Black Excellence1
Her seminal 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was the first nonfiction bestseller by a Black woman.
Who is Maya Angelou?
Known for revolutionizing Southern agriculture as an inventor, botanist, and educator, known for promoting alternative crops like peanuts, soybeans, and sweet potatoes.
Who is George Washington Carver?
She holds the record for the most Grammy Awards of all time. As of the 2025 Grammys, she has extended her record to 35 total wins.
Who is Beyonce'
What music genre, characterized by its use of turntables and sampling, was founded in Black American communities in the Bronx, New York, in the 1970s?
Hip Hop
NAACP stands for this
What is The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People?
South Africa's first Black president, overseeing the nation's peaceful transition to a multiracial democracy and becoming a global symbol of peace, justice, and reconciliation, later winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
Who is Nelson Mandela?
Enslaved Africans in the Americas used what as a coded artistic map to indicate escape routes, rivers, and paths to freedom, often braiding them closely to the scalp to avoid detection.
What are cornrows?
First African American to hold a seat on the Supreme Court.
Who is Thurgood Marshall?
He was one of the first Black vice presidents at a major record label (Mercury Records, 1964), the first Black nominee for an Academy Award for Best Original Song (1968), and a pioneer for Black composers in Hollywood.
Who is Quincy Jones?
The first Black female billionaire (2003)
Who is Oprah Winfrey?
An American novelist and editor. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
Who is Chloe Anthony Wofford "Toni" Morrison?
Who was the Black American mathematician and NASA scientist portrayed in the film “Hidden Figures” for her pivotal role in the early days of the U.S. space program?
Who is Katherine Johnson?
On this day, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. The address was delivered during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., to a crowd of over 250,000 people.
August 28, 1963
History was made at the 74th Academy Awards on March 24, 2002, becoming the first Black woman to win the Oscar for Best Actress. She won for her role as Leticia Musgrove in the 2001 film Monster's Ball.
Who is Halle Berry?
This president ended racial segregation in the U.S. military by signing Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948.
Who is President Harry S. Truman?
The first Black female astronaut was an American physician and engineer who traveled to space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on September 12, 1992,
Who is Dr. Mae C. Jemison?
Established in 1943 near Diamond, Missouri, it is the first national monument dedicated to an African American and the first to honor a non-president.
George Washington Carver National Monument
In Harlem, New York City. It celebrated African American life and culture, fostering a new, confident identity for Black artists, writers, and musicians during the Great Migration.
What is the Harlem Renaissance?
What is the name of the influential record label founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. in Detroit, which played a pivotal role in the development of music?
What is Motown Records?
What was the first Black-owned company to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange?
What is BET Black Entertainment Television?
In 2005 she became the first Black American woman to serve as the United States Secretary of State.
Who is Condoleezza Rice?
The first African American in space on August 30, 1983, launching aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger
Guion "Guy" Bluford Jr.
The first black president and the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017.
Who is Barack Hussein Obama II?
With four Olympic gold medals and 23 Grand Slam singles titles, this black female stands among the most iconic athletes in sports history.
Who is Serena Williams?
The first Black-owned and operated medical institution in the United States founded in 1891 by Dr. Daniel Hale Williams in Chicago, Illinois.
What is Provident Hospital and Training School for Nurses?