| 100% | JONES | 5 | James Earl ___, actor and first African-American man to win the Tony Award in the Leading Actor category |
| 49% | 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. |
| 45% | 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. |
| 44% | LLOYD | 5 | Earl ___, first African American to play in the NBA |
| 44% | SIDNEYPOITIER | 13 | 15-Across, 30-Across, and "Lilies of the Field" star who was the first Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Actor (2 wds.) |
| 43% | MAHERSHALAALI | 13 | First black actor to win two Oscars in the same category, and only the second to win two competitive Oscars: 2 wds. |
| 41% | FRANKLANGELLA | 13 | "The Americans" actor who won two Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Play, for "Frost/Nixon" and "The Father" (2 wds.) |
| 41% | DIAHANNCARROLL | 14 | First Black performer to win a Tony Award for Lead Actress in a Musical, for "No Strings" in 1962: 2 wds. |
| 40% | BRYANCRANSTON | 13 | "Network" actor who won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play in 2019 (2 wds.) |
| 40% | BASIE | 5 | Jazz great who was the first African-American man to win a Grammy |
| 39% | LLOYD | 5 | Earl ___, first African-American to play in the N.B.A. |
| 39% | ETHELWATERS | 11 | Harlem Renaissance singer and actress who was the first African American to star in her own TV show: 2 wds. |
| 38% | FRANCESARNOLD | 13 | First American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, in 2018: 2 wds. |
| 38% | PEARLSBUCK | 10 | First American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1938: 3 wds. |
| 38% | HOME | 4 | "Fun ___," Broadway play with the first female writing team to win the Tony Award for Best Score |
| 38% | BRYANCRANSTON | 13 | "Breaking Bad" actor who won two Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Play, for "All the Way" and "Network" (2 wds.) |
| 38% | RETTON | 6 | First American woman to win the all-around gold in Olympic gymnastics |
| 37% | POITIER | 7 | Sidney who was the first African-American to win a Best Actor Oscar |
| 37% | SIDNEYPOITIER | 13 | First black person to win the Academy Award for Best Actor: 2 wds. |
| 37% | CATEBLANCHETT | 13 | "Blue Jasmine" and "The Aviator" star who was the first Australian to win Oscars in two acting categories (2 wds.) |
| 37% | HARRIS | 6 | Stayce, first African American to reach three star general rank in the US Air Force (2016) |
| 37% | MARIE | 5 | ___ Maynard Daly, the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry |
| 37% | LANE | 4 | Film and theater actor Nathan who won a Tony Award in June |
| 37% | SANTINO | 7 | With 38-Across, "Tootsie" actor who won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical |
| 37% | ZAILAAVANTGARDE | 15 | First African American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee |
| 37% | BARRY | 5 | ___ Nelson, American actor who was the first to portray James Bond in a television series titled "Climax!" |
| 36% | OHIO | 4 | Home of the first man to walk on the moon, the first American to orbit Earth and the first American woman to walk in space |
| 36% | GWENJORGENSEN | 13 | American distance runner and two-time ITU World Champion who was the first to win a triathlon gold for USA in the Olympics: 2 wds. |
| 36% | BUNCHE | 6 | Ralph who was the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize |
| 36% | 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. |