Sports and Entertainment
On April 15 each season, every team in the majors celebrates this in honor of when he broke the color barrier in baseball, becoming the first African-American player in the 20th century to take the field in the big leagues.
Who is Jackie Robinson?
Invented hair care products for black women and the first black woman millionaire.
Who is Madame C.J. Walker?
At 12 years old, she became the first female African American published author.
Who is Phillis Wheatley?
In 1987, this African-American doctor performed history-making surgery by separating twins joined at the head.
Who is Dr. Benjamin Carson?
Lonnie Johnson is an Aerospace Engineer for NASA, had a stint with the US Air Force, worked on the Galileo Jupiter probe and Mars Observer project. However, Johnson is most famous for creating this fun toy.
What is the Super Soaker?
She is the first Black person to win a Grand Slam title in 1956 and has since been inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Who is Althea Gibson?
Credited with over 500 different inventions using peanuts and sweet potatoes, he surprisingly did not invent peanut butter.
Who is George Washington Carver?
At 35, this person is the youngest to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent resistance to racial injustice. He donated the prize money to the civil rights movement.
Who is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?
In 1992, she flew into space aboard the Endeavor, becoming the first African American woman in space.
Who Is Mae Jemison?
Permitted black men over 21 to vote.
What is the 15th Amendment?
He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, has been awarded PGA Player of the Year 11 times, and will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2021.
Who is Tiger Woods?
This full-time nurse invented the first home security system.
Who is Marie Van Brittan Brown?
The first person of color and the first African-American to receive a Nobel Peace Prize.
Who is Ralph Bunche?
In 1943, she became the first woman to perform open heart surgery (and only the 9th operation of it's kind) and first African American woman elected a fellow to the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. Myra Adele Logan
An American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. The first black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open. He retired in 1980.
Who is Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr.
The only boxer to win the heavyweight championship three times.
Who is Muhammad Ali?
In 1956 a group of Black students integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas later to be named this.
What is the ‘Little Rock Nine’?
This college in Pennsylvania became the first degree-granting institution of higher education for African Americans. It paved the way for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
What is Lincoln University?
In 1951, this woman was diagnosed with cervical cancer and passed away in the same year. The cancer cells retrieved in her biopsy were unlike any other cells and were found to double every 24 hours. Today, these incredible cells— nicknamed "HeLa" cells, from the first two letters of her first and last names — are used to study the effects of toxins, drugs, hormones and viruses on the growth of cancer cells without experimenting on humans. They have been used to test the effects of radiation and poisons, to study the human genome, to learn more about how viruses work, and played a crucial role in the development of the polio vaccine.
Who is Henrietta Lacks?
The most Grammy-nominated artist in the history of the awards show with 79 nominations and 27 wins.
Who is Quincy Jones?
The co-founder of BET (Black Entertainment Television), which was acquired by Viacom in 2001 making him the first Black billionaire.
Who is Robert L. Johnson?
She showed active resistance by refusing to move from her seat on a bus in Montgomery and was eventually elected secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP?
Who is Rosa Parks?
She is a singer, actress, and fashion designer notable for being the first Black woman to win the Miss America title in 1984.
Who is Vanessa Williams?
The first board-certified pediatric endocrinologist in the state of Arkansas (1978).
Who is Dr. Jocelyn Elders
This singer and jazz pianist had over 100 hits on the pop charts and became the first Black person to host a television series.
Who is Nat King Cole?