Music
Inventions
Who Am I?
Entertainment
Sports
300
She is the first and only winner of the Best Disco Recording Grammy Award. She took home the prize in 1979 for “I Will Survive.”
Who is Gloria Gaynor
300
A black woman: physicist, inventor, and NASA data analyst. When she wasn’t busy managing the Landsat program, which has produced millions of images of Earth, she was inventing the technology which went on to become the premise for more advanced TV screens and modern 3D technology.
In the late ’70s, she discovered that concave mirrors can create the illusion of 3-dimensional objects and began experimenting with how she could visually transmit the 3D illusion. In 1980, Thomas patented her illusion transmitter.
Who is Valerie Thomas
300
I am the first black actress to win Oscar, Tony, and Emmy for acting. I also knew how to get away with murder.
Who Am I?
Who is Viola Davis
300
This woman recently became the first African American to lead a major TV network when she was named the Entertainment President of Disney’s ABC television network. She has worked for Walt Disney Co. as an executive for more than 10 years and helped developed ABC hit shows such as “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder.”
In 2020, she was announced as the new chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Studios.
Who is Channing Dungey
300
In 1996, this former Texas Tech University basketball star became the first player to sign with the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), which made its debut the following year.
Who is Sheryl Swoopes
600
In 2021, this woman is the first and only, so far, to win 28 Grammys to date. She started in a girl group before flourishing into an international solo artist!
Who is Beyoncè
600
Isn’t it nice that you can just walk into your home and turn on the heat when you’re cold?
This black woman took it upon herself to design a natural gas-fueled “new and improved heating furnace.” Her design earned a patent in December 1919 and helped give birth to the thermostat and the familiar forced air furnaces in most homes today.
Who is Alice H. Parker
600
In the 1930s and ’40s, I was one of the first people to combine gospel music with melody-driven urban blues, traditional folk, and a unique pulsating swing style. Today, my musical style is considered one of the first definite precursors of rock and roll.
Who Am I?
Who is Sister Rosetta Tharpe
600
In 2021, She has become the first woman of color to host the nightly broadcast of “Entertainment Tonight” in the show’s 40-year history, CBS announced Thursday. She joins the host Kevin Frazier, who is also Black, starting Thursday night. Her promotion marks the first time the show has been anchored entirely by people of color.
Who is Nischelle Turner
600
Another historic first came in 1985, when this black athlete became the first woman to join the famous Harlem Globetrotters basketball team.
Who is Lynette Woodard
900
In 1955, this legendary opera singer broke the color barrier by becoming the first African-American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera.
Who is Marian Anderson
900
This mathematician and Virginia native‘s calculations and programming helped to make a geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth’s shape, which is the foundation of the GPS. However, she prefers a map over GPS any day!
Who is Dr. Gladys West
900
I am the first Black woman to graduate Yale Law School, join the New York City Bar Association and the NYC Law Department, and become a judge in the United States. I took office in 1939 on the New York City Domestic Relations Court and remained there for 40 years until my retirement.
Who Am I?
Who is Jane Bolin
900
This actress, comedian & author defined the odds by being the first black EGOT winner. She is also the "IT Girl" of 1993!
Who is Whoopi Goldberg
900
In 1986, this athlete became the first black woman to win the U.S. figure skating singles championship; she was also the world champion that year, as well as a bronze medalist at the 1988 Winter Olympics, where she was the first Black woman to take home a medal at the winter Olympics.
Who is Debi Thomas
1200
She is the youngest Black Grammy Winner, taking home her first award at the age of 18, before Blue Ivy Carter won hers at 10!
Who is Monica
1200
A true visionary, she became the first female African American medical doctor to receive a medical patent when she invented a laser cataract treatment device called a Laserphaco Probe in 1986. (She was also the first African American to complete a residency in ophthalmology.) The co-founder of the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness patented her invention in 1988.
Who is Dr. Patricia Bath
1200
As one of twelve children and the daughter of immigrants, I rose to become the first Black woman to ever argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Who Am I?
Who is Constance Baker Motley
1200
She's considered one of the world’s first Black superstars, the 30s and 40s belonged to the singer. Whether it was in theater or vaudeville, the Oscar-nominated phenom always pushed boundaries. In 1939, she became the first African-American to star in her own television program on NBC.
Who is Ethel Waters
1200
In track and field, this athlete is the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal in 1948
Who is Alice Coachman
