Black Firsts
This New Haven native was the first Black woman to be appointed to the federal bench and the first Black woman to argue before the U.S. Supreme court.
Who is Constance Baker Motley?
A former chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, this YLS alum was nominated to the Supreme Court by President George H.W. Bush in 1991
Who is Clarence Thomas?
Born in New York City, this Barbados-American politician was the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first African American to run for a major party's nomination for President of the United States
Who is Shirley Chisholm?
This American city is considered the home of hip-hop
What is New York?
Which popular rap artist's real name is Nayvadius Wilburn?
Who is Future?
The Mississippi state legislature sent him to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate during Reconstruction
Who is Hiram Rhodes Revel?
In addition to serving a long political career, this YLS Alum wrote several fiction books under the pen name Selena Montgomery.
Who is Stacey Abrams?
This Alabama native was the first woman to serve as National Security Advisor and was the 66th Secretary of State from 2005 to 2009
Who is Condoleezza Rice?
This prominent actor was the first Black actor to win an academy award.
Who is Sidney Poitier?
Malcolm X adopted the letter "X" to replace the slave name that was forced upon his family. What was his original last name?
What is "Little?"
Appointed as the first executive secretary of the NAACP, this individual wrote the poem that later became and is now widely known as the Black National Anthem
Who is James Weldon Johnson?
This YLS Alum was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama in 1980.
Who is Judge Myron Thompson?
This former cabinet official was the first Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Who was Colin Powell?
Born in West Africa, this author became the first Black author of a published book of poetry in the U.S..
Who is Phillis Wheatley?
In what year and by who was the first Black History Month organized?
What is 1926 and Dr. Carter G. Woodson
This educator and orator was the first African American to have his likeness portrayed on a U.S. postage stamp
Who is Booker T. Washington?
This Virginian was the first African-American to graduate from Yale Law School and the first Black person to be admitted to the Connecticut bar.
Who is Edward Archer Randolph?
This Virginia politician was the first Black American to be elected governor of a U.S. state
Who is Douglas Wilder?
This pop star comes from a very famous musical family and held a recurring role in the 1970's TV sitcom, "Good Times."
Who is Janet Jackson
Name that movie from this famous quote:
"I loves Harpo. God knows I do. But I'd kill him dead before I let him beat me."
What is "The Color Purple"
Who was the first black woman to travel in space?
Who is Dr. Mae Jemison
This YLS professor is the first Black woman to receive tenure at both the University of Chicago Law School and Yale Law School
Who is Professor Tracy L. Meares?
This activist and political organizer co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and stood as the official delegate at the 1964 Democratic National Convention
Who is Fannie Lou Hamer
This musical genre emerged in the early 1900s and was played in juke joints of heavily populated Black isolated areas like the Mississippi Delta
What is the Blues?
What anti-slavery newspaper was founded by Frederick Douglass?