undrafted quarterback who won two MVP awards and led the St. Louis Rams to a win in the 2000 Super Bowl: 2 wds. |
| 36% | PAT | 3 | ___ Mahomes, former baseball pro whose son was the most recent Black quarterback to win a 15 Across last year (and has a chance to repeat the feat this Sunday) |
| 36% | BEN | 3 | ___ Roethlisberger, NFL player who holds the Super Bowl record for youngest quarterback to start and win |
| 36% | JULIEDASH | 9 | First black woman to direct a feature-length film distributed theatrically in the United States |
| 35% | MARINO | 6 | First quarterback to exceed 5,000 passing yards in a season |
| 35% | ARCHIEGRIFFIN | 13 | Only player to win the 15-Across twice, in 1974 and 1975: 2 wds. |
| 35% | ANGLEE | 6 | First nonwhite person to win a directing Oscar, in 2006 |
| 34% | ALABAMA | 7 | First seed in the 2021 College Football Playoff, who beat 15-Across in the Rose Bowl and 49-Across in the National Championship Game to win their 18th national championship |
| 34% | MMM | 3 | "Delicious!" ... and a hint to every Across answer in this puzzle |
| 34% | MAEJEMISON | 10 | The first Black female astronaut and winner of a National Achievement Scholarship in 1973: 2 wds. |
| 34% | WYNTONMARSALIS | 14 | First musician to win Grammy Awards for both a jazz and a classical recording |
| 34% | COLDOPEN | 8 | Start of each "S.N.L." episode ... or a hint to the initials of the words in 17-, 24-, 35- and 47-Across |
| 34% | ITSGROWINGONME | 14 | "I'm starting to like this" ... or a hint to the starts of 16-, 24-, 47- and 58-Across, in order |
| 34% | HEY | 3 | With 61-Down, Jimi Hendrix's first single ... or a hint to the starts of 20-, 28-, 45- and 50-Across |
| 34% | RAINRAINGOAWAY | 14 | Start of a hopeful rhyme about bad weather, and a hint to what the first word of 16-, 24- and 46-Across may describe |
| 34% | UTA | 3 | ___ Pippig, first woman to win the Boston Marathon three times in a row |
| 34% | DROPPINGBY | 10 | Visiting, and a hint to what we're doing in five Across answers |