Famous Figures
A man famous for his crucial role in the American Civil Rights Movement and his dream
Who is Martin Luther King Jr.?
In 1966, this unifying holiday was created, based on African harvest festival traditions, and the Swahili language.
What is Kwanzaa?
The first Black major league baseball player in the 20th Century
Who is Jackie Robinson?
You know this comedic actor from movies such as Dr. Dolittle, Coming to America, and Shrek.
Who is Eddie Murphy?
This author knows why the caged bird sings.
Who is Maya Angelou?
Best known for her role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, she also served as chapter secretary for the NAACP
Who is Rosa Parks?
Signed into law, on July 2, 1964, this outlawed segregation in businesses such as theaters, restaurants, and hotels.
What is the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
The first Black woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993.
Who is Toni Morrison?
This musician is known for asking a very important question: "What's cooler than being cool?"
Who is Andre 3000?
This author's 1953 novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, has been ranked by Time magazine as one of the top 100 English-language novels.
Who is James Baldwin?
She became an activist at just 6 years old by being the first Black student to integrate into a white elementary school. This activist is still alive today!
Who is Ruby Bridges?
On September 17, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued this preliminary document telling the states of the Confederacy to lay down their arms and peaceably reenter the Union; if these states continued their rebellion all enslaved people in those seceding states were declared free.
What is the Emancipation Proclamation?
The first Black man to win an Oscar for Best Actor in 1963.
Who is Sidney Poitier?
This actor is known for both his sketch comedy works with his partner, Key, as well as for his horror movies.
Who is Jordan Peele?
This playwright was the first Black woman to have a play performed on Broadway and is best known for her work, "A Raisin in the Sun".
Who is Lorraine Hansberry?
This African American Muslim minister laid the foundations for the Black Power Movement of the 1960s and 70s.
Who is Malcom X?
In 1865, in Galveston, Texas, the US Army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state were free by executive decree.
What is Juneteenth?
The first Black man to receive a patent for his discovery of a process called dry-scouring which was the forerunner of today’s modern dry-cleaning.
Who is Thomas L. Jennings?
She is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress, known for her solo work as well as her work with the Fugees.
Who is Lauryn Hill?
Known mostly for his poetry, this prominent Harlem Renaissance figure also wrote short stories, novels, and plays.
Who is Langston Hughes?
This prominent figure is best known for her role in the Stonewall Uprising. Hint: She said her middle initial, 'P,' stood for "Pay it no mind."
Who is Marsha P. Johnson?
Because hunger and poverty made it difficult for many poor black children to learn in school, this program was initiated at St. Augustine’s Church in Oakland in January 1969.
What is the Black Panther's Free Breakfast Program?
The first Black woman astronaut in 1992.
Who is Mae Jemison?
Born one of eight children, this musician's birth name was Eunice Waymon and her nickname was "The High Priestess of Soul."
Who is Nina Simone?
Commonly considered "the foremost Black woman in sci-fi literature."
Who is Octavia Butler?