History Basics
Who was the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize?
Martin Luther King Jr.
Who sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott by refusing to give up her seat?
Rosa Parks
Who is known as the “Queen of Jazz”?
Ella Fitzgerald (Quit crying about not knowing and pick up a book!)
Who was the first African American U.S. Supreme Court Justice?
Thurgood Marshall
Who was the first African American to win an Oscar for Best Actor?
Sidney Poitier
Which U.S. president issued the Emancipation Proclamation?
Abe Lincoln
Which abolitionist helped lead enslaved people to freedom through the Underground Railroad?
Harriet Tubman
Which musician was nicknamed the “Godfather of Soul”?
James Brown
Who was the first African American U.S. president?
Barack Obama
Who became the first African American woman billionaire?
Oprah Winfrey
Which amendment officially abolished slavery in the United States?
The 13th Amendment
Who delivered the famous “I Have a Dream” speech?
Martin Luther King
Which African American author (from Lorain) wrote “Beloved” and won a Pulitzer Prize?
Toni Morrison
Which African American woman became U.S. Vice President in 2021?
Kamala Harris
Who became the first African American president of Harvard University?
Claudine Gay (in 2023)
In what year was Black History Month first recognized nationally in the U.S.?
1976
Who was the first African American woman elected to Congress?
Shirley Chisholm
Who was the first African American to win an Academy Award?
Hattie McDaniel, for her role as a "Mammy" in Gone With the Wind
This law, signed in 1965, outlawed race-based restrictions on voting and gave the federal government stronger power to protect voters. It has recently been gutted by the current Supreme Court
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Which filmmaker became the first African American woman to direct a film nominated for a Best Picture Oscar?
Ava DuVernay
Who was the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license?
Bessie Coleman
Which legendary boxer was known as “The Greatest”?
Muhammad Ali
Who created the iconic “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often called the Black national anthem?
James Weldon Johnson
Who was the first African American U.S. Secretary of State?
Colin Powell
Who is the youngest African American poet to perform at a U.S. presidential inauguration?
Amanda Gorman (age 22)