Literary Legends
Which Nigerian author’s novel Things Fall Apart (1958) is one of the most widely read books in African literature?
Chinua Achebe.
Which West African king is famous for his 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca, during which he distributed so much gold that it caused inflation in Egypt?
Mansa Musa (of the Mali Empire).
He was a prominent author and educator who advocated for vocational education and founded the Tuskegee Institute
Booker T. Washington.
The first recorded Black person to arrive in Canada; he sun)worked as an interpreter for European explorers
Mathieu de Costa in 1608
First Civilization
Ancient Egypt - Egypt is considered the first major civilization in Africa, starting around 3100 BCE when King Menes united upper and lower Egypt.
What Toni Morrison’s novel, inspired by the true story of an enslaved woman who killed her child to spare them from slavery, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988?
Beloved.
Which West African king is famous for his 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca, during which he distributed so much gold that it caused inflation in Egypt?
Mansa Musa (of the Mali Empire)
This sociologist and co-founder of the NAACP wrote The Souls of Black Folk
Who is W.E.B. Du Bois.
Challenged segregation at a Nova Scotia cinema, becoming a key figure in the fight against racial injustice
Viola Desmond in 1946
First Female Head of State
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected President of Liberia in 2005, making her the first woman to lead a modern African state.
Who was the first African American to publish a book of poetry (Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral) in 1773?
Phillis Wheatley.
Which West African empire (c. 300–1200 CE) was called the “Land of Gold” due to its control over trans-Saharan trade routes?
The Ghana Empire (Wagadou).
This intersectional feminist and author co-founded the Combahee River Collective.
Barbara Smith.
A historically Black community in Halifax that was destroyed by the city in the 1960s, a move later recognized as a "crime against humanity" by the UN
Africville
Who was the first African American female pilot
Bessie Coleman. Bessie Coleman was also the first Native American to hold a pilot license and was the first Black person to earn an international pilot's license. She developed an early interest in flying, but since African Americans, Native Americans, and women had no flight training opportunities in the United States, she saved and obtained sponsorships to go to France for flight school. She then became a high-profile pilot in notoriously dangerous air shows in the United States. She was popularly known as "Queen Bess" and "Brave Bessie
Which Harlem Renaissance writer penned the iconic poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers and co-founded the Fire!! literary magazine?
Langston Hughes.
What East African trading civilization, blending Bantu and Arabic cultures, dominated coastal trade from the 10th–15th centuries and spoke Swahili?
The Swahili Coast city-states (e.g., Kilwa, Mogadishu).
The first African-American woman in space
Mae Jemison.
The first Black woman to publish a newspaper in North America (The Provincial Freeman in 1853)
Mary Ann Shadd Cary
What feature film was based on the life of mathematician Katherine Johnson and other Human Computers who contributed to the US space program?
Hidden Figures
James Baldwin’s essay collection Notes of a Native Son critiques race relations in America. Which groundbreaking novel did he write about a Harlem murder mystery?
If Beale Street Could Talk.
Which 17th-century Ashanti ruler is celebrated for expanding his empire in modern-day Ghana and introducing the Golden Stool as a symbol of unity?
Osei Tutu.
She was a prominent abolitionist who escaped slavery and led many others to freedom on the Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman.
A unit of Black soldiers who fought for the British in the War of 1812
Coloured Corps in 1812
Who was the first African American Major League Baseball player
Jackie Robinson