Black Firsts & Achievements
Black Geography
Oregon Black History
Black Inventors
Black Faculty @ CG
100

First Black president of the United States.

Who is Barack Obama?

100

This U.S. city is known as the birthplace of jazz.

What is New Orleans?

100

This Portland neighborhood became a historic hub for Black culture and business before gentrification.

What is Albina District?

100

True or False: Marie Van Brittan Brown invented a home security system in 1966, and it was designed to help police respond faster, not just to protect the elderly.

True

100

This faculty member is the co-founder and owner of Portland's premier basketball athletic training facility, Straight Buckets Performance.

Who is Jewell?

200

First African American woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress.

Who is Halle Berry?

200

This region in the U.S. South was home to the first major Black colleges and universities.

What is the Black Belt / HBCU region?

200

This Oregon high school had the state’s first Black basketball state champion in the 1970s.

What is Jefferson High School?

200

Garrett Morgan invented multiple things. Which of the following did he create?

A) Traffic signal

B) Gas mask / safety hood

C) Both A and B

D) None of the above

C) Both A and B

200

This faculty member is an award-winning multi-media sculptor and educator who uses wood to explore temporality and identity.

Who is Mr. R?

300

First Black Supreme Court Justice.

Who is Thurgood Marshall?

300

This city became the center of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s.

What is Oakland, CA?

300

This law, passed in Oregon in 1844, banned Black people from settling in the state.

What is the Black Exclusion Law / "Lash Law"?

300

True or False: Katherine Johnson helped calculate trajectories for NASA’s Apollo missions, but her calculations were critical only for Apollo 11.

False — Her calculations were critical for multiple spaceflights, not just Apollo 11.

300

This faculty member is the Musical Director of York the Musical, premiering this weekend at the Reser.

Who is Judy?

400

First African American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Who is Toni Morrison?

400

This U.S. state is known for the “Harlem of the West,” with a significant Black community in the early 1900s.

What is the Fillmore District in San Francisco - CA, Denver - CO 5 points, or West Oakland's 7th St. in CA?

400

The Queen Mother, Shafia Monroe, is one of the central figures in bringing this lively movement to Oregon.

What is midwifery?

400

True or False: Valerie Thomas invented technology that was used for satellite imaging and developed the first portable fax machine, but her invention was primarily for classroom teaching purposes.

False — Her invention was used for satellite imaging and communication, not primarily for classrooms.

400

This faculty member has produced over 17 original musical works and won the Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble Student Choral Composition Award.

Who is Matt?

500

First African American to win a Nobel Prize in Literature.

Who is Toni Morrison?

500

This movement, inspired by Marcus Garvey, sought to unite people of African descent worldwide and encouraged pride in African heritage.

What is Pan-Africanism?

500

This Oregon legislator made history in 2024 by becoming the first Black person elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon.

Who is Janelle Bynum?

500

Match the inventor to their invention:

A) Marie Van Brittan Brown → Home security system

B) Garrett Morgan → Traffic signal / safety hood

C) Katherine Johnson → NASA spacecraft trajectories

D) Valerie Thomas → Satellite imaging / portable fax machine

E) All are correct matches

E) All are correct matches

500

This jack-of-all-trades faculty member is a farmer, videographer, photographer, boxer, real estate agent, educator, and coach.

Who is Jamie?

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