Firsts in History
In what year was Black History Month first recognized by the president?
1976 by President Gerald Ford
Who was the first Black country artist to win a Grammy?
Who is Beyoncé, 2025
What year did Jackie Robinson break the color barrier by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers?
What was 1947?
See, Daddy? Sinners have souls, too.
The Color Purple
(1985)
According to the United Nations and the African Union, there are how many countries in Africa.
54 countries
Who was the first black billionaire?
Who is Robert Johnson, owner of Black Entertainment Television?
received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s work as a United Nations mediator in the Palestine conflict. He called himself 'an incurable optimist'.
Ralph Bunche
Who is the first black world heavyweight boxing champion?
Who was Jack Johnson, 1908.
When you think of garbage, think of Akeem!
Coming to America
(1988)
What country, in South America, was the center of the slave trade, and the capital first slave market in the New World.
Salvador de Bahia, Brazil
Who was the first black Police Officer in New York City?
Samuel Jesse Battle
He joined the force in 1911, becoming the force's first black sergeant (in 1926), lieutenant (1935), and parole commissioner (in 1941).
Who was the first African-American actor to win an Oscar.
Hint - It was for Lilies of the Field
Who is Sidney Poitier, in 1964?
At what age did Serena Williams win her first U.S. Open?
17 years old
Either they don't know, don't show, or don't care about what's goin' on in the hood
Boyz N The Hood
(1991)
Name two of the three countries that were the last point of passage before enslaved Africans were shipped across the Atlantic during the Transatlantic Slave Trade?
Ghana, Senegal, and Sierra Leone
Who was the first black woman in space?
Mae C Jemison in 1992
A famous African-American female poet, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her writings, and was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Who is Gwendolyn Brooks?
Who were the first black NFL Players?
Fritz Pollard and Bobby Marshall were the first two African-American players in the NFL in 1920.
You must purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka
Purple Rain
(1984)
Who was the first black Governor (elected)?
L. Douglas Wilder, 1989.
She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first African American to win an Oscar.
Who is Hattie McDaniel?
the only boxer in history, female or male, to hold all four major world titles in boxing—WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO, in three weight classes.
Claressa Shields
The only thing I like integrated is my coffee
Malcolm X
(1992)