Black Arts & Literature
The "world stopped" when this artist released an album without promotion, changing the landscape of digital releases
Who is Beyoncé?
Who is Louis E. Reber?
Calvin H. Waller, the first Black student at Penn State, enrolled in this decade.
What is the 1890s? (He enrolled in 1899.)
This 1964 Act created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and ended Jim Crow laws.
What is Civil Rights Act?
The number worn by the first Black player in the modern era of the MLB, Jackie Robinson. This number is also the title of a 2013 about his life.
What is 42?
She became the first black woman in America to publish a book in 1773.
Who is Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753–1784)? (Book: Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral)
The decade the first female faculty member was appointed to Penn State Mechanical Engineering.
What is the 1950s?
(Her name was Nancy Boodley, and the year was 1954.)
First Black man to be a starter for Penn State's football team. (Hint: there is a restaurant in State College named after him)
Who is Wallace “Wally” Triplett?
This former NAACP chief counsel won 29/32 Supreme Court cases later became the first Black Supreme Court Justice.
Who is Thurgood Marshall?
Multi-award-winning artist billed as the Queen of Soul.
Who is Aretha Franklin?
This prima ballerina was the first African American female principal dancer in the American Ballet Theatre.
Who is Misty Copeland?
Penn State Mechanical Engineering alumni group.
What is Penn State Mechanical Engineering Alumni Society (PSMES)?
On April 8, 2022, Innovation Park Building 329 was named the ________ Building after a long-time STEM advocate, Penn State graduate, and former member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
What is Malcolm? (After Dr. Shirley Malcolm)
Surgeon and medical researcher who pioneered blood plasma preservation and created large-scale blood banks during WWII. He is known as the "Father of Blood Banks."
Who is Dr. Charles Drew?
This TV show led to a spike in the number of African Americans attending college.
What is "A Different World"?
A semi-biographical book that details the family history of author Alex Haley. This book was turned into a mini-series in 1977.
What is "Roots"?
The precursor program to Mechanical Engineering at Penn State.
What is Mechanic Arts?
National Medal of Science in 2009 winner and Penn State Meteorology Ph.D. graduate.
Who is Dr. Warren Washington?
Called the "Father of Black History Month", he said "Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history."
Who is Dr. Carter G. Woodson?
Civil Rights Activist (1941-2026) organized the National Rainbow Coalition to advance social justice, civil rights, and political activism.
Who is Rev. Jesse Jackson?
This Haitian-American neo-expressionist's paintings have sold for over $100M at auctions.
Who is Jean-Michel Basquiat?
This experimental facility for hydrodynamic research and testing has been declared a historic mechanical engineering landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)?
What is the Garfield Thomas Water Tunnel?
Penn State athlete-turned-historian (1933-2023) who donated his collection of African and African diasporic art to create special collections at Penn State's and Temple's libraries.
Who is Charles L. Blockson?
The _____ Project by the New York Times marks the 400th anniversary of Black people in America.
What is 1619?
This 1951 - 2014 weekly magazine covered Black culture, news, and entertainment. Most notably, it was instrumental in disseminating news about the Civil Rights Movement across the country.
What is Jet Magazine?