Historic Figures
Music
Pop Culture
History
African-American Firsts
100

Who was elected President of the United States in 2008?

Barrack Obama

100

Who is ranked as the second best-selling female artist of the 21st century with record sales of over 37 million dollars?

Beyonce Knowles


100

In 2008, who became the first man to ever set three world records in a single Olympic games?

Usain Bolt

100

Black History Month was first called what?

Negro History Week.

100

Who was the first professional black baseball player?

Jackie Robinson

200
Who was known as the "Mother of the Freedom Movement" ?

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks is best known for refusing to move to the back of a bus after the driver demanded she give her seat to a white passenger. While not the first person to refuse to obey the segregation laws in the United States, Rosa Parks was labeled as the “Mother of the Freedom Movement” following her bold disobedience and subsequent arrest.

200

Which city is widely acknowledged as the birthplace of Hip Hop?

The Bronx, New York City

200

Who's the most decorated gymnast of all time?

Simone Biles

200

Why was February chosen as the month to celebrate Black History?

February was chosen to coincide with Frederick Douglass’s and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays

200

Who was the first African American to serve as the United States Secretary of State?

Colin Powell

300

Who was considered the formative figure in the modern fight for civil rights in relation to the NAACP?

Dr. Martin Luther King

300

This Renaissance man has a gift for producing, composing, arranging and performing!

His work has influenced artists like Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra and his keen ear and talents have made him the all-time most nominated Grammy artist in history.

Quincy Jones!


300

Who was the youngest boxer to win the heavyweight title?

Mike Tyson

300

Which amendment of the constitution protects the rights of African Americans?

13th Amendment

300

Who was the first African American female millionaire?

Madame CJ. Walker

400

Who was an American preacher who dedicated her life to fighting for for civil and human rights?

Sojourner Truth

400

This musician is hailed as the creator of “Afrobeat,” and used his music as a platform to call for political and social progression.

Fela Kuti

She employed a lively fusion of African and American beats as the framework for messages that encouraged pride, self-reliance, and a rejection of colonialist values.

400

Who is the first black billionaire?

Robert Johnson.

Before Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan joined the billionaire’s club, Robert Johnson became the first African American billionaire when he sold the cable station he founded, Black Entertainment Television (BET) in 2001

400

Who was the first person to stand up against social injustice by refusing to give up her seat on a bus?

Claudette Colvin.

 On March 2, 1955, fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin was riding home on a city bus after a long day at school. A white passenger boarded, and the bus driver ordered Claudette to give up her seat. Claudette refused. As she later told Newsweek "I felt like Sojourner Truth was pushing down on one shoulder and Harriet Tubman was pushing down on the other. I was glued to my seat."

400

Who was the first African American Supreme Court Justice?

Thurgood Marshall

500

What author outlines his life as a slave and his subsequent escape, which proved instrumental to the abolitionist movement and the ultimate goal of ending slavery?

Frederick Douglas

500

Whose 1939 Easter Sunday concert at the Lincoln Memorial broke racial barriers and was seen as an important moment in the struggle for civil rights?

Marian Anderson! 

In 1939, she was denied the opportunity to perform at Constitution Hall due to a policy enforced by the Daughters of the American Revolution, who owned the venue. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt withdrew from the organization and in protest, helped organize the Easter Sunday Concert attended by 75,000 people.

500

Along with partner Jazzy Jeff, who won the first-ever Grammy for Best Rap performance?

Will Smith!

Before he was a blockbuster actor, Will Smith was The Fresh Prince and, along with partner Jazzy Jeff, won the first-ever Grammy for Best Rap Performance. They boycotted the awards because the category was barred from television.

500

Interracial marriage in the United States was banned in 1664 and not overturned until when?

 1967

500

Who was the first African American invited to dine at the White House?

Booker T. Washington