Arts and Literature
Raisin in the Sun
What was Lorraine Hansbery’s first play?
Earlier this year, two Black legislators with the same first name were expelled from the Tennessee State House for protesting against gun violence after a mass school shooting. They were later reinstated.
Who are Justin Pearson of Memphis and Justin Jones of Nashville? (Associated Press, June 16, 2023; NBC News, April 7, 2023)
The King of Pop Music
Who is Micheal Jackson?
The first MLB player to break the color barrier
Jackie Robinson
He led the back-to-Africa movement during the Harlem Renaissance.
Who is Marcus Garvey?
NAACP in full
What does the NAACP stand for?
This Black member of Whitworth's Board of Trustees has a residence hall named after them.
Who is Walt Oliver?
Before pursuing a solo career, Beyoncé Knowles was part of which group?
What is Destiny's Child?
This NBA player led his team to victory after overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the finals.
LeBron James
Recognized as the "mother of the civil rights movement," this individual's refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, involving 17,000 black citizens.
Who is Rosa Parks?
2013
What year did the Black Lives Matter movement start?
This individual, a World War II medic, graduate, made history as the first African-American graduate from Gonzaga Law School and completed the Bar in Spokane. Active in the civil rights movement until the 90s, a Spokane nonprofit addressing Black community needs bears his name.
Who is Carl Maxey? (Carl Maxey Center)
This pop star, part of a famous musical family, had a recurring role in the 1970s TV sitcom, "Good Times."
Who is Janet Jackson?
She holds the title of the most decorated gymnast in history
Simone Biles
This civil rights leader declared, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"
Who is Martin Luther King?
The poet who authored “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
Who is Maya Angelou?
1975
In what year did the inaugural Miss Black Spokane take place at the Davenport Hotel?
The first rapper to win a Pulitzer Prize
Who is Kendrick Lamar?
This player led their NCAA basketball team to the national championship earlier this year.
Angel Reese
Renowned for his powerful and eloquent speeches, this formerly enslaved individual provided counsel to Presidents Lincoln and Johnson during the Civil War. He delivered an Independence Day speech titled “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”
Who is Frederick Douglass?
The poet that stated, “We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president only to find herself reciting for one.”
Who is Amanda Gorman (“The Hill We Climb”)?
Recently elected as City Council President, this Spokane business owner and grandmother is the second Black woman to serve on Spokane’s City Council.
Who is Betsie Wilkerson? (Spokesman-Review, Nov. 8, 2023)
This inspirational gospel singer, also known as the "Queen of Soul," performed at President Barack Obama's first presidential inauguration in 2009.
Who is Aretha Franklin?
This professional boxer participated in the “Rumble in the Jungle” event
Muhammad Ali
He introduced the concept of Double Consciousness
Who is W.E.B. Du Bois?