(CNN) American ballerina Misty Copeland, a cultural phenomenon outside the dance world, has been promoted to the highest rank of the American Ballet Theatre, becoming the first African-American female principal dancer in the company's 75-year history.

The American Ballet Theatre announced the news Tuesday in a slew of promotions at one of the country's top ballet companies. Stella Abrera , a 19-year veteran of the company, was promoted from soloist to the rank of principal dancer.

Copeland, 32, joined the company in April 2001 and was appointed a soloist in August 2007. She has been outspoken about her desire to become the first black woman to be named a principal dancer at the company.

"My fears are that it could be another two decades before another black woman is in the position that I hold with an elite ballet company," she wrote in her memoir, "Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina," published in 2014. "That if I don't rise to principal, people will feel I have failed them."