Influential Figures
Who was the first African American woman to refuse to give up her seat on a segregated bus, preceding Rosa Parks by nine months?
Claudette Colvin
What speech did Martin Luther King Jr. deliver in 1963, known for its famous line, “I have a dream”?
“I Have a Dream” speech
Who was an influential jazz trumpeter and bandleader known for his charismatic performances and influential style of jazz?
Louis Armstrong
Who patented the traffic signal in 1923?
Garrett Morgan
Who was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for his novel “The Adventures of Augie March”?
Ralph Ellison
Which famous African American scientist developed over 300 products from peanuts?
George Washington Carver
Who were the students that sat at a segregated lunch counter in 1960, sparking a wave of sit-ins across the United States?
The Greensboro Four (Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain, and Joseph McNeil)
What was the title of the play written by Lorraine Hansberry, the first African American woman to have a play performed on Broadway?
“A Raisin in the Sun”
Which African American inventor is credited with inventing the modern home security system with the closed-circuit television?
Marie Van Brittan Brown
Which African American author wrote the book series about a young wizard named Harry Potter?
J.K. Rowling
Who was the first African American to serve as the United States Secretary of State?
Colin Powell
Who was the leader of the Black Panther Party, known for advocating self-defense and community programs for African Americans?
Huey P. Newton
Which famous African American singer was known as the “Queen of Soul”?
Aretha Franklin
Who developed the first successful open-heart surgery technique?
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
Who was the first African American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature?
Toni Morrison
Who was an African American educator and advisor to presidents, known for starting the Tuskegee Institute?
Booker T. Washington
Which event, led by Malcolm X, marked his break from the Nation of Islam?
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy
Who was a famous poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist known for her work “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”?
Maya Angelou
Which inventor developed an early version of the gas mask and a hair-straightening product?
Madame C.J. Walker
Which poet and playwright was known for his contributions to the Harlem Renaissance with poems like “The Weary Blues”?
Langston Hughes
Which African American astronaut became the first woman of African American descent to travel in space?
Mae Jemison
What was the name of the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement?
The Selma to Montgomery March (also known as “Bloody Sunday”)
What art form, originating in African American communities, involves rhythmic body movements usually accompanied by music?
Dance (specifically, various forms of dance like hip-hop, jazz, tap, etc.)
What invention, patented by Lonnie G. Johnson, became popular as a summer toy, shooting streams of water?
The Super Soaker
Which author wrote the famous autobiography detailing his life as a slave and his escape to freedom?
Frederick Douglass