Important Figures
The first Black President
Who is Barack Obama?
The first Black women to refuse to give up her seat
Who is Claudette Colvin?
This sweet drink, often served at cookouts, is a staple in African American kitchens.
What is sweet tea or Kool‑Aid?
This genre of music, created in the 1970s in the Bronx, includes rapping, DJing, breakdancing, and graffiti art.
What is hip-hop?
This Morehouse graduate delivered the "I Have a Dream Speech"
Who is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?
This famous scientist developed over 300 products from peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans
Who is George Washington Carver?
This 1954 Supreme Court case ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.
What is Brown v. Board of Education?
This protective hairstyle uses three overlapping strands and has cultural significance across the African diaspora.
What are braids?
Fun Fact: Braid designs were used as routes or directions to escape slavery.
This music genre, rooted in African American church traditions, features powerful vocals.
What is gospel music?
This HBCU was founded in 1867 and is known as the #1 HBCU
What is Howard University?
The first Black Supreme Court Justice
(Hint: Howard University Alum)
Who is Thurgood Marshall?
The famous activist and founder of the NAACP
Who is W.E.B. Du Bois?
This style of dance, now seen in movies, poms teams, and TikTok, originated at HBCUs and features sharp, synchronized movements
What is majorette dancing?
Originating in New Orleans, this genre of music blends blues, African rhythms, and improvisation.
What is jazz?
Students from this HBCU launched the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins
What is North Carolina A&T State University?
The first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard
Who is W.E.B. Du Bois?
Fun Fact: Fisk and Howard alumnus
This civil rights organization, founded in 1942 by college students in Chicago, is known for organizing Freedom Rides in the early 1960s.
What is CORE (Congress of Racial Equality)?
This 1920s cultural movement in New York highlighted Black art, literature, music, and expression, shaping American culture for decades.
What is the Harlem Renaissance?
This West African drum, played with bare hands, influenced African American musical traditions.
What is the djembe?
This HBCU is known as the National Treasure
What is Morgan State University?
Known as the “Father of Black History,” he founded Negro History Week in 1926, the precursor to Black History Month.
Who is Carter G. Woodson?
This trailblazing journalist and anti‑lynching activist co‑founded the NAACP and wrote about racial violence in the South.
Who is Ida B. Wells?
This thriving Black business district in Tulsa, Oklahoma—destroyed in 1921—was known for its prosperous Black‑owned businesses.
What is Black Wall Street (Greenwood District)?
This African American fashion and music movement of the late 1980s and 1990s emphasized bold colors and pride in African heritage
What is the Afrocentric movement?
This HBCU is only for women and located next to Morehouse in Atlanta, Georgia
What is Spelman College?