Show:
Black Inventors
Black Entertainers
Black Athletes
Black Authors
Black Facts
100
the first clock to be made in America was created by a black man
Who is Benjamin Banneker?
100
He founded a company in 1958 that changed forever the perception of American dance. His company popularized modern dance around the world thanks to tours sponsored by the U.S. State Department.
Who is Alvin Ailey?
100
American basketball player regarded in his day as the greatest defensive centre in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He set standards by which other exceptionally tall players were judged (his height was 6 ft 10 in). On April 18, 1966, he became the first black coach of a major professional sports team (the Boston Celtics) in the United States.
Who is Bill Russell?
100
She is one of the most important African American authors and orators of the twentieth century. Her 1970 autobiography “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” is one of her best known works. She is the first black woman to have a screenplay produced as a film with “Georgia, Georgia” (1971). She recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Bill Clinton's inauguration.
Who is Maya Angelou?
100
She became a leading singer in Gospel music, known for her rich, powerful voice. A devout Baptist, she still found time for secular sounds of such blues artists as Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey.She sang at the March on Washington at the request of her friend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963. After King's death in 1968, Jackson she sang at his funeral and largely withdrew from public political activities.
Who is Mahalia Jackson?
200
Every time a person crunches into a potato chip, he or she is enjoying the delicious taste of one of the world's most famous snacks – a treat that might not exist without the contribution of black inventor.
Who is George Crum?
200
She was an American-born French dancer, singer, and actress. Nicknamed the "Bronze Venus" and the "Black Pearl". She was the first African American female to star in a major motion picture and to integrate an American concert hall, and to become a world-famous entertainer.
Who is Josephine Baker?
200
He became the first, and currently only, African-American to win the men's singles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, or the Australian Open.
Who is Arthur Ashe?
200
American playwright whose "A Raisin in the Sun" (1959) was the first drama by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway.
Who is Lorraine Hansberry?
200
She became the first black congresswoman and began the first of seven terms. She became the first African American woman to make a bid to be President of the United States when she ran for the Democratic nomination in 1972.
Who is Shirley Chisholm?
300
This physician, researcher and surgeon revolutionized the understanding of blood plasma – leading to the invention of blood banks.
Who is Dr. Charles Drew?
300
The role made her the first African-American woman to star in her own television series. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Julia in 1969 and won the Golden Globe Award in 1968.
Who is Diahann Carroll?
300
She was a triple gold medalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics who captivated the world with her blistering speed and flamboyant style. She still holds world records in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. She set the 100 mark of 10.49 seconds at the quarter finals of the 1988 Olympic trials at Indianapolis. At Seoul, she won the gold medal in a wind-aided 10.54. She then smashed the world 200 record in the Olympic final, with a 21.34.
Who is Florence Joyner "Flo-Jo"?
300
African American novelist, critic, poet, and editor known for her discovery and encouragement of several writers of the Harlem Renaissance. She published the works of such writers as Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, and Jean Toomer. She was the literary editor for the Crisis, the NAACP magazine.
Who is Jessie Fauset?
300
He is the first African American member of the Supreme Court. As an attorney, he successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), which declared unconstitutional racial segregation in American public schools.
Who is Thurgood Marshal?
400
Anytime you see a truck on the highway transporting refrigerated or frozen food, you're seeing the work of this African American.
Who is Frederick Mckinley Jones?
400
was the first black tennis player to win Wimbledon (in 1957) and the U.S. Open (in 1958). Aside from her success, she is most remembered for breaking the color barrier in professional tennis. She won a total of five Grand Slam titles: U.S. Open: 1958 and 1957, Wimbledon: 1957 and 1958, Roland Garros: 1956 In 1957 and 1958 she was the top-ranked U.S. women's tennis player. She turned to professional golf and was the first African American woman to join the LPGA
Who is Althea Gibson?
400
American writer who is considered to be the first African-American to publish a novel. He was also the first to have a play and a travel book published. He was born to a black slave.
Who is William Wells Brown?
400
He is called the “Father of the Blues” and is credited with helping popularize blues music.
Who is W.C. Handy?
500
She has dedicated her life to the treatment and prevention of visual impairments. In 1985 she invented a specialized tool and procedure for the removal of cataracts.
Who is Dr. Patricia Bath?
500
American actress and singer who became the first African American to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939).
Who is Hattie McDaniel?
500
He is considered the Jackie Robinson of golf. He broke the game's stringent color barrier in 1961 when he became the first black athlete to compete on the PGA tour. He was the first black golfer to play in the PGA (1960) and first to win a PGA event
Who is Charles Sifford?
500
She was the first African American poet to win the Pulitzer Prize (1950), and in 1968 she was named the poet laureate of Illinois.
Who is Gwendolyn Brooks?
500
She is one of the finest contraltos of her time. She became an important figure in the struggle for black artists to overcome racial prejudice in the United States during the mid twentieth century. With the help of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, she performed a critically acclaimed open-air concert on Easter Sunday, in 1939 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., to a crowd of more than 75,000 people and a radio audience in the millions. She continued to break barriers for black artists in the United States, becoming the first black person, American or otherwise, to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City on January 7, 1955.
Who is Marian Anderson?