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Black History Month Trivia

Total questions: 46

Worksheet time: 15mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

ARTS: She wrote Dear Martin, the New York Times bestselling novel and the summer reading for all DePaul College Prep 9th graders.

a)

Nic Stone

b)

Angie Thomas

c)

Gloria Naylor

d)

Wynton Marsalis

2.

GEOGRAPHY: What state had the largest population of African-Americans in 2019?

a)

Texas

b)

New York

c)

California

d)

Alabama

3.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION: What is the name of Oprah Winfrey's TV production company?

a)

Harpo Productions

b)

Winfrey Network

c)

Bad Robot Productions

d)

Dimension Productions

4.

SPORTS: This heavyweight champ became the first African American man to hold the World Heavyweight Champion boxing title in 1908. He held onto the belt until 1915. Who was he?

a)

Jack Johnson

b)

Joe Louis

c)

Joe Frazier

d)

George Foreman

5.

BUSINESS AND EDUCATION: In 1865, Fisk University was founded in what city?

a)

Nashville

b)

Atlanta

c)

Athens

d)

Mobile

6.

BUSINESS AND EDUCATION: In what year did the U.S. Supreme Court order school integration?

a)

1955

b)

1965

c)

1975

d)

1945

7.

ENTERTAINMENT: In 1972, Cicely Tyson was nominated for Best Actress for her performance in what film?

a)

Sounder

b)

The Color Purple

c)

Harlem Nights

d)

Lonesome Dove

8.

ENTERTAINMENT: in what 1984 movie did Prince have a starring role?

a)

Purple Rain

b)

The Color Purple

c)

Little Red Corvette

d)

When Doves Cry

9.

HISTORY: As the first and only African American to fly solo around the globe, this person has also created a nonprofit organization, Experience Aviation, which takes students out of classrooms and into a cockpit. Who are they?

a)

Barrington Irving

b)

Tara Roberts

c)

Kyle Abraham

d)

Charles Morton

10.

HISTORY: After Martin Luther King Jr's death, who succeeded him as the head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference?

a)

Ralph Abernathy

b)

Jessie Jackson

c)

Al Sharpton

d)

Deron Jackson

11.

POLITICS AND MILITARY: Who was the first Black American appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court?

a)

Thurgood Marshall

b)

Clarence Thomas

c)

Violette Anderson

d)

T.H. Moore

12.

Politics: She was the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first Black major-party presidential candidate survived three assassination attempts during her 1972 campaign.?

a)

Ellen Craft

b)

Carol Mosely Braun

c)

Shirley Chisholm

d)

Cathay Williams

13.

SPORTS: Bill Russell was the first Black American player in what professional sports league?

a)

NBA

b)

NFL

c)

NHL

d)

MLB

14.

SPORTS: Earvin "Magic" Johnson played for what college basketball team?

a)

Michigan State

b)

Duke

c)

North Carolina

d)

Tulane

15.

BLACK CATHOLICS: This black woman is the most decorated American gymnast and comes from a Catholic family.

a)

Simone Biles

b)

Dominique Margaux Dawes

c)

Gabby Douglas

d)

Liz "pommel horse" Galvez

16.

BLACK CATHOLICS: The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops estimates that there are how many million black Catholics in the U.S. (number from 2019)

a)

30,000

b)

300,000

c)

3 million

d)

30 million

17.

ARTS: Growing up with a white Jewish mother and an African- American father, who wrote Devil in a Blue Dress, A Red Death, White Butterfly, and Black Betty ?

a)

Walter Mosley

b)

W.E.B. Du Bois

c)

William Alexander Chambers

d)

William Wells Brown

18.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION: He built his fortune running an IT service provider that counts Citi, Verizon, and the federal government as clients. Forbes estimates his personal net worth at 3.7 billion dollars

a)

David Steward

b)

Robert F. Smith

c)

Mike Adenuga

d)

Patrice Motsepe

19.

POLITICS: What university did our current Vice President, Kamala Harris, attend?

a)

Harvard

b)

Oxford

c)

Howard

d)

USC

20.

HISTORY: Benjamin Banneker assisted in the survey of what major US city?

a)

Washington, DC

b)

Chicago, IL

c)

New York, NY

d)

Pittsburg, PA

21.

BLACK CATHOLICS: Appointed by Pope Francis - he is the archbishop of Washington and a Cardinal. Who is he?

a)

Wilton Gregory

b)

Reynold Verret

c)

Shelton J. Fabre

d)

Shannen Dee Williams

22.

POLITICS & MILITARY: What is the title of former President Barack Obama's latest best selling memoir?

a)

A Promised Land

b)

Dreams from my Father

c)

The Audacity of Hope

d)

Of Thee I Sing

23.

POLITICS & MILITARY: Among the first U.S. regiments to arrive in France for World War I, and among the most highly-decorated when it returned.

a)

369th Infantry Harlem Hell Fighters

b)

5th Regiment Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Cavalry

c)

30th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment

d)

The second raising of the 11th USC Infantry

24.

SCIENCE & EXPLORATION: Lewis Latimer prepared the drawings for what invention patented by Alexander Graham Bell?

a)

Telephone

b)

Lightbulb

c)

Street lamp

d)

Clock

25.

SPORTS: Who was the first Black American jockey to win the Kentucky Derby?

a)

Oliver Lewis

b)

Issac Burns Murphy

c)

Willie Simms

d)

Jimmy Winkfield

26.

BLACK CHICAGOANS: This famous Chicago mayor grew up grew up in Chicago and has a law degree from the University of Chicago.

a)

Lori Lightfoot

b)

Harold Washington

c)

Marianne Robinson

d)

Ida B. Wells

27.

BLACK CATHOLICS: This black actress who starred in 10 Things I Hate About You and Bring It On was raised Catholic

a)

Gabrielle Union

b)

Kerry Washington

c)

Jennifer Hudson

d)

Queen Latifa

28.

BLACK CATHOLICS: He was the great champion of the faith and Doctor of the Church. He was born in Alexandria about the year 296, of Christian parents. This saint also has a DePaul College Prep student named after him.

a)

ST. ATHANASIUS

b)

ST. PACHOMIUS

c)

ST. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA

d)

ST. THECLA

29.

ARTS: What Harlem theatre is a showcase for Black talent?

a)

The Apollo

b)

Paradise Theater

c)

The Beacon

d)

Vivian Beaumont Theater

30.

SCIENCE AND EXPLORATION: One of NASA's human 'computers,' they performed the complex calculations that enabled humans to successfully achieve space flight. Their story is depicted in the 2016 movie 'Hidden Figures.'

a)

Katherine Johnson

b)

Dr. Mae Jemison

c)

Dr. Shirley Jackson

d)

Dr. Patricia Bath

31.

ARTS: What is the name of the Harlem club where many famous Black Americans began their careers?

a)

The Cotton Club

b)

Zanies

c)

The Black and White

d)

The Juke Joint

32.

ART: She was known as the "queen of gospel music." Her first recording "Move On Up a Little Higher" sold over a million copies in 1945.

a)

Mahalia Jackson

b)

Marian Anderson

c)

Laura Gossett, Jr.

d)

Loraine Hansberry

33.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION: What is the name of the institute that was founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881?

a)

Tuskegee Institute

b)

Moody Bible Institute

c)

Rand Institute

d)

Fish Institute

34.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION: Who was the first black student admitted to the University of Mississippi in 1962?

a)

James Meredith

b)

Josh Brown

c)

John Russwurm

d)

Johnetta Cole

35.

ENTERTAINMENT: What was the name of the first hip-hop group to break into the mainstream American culture in the early 1980s?

a)

Run-DMC

b)

BoysIIMen

c)

Bell Biv Davoe

d)

Bone Thugs and Harmony

36.

ENTERTAINMENT: In 2003 she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the film Chicago. Who is she?

a)

Queen Latifa

b)

Phylicia Rashad

c)

Natalie King Cole

d)

Mary J. Blige

37.

ENTERTAINMENT: James Todd Smith is the given name of what rapper / actor?

a)

ICE-T

b)

LL Cool J

c)

Lou Rawls

d)

Luther Vandross

38.

HISTORY: What was the first state to abolish slavery?

a)

Vermont

b)

Massachusetts

c)

Missouri

d)

New York

39.

HISTORY: The Black Panther party was founded in what California city?

a)

Oakland

b)

Los Angeles

c)

San Francisco

d)

San Diego

40.

POLITICS & MILITARY: Who formed the all black Ethiopian regiment in 1775 during the Revolutionary War?

a)

Lord Dunmore

b)

Lord Jordan

c)

Lord Delany

d)

Lord Cromwell

41.

POLITICS & MILITARY: In what year did Annie E. Graham become the first African-American woman to join the Marine Corps?

a)

1949

b)

1959

c)

1969

d)

1979

42.

Who developed a drug used to treat glaucoma and arthritis?

a)

Dr. Percy Julian

b)

Dr. Samuel Koontz

c)

Dr. Roland Scott

d)

Dr. William Hinton

43.

SCIENCE & EXPLORATION: Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable, trapper and trader, was the first black explorer in N. America. In 1772 he established a trading post and founded what city?

a)

Chicago

b)

St. Louis

c)

St. Paul

d)

Columbus

44.

SPORTS: For what team did Jackie Robinson play in 1947?

a)

Brooklyn Dodgers

b)

New York Mets

c)

New York Yankees

d)

Boston Braves

45.

BLACK CATHOLICS: Which man was the first black American saint?

a)

St. Martin de Porres

b)

St. Josephine Bakhita

c)

St. Antonio Vieira

d)

St. Peter Claver

46.

TECHNOLOGY: This computer scientist assisted with the 1995 creation of Shockwave, essential technology that led to the development of web animation. (So we have them to thank for GIFs).

a)

Lisa Gelobter

b)

Bryant Gumbel

c)

Sylvia Robinson

d)

Christina M. Jenkins