Black History Month 2026!!

African American Television

The Firsts

Where would we be without?

Notable History

100

What is the name of the actor who portrayed Steve Urkel in the tv show "Family Matters"?

A. Jaleel White

B. Malcolm Jamal Warner

C. Darius McCray

D. Will Smith

A. Jaleel White

100

Who was the first African American U.S. Supreme Court Justice?

A. Huey Freeman

B. Clarence Thomas

C. Annalise Keating

D. Thurgood Marshall

100

Which inventor invented the electric traffic light and created an early gas mask?

A. Garrett Morgan

B. George Washington Carver

C. Morgan Freeman

D. Granville T. Woods

A. Garrett Morgan

100

Who refused to give up her bus seat in 1955, thus sparking the Montgomery Bus boycott?

A. Harriet Tubman

B. Rosa Parks

C. Corretta Scott King

D. Sojourner Truth

B. Rosa Parks

200

Which of these 3 characters did Martin Lawrence portray in the tv show "Martin"?

A. Hussle Man, Ms. Geri, Mama Payne

B. Otis, Tommy, Pam

C. Sheneneh, Roscoe, Jerome

D. Stan, Dragonfly Jones, Cole

C. Sheneneh, Roscoe, Jerome

200

The first African American musical artist to win album of the year:

A. Beyonce

B. Michael Jackson

C. Stevie Wonder

D. Aretha Franklin

C. Stevie Wonder

200

The Inventor of the "Super Soaker":

A. Daniel Hale Williams

B. Lonnie Johnson

C. Virgil Hawkins

D. Frederick McKinley Jones

B. Lonnie Johnson

200

What was the name of the movement that sought to end racial segregation and discrimination in the 1950s?

A. The Civil Rights movement

B. The Reconstruction movement

C. The Harlem Renaissance

D. The B2K movement

A. The Civil Rights movement

300

Soul Train was created and hosted by which Tv presenter?

A. Flava Flav

B. Arsenio Hall

C. Montel Williams

D. Don Cornelius

300

The first African American author to win a Pulitzer Prize:

A. Maya Angelou

B. Gwendolyn Brooks

C. Terry McMillan

D. Susan Taylor

B. Gwendolyn Brooks

300

Inventor of carbon filaments for light bulbs:

A. Lewis Latimer

B. Dr. Charles Drew

C. Ororo Munroe

D. Vivian Theodore Thomas

A. Lewis Latimer

300

I "Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" is the debut work of which author?

A. Gil-Scott Heron

B. Maya Angelou

C. James Baldwin

D. Chinua Achebe

B. Maya Angelou

400

Longest running African American sitcom:

A. House of Payne

B. A Different World

C. The Chi

D. The Cosby Show

A. House of Payne

400

In 1983, this astronaut became the first African American to travel to space:

A. Mae Jemison

B. Ronald E. McNair

C. Guion "Guy" Bluford Jr.

D. Lonnie Johnson

C. Guion "Guy" Bluford Jr.

400

Who created electronic resistors? (used in computers, radios and pacemakers)

A. John Stewart

B. Lonnie Johnson

C. Otis Boykin

D. Marie Van Brittan Brown

C. Otis Boykin

400

The first black republic to declare independence from it's colonizer:

A. Haiti

B. Liberia

C. Ethiopia

D. Ghana

A. Haiti

500

When was the cable channel BET launched?

A. December 8, 1990

B. January 25, 1980

C. April 15, 1979

D. July 30, 1985

B. January 25, 1980

500

First African American actress to win an Academy Award for "Best Supporting Actress"?

A. Halle Berry

B. Cicely Tyson

C. Octavia Spencer

D. Hattie McDaniel

500

Co-founder of Ai-Ris, a device utilizing artificial intelligence to diagnose diabetic eye disease:

A. Patricia Bath

B. Anthony Ruto

C. Luke Cage

D. TJ Falohun

500

Which African Nation is known for never being colonized during the Scramble for Africa and for the discovery of some of the worlds oldest human ancestors at Hadar?

A. Nigeria

B. Ghana

C. Ethiopia

D. Kenya

C. Ethiopia