In 1996, he became the first black composer to win a Pulitzer Prize for music.

He also knew that Hollywood did not hire black composers.

This is the first "avant-garde opera written by a black composer".

But in the concert hall, black composers have been marginal.

Now he is the first black composer to win the Pulitzer Prize.

Lewis subsequently became one of the first black composers and lyricists to own a music publishing company on Broadway in the early 1950s.

Logan saw his being described as a "black composer" to be a two-edged sword.

Mr. Walker is the first black composer to win the prize.

He championed the music of other black composers, particularly Still.

Does a black composer have that same shot?