Musicians
Firsts in Sports
Literature
Misc.
Television and Movies
200
Nicknamed "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul", this Motown singer is known for hits such as How Sweet It Is and I’ve Heard It Through The Grape Vine.
Who is Marvin Gaye, a.k.a. Marvin Pentz Gay Jr.?
200
Nicknamed "The Buckeye Bullet," he was the first American track and field athlete to win four gold medals at a single Olympic Games. He is most famous for his dominant performance at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, which served as a counter example against Hitler's ideology of Aryan supremacy.
Who is Jesse Owens?
200
He was novelist, poet, and playwright was a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance with still widely read works such as Harlem, I Too, and Let America be America Again
Who is Langston Hughes?
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200
This poet was the first to serve as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, also known as the US Poet Laureate.
Who is Robert Hayden?
200
With a net worth of more than $3.5 billion, this television producer and show host ran the highest-rated television program of its kind in history for more than 25 years.
Who is Oprah Winfrey?
400
Dubbed "The First Lady of Song", this female jazz singer won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40 million albums. She was also born in Newport News, VA. She recorded around 2,000 songs on over 200 albums.
Who is Ella Fitzgerald?
400
Playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, this athlete was the first Black man to play Major League Baseball, breaking the "color line."
Who is Jackie Robinson?
400
This Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize winning novelist is famous for her books that examine the Black experience, especially the Black female experience. Her works include Beloved, The Bluest Eye, and Sula.
Who is Toni Morrison?
400
Called the "Men of Bronze" by the French who awarded the regiment with the Croix de Guerre, they are the most celebrated African-American regiment in World War I. Despite receiving little recognition at the time from the US government, this regiment spent more time in combat than any other American unit in WWI.
Who are the Harlem Hellfighters?
400
Operating under a series of stage names, this former music artist, record producer, entrepreneur, and actor is an alumnus of Howard University. the zenith of his career was his masterful performance in the most recent version of "Raisin in the Sun."
Who is Sean Combs?
600
Nicknamed “Lady Day”, this female jazz and swing singer/songwriter was known for hits such as I’ll Be Seeing You and God Bless The Child.
Who is Billie Holiday, a.k.a. Eleanora Fagan
600
Nicknamed "The Magician," this man was the first black man to play quarterback in the NFL. He was drafted in 1968 by the Denver Broncos.
Who is Marlin Briscoe?
600
This author wrote seven novels starting with his 1999 The Intuitionist. He won the Pulitzer Prize twice, for The Underground Railroad and the Nickel Boys the fourth author to ever do so.
Who is Colson Whitehead?
600
This founding member of the NAACP had a long and dynamic career as an academic, activist, orator, and author and is heavily featured in both of Mr. Gambino's classes (US History and Sociology). He was the first Black American to earn a Ph.D from Harvard and famously opposed the ideas of Booker T. Washington, calling him an accomodationist.
Who is W.E.B. Du Bois?
600
This lawyer, city administrator, writer, podcast host, and all-round star is an alumnus of Harvard Law School and Princeton University. She was one of the most beloved public figures in recent memory, despite not winning elected office herself. Her most recent projects have been the publication of her memoir Becoming in 2018, producing a documentary for Netflix in 2019, and her live streamed podcast series.
Who is Michelle Obama?
800
Sharing the nickname “Sassy” with one of our members, this female jazz vocalist is also known as “The Divine One and has won four Grammy Awards. Hits include If You Could See Me Now, Body and Soul, and Everything I have Is Yours.
Who is Sarah Vaughan?
800
Considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time before Michael Jordan, he became the first Black coach in the NBA, leading the Celtics to their first championship and coaching the national basketball team at the Olympic Games.
Who is Bill Russel?
800
Born in West Africa before being kidnapped and sold into slavery as a young girl, in 1773 this author was the first black American to publish a book of poetry.
Who is Phillis Wheatley?
800
Despite living as an enslaved woman and serving as a cook at the University of Virginia, she was the first Black person to teach at the Jefferson School 5 years after its founding by Anna Gardner. She taught at the Jefferson school until her death some 18 years later.
Who is Isabella Gibbons?
800
This lithic athlete started his career as a college football player at the University of Miami before turning to the family business, professional wrestling. After a lucrative career, he shed his stage name and used his stony demeanor to enter into Hollywood, where he became a successful action and kids movie actor.
Who is Dwayne Johnson?
1000
This female artist was known for hits such as The Wallflower, At Last, and Something’s Got a Hold on Me. Her music spanned from blues, R&B and soul to rock and roll, jazz and gospel.
Who is Etta James?
1000
Nicknamed "The Flying Squirrel," this woman was the first Black person to become the Individual All-Around Champion in gymnastics, as well as the first American gymnast to win gold in both the individual and team competitions at the same Olympic games.
Who is Gabby Douglas?
1000
Born in Keyser, West Virginia, this literary critic, professor, and historian serves as the Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African America Research at Harvard. He is the author of works such as Stony the Road, Colored People, Dark Sky Rising, and The Black Church.
Who is Henry Louis Gates?
1000
Born as Isabella Hardenbergh, she changed her name after her emancipation in the early 19th century before embarking on a career delivering speeches advocating for women's rights and abolition. She famously delivered her "Ain't I a Woman?" speech at the 1851 Ohio Women's Rights Convention.
Who is Sojourner Truth?
1000
This film director is the highest-grossing Black director in history, grossing $943 million. This director's films include the Fantastic Four series, Ride Along and Ride Along 2, and Barbershop
Who is Tim Story?
