In 1950, a young Black man traveled north from Washington to New York City. He was stunningly handsome and on the shorter side; his cheekbones sat high in a face hewed for the screen. Against all odds, the 19-year-old Louis Johnson had been accepted into the School of American Ballet; later on, he would describe himself as the “first Black Black” student there. Or as Thomas DeFrantz, a professor of African and African American studies, dance and theater, put it, the few Black students who had previously been enrolled at the School of American Ballet were “what we call fluorescent beige.”

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Persons: cheekbones, Louis Johnson, Thomas DeFrantz Organizations: School of American Ballet, Black Locations: Washington, New York City