The 90s Renaissance
This 1990s sitcom featured Queen Latifah and celebrated Black sisterhood in a Brooklyn brownstone.
Living Single
This NBA legend and global icon wore the number 23 and led the Chicago Bulls to six championships in the 90s.
Michael Jordan
Born Malcolm Little, this human rights activist became a prominent minister for the Nation of Islam.
Malcolm X
Her "immortal" cells were taken without her consent in 1951 and have been used in almost every major medical breakthrough since.
A) Rosalind Franklin
B) Henrietta Lacks
C) Jane Cooke Wright
D) Alice Ball
Henrietta Lacks
This group of African American military pilots fought in WWII and were known as the "Red Tails."
A) Buffalo Soldiers
B) The Harlem Hellfighters
C) The Tuskegee Airmen
D) Montford Point Marines
The Tuskegee Airmen
This Detroit-based record label, founded by Berry Gordy Jr., became the most successful Black-owned business in the U.S. in the 60s.
A) Stax Records
B) Motown
C) Atlantic Records
D) Chess Records
Motown
In 1991, John Singleton became the first African American nominated for an Oscar for Best Director for this film.
Boyz n the Hood
She and her sister Venus changed the face of tennis forever, winning their first Grand Slam doubles title in 1999.
Serena Williams
This 14th-century ruler of the Mali Empire is widely considered the wealthiest individual in human history and was a devout Muslim.
A) Sundiata Keita
B) Askia the Great
C) Mansa Musa
D) Sunni Ali
Mansa Musa
This surgeon and researcher pioneered the methods for storing blood plasma, saving countless lives during WWII.
A) Dr. Charles Drew
B) Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
C) Dr. Ben Carson
D) Dr. William Halsted
Dr. Charles Drew
This 20th-century painter is famous for his "Migration Series," which depicted the movement of Black Americans from the South to the North.
A) Romare Bearden
B) Jacob Lawrence
C) Jean-Michel Basquiat
D) Aaron Douglas
Jacob Lawrence
Known as the "High Priestess of Soul," she sang the civil rights anthem "To Be Young, Gifted and Black."
A) Aretha Franklin
B) Billie Holiday
C) Nina Simone
D) Mahalia Jackson
Nina Simone
This 1996 movie soundtrack, featuring Whitney Houston and Brandy, spent 11 weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200.
Waiting to Exhale
In 1988, this Washington Redskins player became the first Black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl.
Doug Williams
During the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, historians estimate that roughly this percentage of enslaved Africans were Muslim.
A) 5%–10%
B) 10%–30%
C) 40%–50%
D) 60%–70%
10% to 30%
In 1893, he performed the first successful open-heart surgery in the United States.
A) Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
B) Dr. Charles Drew
C) Dr. William Mayo
D) Dr. John Gibbon
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
These all-Black cavalry regiments were established in 1866 and were given their nickname by Native American tribes.
A) Buffalo Soldiers
B) Harlem Hellfighters
C) Red Tails
D) Montford Point Marines
Buffalo Soldiers
This genre of music was officially born at a house party in the Bronx on August 11, 1973.
A) Soul
B) Jazz
C) Hip-Hop
D) Funk
Hip-Hop
Before becoming a megastar, Will Smith moved from Philly to Bel-Air in 1990; name the legendary music producer who co-produced the show.
Quincy Jones
This heavy-weight champion famously refused to be drafted into the Vietnam War, citing his religious beliefs and the mistreatment of Black Americans.
Muhammad Ali
This world-famous jazz saxophonist wrote "A Love Supreme" as a spiritual declaration, drawing on both Christian and Islamic influences.
A) Charlie Parker
B) John Coltrane
C) Sonny Rollins
D) Ornette Coleman
John Coltrane
This woman became the first Black female physician in the United States in 1864.
A) Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler
B) Dr. Susan McKinney Steward
C) Dr. Mary Eliza Mahoney
D) Dr. Jane Cooke Wright
Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler
In 1917, the 369th Infantry Regiment, known by this nickname, spent more time in the front-line trenches than any other American unit.
A) Buffalo Soldiers
B) Harlem Hellfighters
C) Red Tails
D) Montford Point Marines
The Harlem Hellfighters
This legendary trumpet player’s 1959 album Kind of Blue remains the best-selling jazz album of all time.
A) Louis Armstrong
B) Dizzy Gillespie
C) Miles Davis
D) Clifford Brown
Miles Davis
This 1997 film, starring Larenz Tate and Nia Long, is often cited as the definitive "Black Gen-X/90s" romantic drama.
Love Jones
Before the NBA integrated, this all-Black professional team (founded in 1923) toured the world and played over 20,000 games.
The Harlem Globetrotters
This city in Mali was a world-renowned center of Islamic learning and trade during the 15th and 16th centuries.
A) Gao
B) Timbuktu
C) Djenné
D) Bamako
Timbuktu
Known as the "Angel of the Crimea," this Jamaican woman set up a "British Hotel" to care for wounded soldiers during the Crimean War.
A) Florence Nightingale
B) Mary Seacole
C) Sojourner Truth
D) Harriet Tubman
Mary Seacole
This Neo-expressionist artist became a 1980s cultural icon, often using his art to comment on racial inequality and class struggle.
A) Jacob Lawrence
B) Jean-Michel Basquiat
C) Romare Bearden
D) Kehinde Wiley
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Often called the "Mother of the Blues," she was one of the first Black professional singers to record music in the 1920s.
A) Bessie Smith
B) Ma Rainey
C) Mamie Smith
D) Ethel Waters
Ma Rainey