Black Canadian Politicians & Changemakers
Who was the first Black person elected to the House of Commons in Canada?
Lincoln Alexander
Who was the first Black Canadian teacher and community leader in British Columbia?
Emma Stark
Who is known as the "Queen of Soul" and sang "Respect"?
Aretha Franklin
Who was the first Black Canadian lawyer?
Robert Sutherland
What was the name of the law that ended segregation was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964?
The Civil Rights Act
Who was Canada's first Black female Member of Parliament?
Jean Augustine
This Black woman disguised herself as a man to fight in the War of 1812.
Mary Louise Jones
What rapper and businessman became hip-hop's first billionaire?
Jay-Z
This Haitian leader led the only successful slave revolt in history, securing Haiti's independence in 1804.
Toussaint Louverture
Who was the lawyer that successfully argued Brown V. Board of Education leading to school desegregation?
Thurgood Marshall
Who became Canada's first Black Governor General?
Michaelle Jean
What Black Loyalist leader helped establish the first Black Community in Nova Scotia?
Thomas Peters
Who starred in Black Panther as T'Challa?
Chadwick Boseman
Who was the first Black woman elected as a mayor in Canada?
Daurene Lewis
What organization did W.E.B Du Bois co-found in 1909 to fight for African American Rights?
NAACP (National Association of the Advancement of Colored People)
Who was the first Black mayor of a Canadian city (Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia)?
Daurene Lewis
This Black Canadian Nurse became the first in Nova Scotia to integrate Black and white patients.
Gloria Baylis
What comedian and actress was the first Black woman to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Ghost?
Whoopie Goldberg
This woman disguised herself as a man to fight in the American Civil War.
Cathay Williams
What major event in 1965 did Martin Luther King Jr. lead to demand voting rights, resulting in "Bloody Sunday"?
The Selma to Montgomery March
What lawyer and activist became Canada's first Black federal party leader?
Annamie Paul
This Black Canadian woman was one of the first entrepreneurs in Nova Scotia & owned her own laundry business in 1800s.
Rose Fortune
This poet performed "The Hill We Climb" at Joe Biden's 2021 inauguration.
Amanda Gorman
Who founded Toronto's first taxi company for Black Drivers in the 1940s?
William Desmond (Viola Desmond's brother)
Who was the first African American to receive a Ph. D. from Harvard?
W.E.B. Du Bois