African American First
Beginning in 1941, they were the first African-American pilots in the U.S. armed forces.
Who were the Tuskegee Airmen?
Professional boxer whose trainer and coach was Joe E. Martin
Who is Muhammad Ali?
He was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–93) and secretary of state (2001–05), the first African American to hold either position.
Who is Colin Powell?
He stated, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." Strength to Love, 1963. "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality."
Who is Martin Luther King, Jr.?
He is an American former comedian, actor, spokesman, and media personality who created, produced, and hosted the animated comedy television series Fat Albert. Throughout the 1970s he starred in various films including Sidney Poitier's Uptown Saturday Night (1974), and Let's Do It Again (1975).
Who is William Henry Cosby Jr. aka Bill Cosby?
He became the first Black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl in 1988.
Who is Doug Williams?
He is the first African-American billionaire athlete
Who is Michael Jordan?
It is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry.
What is Mulattoe?
Born on February 21, 1940, he was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death in 2020. Images of his beating at Selma shocked the nation and led to swift passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. He was later called the conscience of the Congress.
Who is John Lewis?
He was an American agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. Also, he published over forty practical bulletins for farmers, many written by him, which included recipes and advice for poor farmers.
Who is George Washington Carver?
Born January 19, 1918, he was an American businessman, publisher, and founder of his publishing company, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with Ebony (1945) and Jet (1951) magazines under the umbrella of his organization. In 1982, he became the first African American to appear on the Forbes 400.
Who is John H. Johnson?
He is the last athlete to become part of the billionaire athlete club
Who is Earvin Johnson aka "Magic" Johnson?
Name one of the seven (7) African Queens throughout ancient society who have made their mark
Who are (any one of these names will suffice):
Nefertiti of Ancient Egypt, 1353–36 BC; Amina of Zaria Nigeria, 1533-1610; Yaa Asantewaa of the Ashanti Empire Present day Ghana, c.1840-1921; Kandake Amanirenas of the Kingdom of Kush Egypt, c. 40 BC - c. 10 BC; Ana Nzinga of Mbande Ndogo Angola, 1583-1663; Nandi of the Zulu Kingdom Zulu Nation, 1760-1827; Makeda of Ethiopia (or the Queen of Sheba) Ethiopia, c. 10th Century BCE
Born c. 1735/8, he was an American abolitionist and leader in the free black community in Boston. He is considered the founder of "Black Freemasonry" in the United States. In addition, he lobbied for education rights for African American children. He was also active in the back-to-Africa movement.
Who is Prince Hall?
Born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928, she was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. In 1993, she recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961.
Who is Maya Angelou?
Born December 18, 1912, he was a United States Air Force (USAF) general and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen. He was the first African-American brigadier general in the USAF. On December 9, 1998, he was advanced to four-star general by President Bill Clinton.
Who is Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
Born on July 10, 1943, he was an American professional tennis player. He won three Grand Slam titles in singles and two in doubles. He was the first black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team, and the only black man ever to win the singles titles at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open.
Who is Arthur Ashe?
Born on November 30, 1924, she was an American politician who, in 1968, became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress.
Who is Shirley Chisholm?
Born on February 1, 1901, he was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, he is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that "the Negro was in vogue", which was later paraphrased as "when Harlem was in vogue.
Who is James Mercer Langston Hughes aka Langston Hughes?
Born on August 2, 1924, this American writer and civil rights activist garnered acclaim for his work across several forms, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, was published in 1953.
Who is James Arthur Jones aka James Baldwin?
Born on February 14, 1760, he was a minister, educator, writer, and one of the United States' most active and influential black leaders. In 1794, he founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), the first independent Black denomination in the United States. He opened his first AME church in 1794 in Philadelphia.
Who is Richard Allen?
Born August 25, 1927, she became the first African American to win the women's singles title at Wimbledon and became the top female tennis player in the world. Just six years earlier, she had become the first black player to compete at Wimbledon.
Who is Althea Gibson?
Born on June 3, 1904, he was an African-American surgeon and medical researcher. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge to developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II. This allowed medics to save thousands of Allied forces' lives during the war.
Who is Dr. Charles R. Drew?
Born on November 9, 1731, this African-American naturalist, mathematician, astronomer, almanac author, and landowner also worked as a surveyor and farmer. Although he had little or no formal education and was largely self-taught, he became known for assisting Major Andrew Ellicott in a survey that established the original borders of the District of Columbia, the federal capital district of the United States. His knowledge of astronomy helped him author a commercially successful series of almanacs. He corresponded with Thomas Jefferson on the topics of slavery and racial equality.
Who is Benjamin Banneker?
Born on May 2, 1844 , he was a Canadian-American engineer of African-American descent who invented lubrication systems for steam engines. His oil-drip cup invention was typically known to mean the real thing.
Who is Elijah McCoy?