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Africana Studies Quiz Bowl 2026

Total questions: 100

Worksheet time: 50mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

The first African American woman to travel into space was _____?

a)

Mae Jemison

b)

Sally Ride

c)

Eileen Collins

d)

Kalpana Chawla

2.

Identify the founder of BET (Black Entertainment Television).

a)

Robert L. Johnson

b)

Oprah Winfrey

c)

Tyler Perry

d)

Sean Combs

3.

The largest river in Africa by volume of water discharged is:

a)

Nile

b)

Congo

c)

Niger

d)

Zambezi

4.

What laws were passed after Reconstruction to enforce racial segregation? These laws are known as:

a)

Jim Crow laws

b)

Civil Rights Acts

c)

Equal Protection Laws

d)

Voting Rights Acts

5.

Black mathematician’s orbital mechanics calculations crucial to NASA’s moon landing?

a)

Katherine Johnson

b)

Dorothy Vaughan

c)

Mary Jackson

d)

Benjamin Banneker

6.

Who was the first Black Secretary of Defense?

a)

Lloyd Austin

b)

Colin Powell

c)

Robert Gates

d)

James Mattis

7.

The largest lake in Africa is ______.

a)

Lake Victoria

b)

Lake Tanganyika

c)

Lake Malawi

d)

Lake Chad

8.

Identify the country that has the largest economy in Africa today.

a)

Nigeria

b)

South Africa

c)

Egypt

d)

Algeria

9.

What artist released Thriller, recognized as the best-selling solo album of all time?

a)

Michael Jackson

b)

Elvis Presley

c)

Prince

d)

Madonna

10.

Who was the Belgian king responsible for atrocities in the Congo Free State?

a)

King Leopold I

b)

King Leopold II

c)

King Albert I

d)

King Baudouin

11.

Identify the name of the first all-Black fighter squadron in WWII.

a)

Tuskegee Airmen

b)

99th Pursuit Squadron

c)

332nd Fighter Group

d)

None of the above

12.

Who was the first president of Ghana?

a)

Kwame Nkrumah

b)

John Atta Mills

c)

Jerry Rawlings

d)

Nana Akufo-Addo

13.

The influential album Straight Outta Compton was released by which hip-hop group?

a)

Wu-Tang Clan

b)

N.W.A

c)

Public Enemy

d)

The Notorious B.I.G.

14.

What year was the Voting Rights Act passed?

a)

1964

b)

1965

c)

1966

d)

1967

15.

The major university city in Mali, home to Sankore University, is:

a)

Timbuktu

b)

Gao

c)

Mopti

d)

Bamako

16.

The first Black U.S. Secretary of State is _______.

a)

Barack Obama

b)

Condoleezza Rice

c)

Colin Powell

d)

Kamala Harris

17.

The river that was central to the rise of Ancient Egyptian civilization is:

a)

Nile River

b)

Tigris River

c)

Euphrates River

d)

Indus River

18.

Name the social activist group protest movement formed in response to the murder of Trayvon Martin.

a)

Trayvon Martin protest

b)

Nothing

c)

Black Lives Matter

d)

Ferguson demonstration

19.

Rome’s greatest rival and home to Hannibal was _______.

a)

Carthage

b)

Alexandria

c)

Tunis

d)

Tripoli

20.

Who was the first African American to win the Masters golf tournament?

a)

Tiger Woods

b)

Arnold Palmer

c)

Jack Nicklaus

d)

Gary Player

21.

What formerly enslaved African led a revolution in Haiti?

a)

Toussaint Louverture

b)

Jean-Jacques Dessalines

c)

François Makandal

d)

Boukman

22.

The document issued in 1863 that declared enslaved people in Confederate states free is the ________________.

a)

Emancipation Proclamation

b)

Bill of Rights

c)

Gettysburg Address

d)

Declaration of Independence

23.

What European conference in 1884-85 divided Africa among European powers?

a)

Berlin Conference

b)

Treaty of Versailles

c)

Congress of Vienna

d)

Yalta Conference

24.

The West African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai were dominated by the ______ trade.

a)

Gold-Salt trade

b)

Slave trade

c)

Spice trade

d)

Silk trade

25.

Which African nation successfully launched its first satellite in 2003?

a)

Nigeria

b)

Egypt

c)

South Africa

d)

Kenya

26.

Who was the first African American general in the U.S. Army?

a)

Benjamin O. Davis, Sr.

b)

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.

c)

Colin Powell

d)

Martin Luther King Jr.

27.

Who is known as the 'Queen of Soul'?

a)

Aretha Franklin

b)

Whitney Houston

c)

Diana Ross

d)

Tina Turner

28.

Which of the following was a founder of the Black Lives Matter movement?

a)

Patrisse Cullors

b)

Alicia Garza

c)

Opal Tometi

d)

All of the above

29.

Who became the first Black U.S. vice president?

a)

Kamala Harris

b)

Barack Obama

c)

Joe Biden

d)

Hillary Clinton

30.

The year the Civil Rights Act passed is:

a)

1964

b)

1954

c)

1972

d)

1983

31.

What African country is known for experiencing genocide in 1994?

a)

Rwanda

b)

Nigeria

c)

Sudan

d)

South Africa

32.

The largest desert in Africa is:

a)

Sahara Desert

b)

Kalahari Desert

c)

Namib Desert

d)

Gobi Desert

33.

Identify the landmark case in 2020 that resulted in widespread protests against police brutality.

a)

George Floyd case

b)

Breonna Taylor case

c)

Rodney King case

d)

Michael Brown case

34.

Who was the first African to win a Nobel Prize?

a)

Wole Soyinka

b)

Nelson Mandela

c)

Chinua Achebe

d)

Kofi Annan

35.

Who is the first African American heavyweight boxing champion.

a)

Jack Johnson

b)

Joe Louis

c)

Muhammad Ali

d)

Mike Tyson

36.

The jazz musician famous for songs like 'What a Wonderful World' is:

a)

Louis Armstrong

b)

Dizzy Gillespie

c)

Charlie Parker

d)

Miles Davis

37.

The ship where a famous slave rebellion took place in 1839 was:

a)

La Amistad

b)

Mayflower

c)

Santa Maria

d)

Endeavour

38.

In Sudan, the conflict that led to genocide in the early 2000s was the ______ conflict.

a)

Sudanese Civil War

b)

Darfur conflict

c)

Second Civil War

d)

Blue Nile conflict

39.

Identify the organization founded in 1963 to promote African unity.

a)

Organization of African Unity

b)

African Union

c)

Pan-African Congress

d)

African Development Bank

40.

Who was the founder of the Songhai Empire?

a)

Sunni Ali

b)

Mansa Musa

c)

Sundiata Keita

d)

Askia Mohammad I

41.

The African American scientist who developed over 300 products from peanuts is George Washington Carver.

a)

George Washington Carver

b)

Benjamin Banneker

c)

Percy Julian

d)

Mae Jemison

42.

Who was the first Black CEO of a Fortune 500 company?

a)

Kenneth Frazier

b)

Robert L. Johnson

c)

Ursula Burns

d)

Thasunda Brown Duckett

43.

Who was the leader of the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenya?

a)

Dedan Kimathi

b)

Jomo Kenyatta

c)

Tom Mboya

d)

Oginga Odinga

44.

The first Black female four-star admiral is:

a)

Admiral Michelle Howard

b)

Admiral Michelle Obama

c)

Admiral Valerie Jarrett

d)

Admiral Condoleezza Rice

45.

What modern country is home to the ancient city of Timbuktu?

a)

Mali

b)

Niger

c)

Senegal

d)

Burkina Faso

46.

The indigenous (Mande) name of the West African griots who preserve history through storytelling is:

a)

Djeli

b)

Djembe

c)

Kora

d)

Mandinka

47.

Identify the three major language families of Africa:

a)

Afrasian, Niger-Congo, and Nilo-Saharan

b)

Afrasian, Niger-Congo, and Khoisan

c)

Niger-Congo, Khoisan, and Sino-Tibetan

d)

Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, and Afrasian

48.

Who became the first Black woman billionaire?

a)

Oprah Winfrey

b)

Beyoncé

c)

Rihanna

d)

Serena Williams

49.

Who became the first African American U.S. senator from Georgia?

a)

Raphael Warnock

b)

Michelle Obama

c)

Barack Obama

d)

John Lewis

50.

Name the Islamist militant group in Nigeria.

a)

Boko Haram

b)

Al-Qaeda

c)

ISIS

d)

Taliban

51.

Kush was ruled by this famous woman who defeated the Roman Empire in battle?

a)

Cleopatra

b)

Nefertiti

c)

Hatshepsut

d)

Amanirenas

52.

Juneteenth became a federal holiday in which year?

a)

2021

b)

2019

c)

2020

d)

2022

53.

What is Africa's largest trading bloc?

a)

African Continental Free Trade Area

b)

Economic Community of West African States

c)

East African Community

d)

Southern African Development Community

54.

Which country was the only African nation to successfully resist European colonization in the 19th century?

a)

Ethiopia

b)

Liberia

c)

Nigeria

d)

Kenya

55.

Which African American soldier is most prominently associated with leading the Buffalo Soldiers?

a)

Lewis Armstrong

b)

Charles Young

c)

Daniel Butterfield

d)

Wesley Merritt

56.

Who founded the first Black-owned haircare empire?

a)

Madam C.J. Walker

b)

Oprah Winfrey

c)

Tyra Banks

d)

Iyanla Vanzant

57.

Who was the first emperor of modern Ethiopia, crowned in 1889?

a)

Menelik II

b)

Haile Selassie

c)

Tewodros II

d)

Meles Zenawi

58.

The major colonial war that led to the independence of Mozambique was the ___________________.

a)

Boer War

b)

Mozambican War of Independence

c)

Anglo-Zulu War

d)

Portuguese Colonial War

59.

Which African American poet wrote The Weary Blues?

a)

Langston Hughes

b)

Gwendolyn Brooks

c)

Maya Angelou

d)

Countee Cullen

60.

Which civil war led to the creation of South Sudan?

a)

The First Sudanese Civil War

b)

The Second Sudanese Civil War

c)

The Nigerian Civil War

d)

The Eritrean Civil War

61.

Legislation passed in 1865 that abolished slavery in the U.S. is known as ________.

a)

13th Amendment

b)

14th Amendment

c)

15th Amendment

d)

Emancipation Proclamation

62.

Beloved was written by:

a)

Toni Morrison

b)

James Baldwin

c)

Virginia Woolf

d)

Chinua Achebe

63.

This Kenyan athlete holds the record for the fastest marathon time:

a)

Eliud Kipchoge

b)

Haile Gebrselassie

c)

Kenenisa Bekele

d)

Paul Tergat

64.

Who is known as the 'Godfather of Soul'?

a)

James Brown

b)

Marvin Gaye

c)

Stevie Wonder

d)

Ray Charles

65.

Identify the organization that replaced the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 2002.

a)

African Union

b)

United African Nations

c)

Economic Community of West African States

d)

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

66.

The first president of independent Kenya was:

a)

Jomo Kenyatta

b)

Mwai Kibaki

c)

Daniel Arap Moi

d)

Uhuru Kenyatta

67.

The system of racial segregation in South Africa was called:

a)

Apartheid

b)

Jim Crow

c)

Colonialism

d)

Mandela

68.

A country that was split into two nations in 2011 is:

a)

Sudan

b)

South Sudan

c)

Egypt

d)

Morocco

69.

What U.S. Supreme Court case declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional?

a)

Brown v. Board of Education

b)

Plessy v. Ferguson

c)

Roe v. Wade

d)

Marbury v. Madison

70.

Who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947?

a)

Jackie Robinson

b)

Branch Rickey

c)

Satchel Paige

d)

Roberto Clemente

71.

Who invented the three-way traffic light?

a)

Garrett Morgan

b)

John P. Thompson

c)

Harry S. Truman

d)

George Washington

72.

What ancient kingdom was located south of Egypt and known for its many pyramids made of sandstone?

a)

Kush

b)

Axum

c)

Babylon

d)

Assyria

73.

The Grand Renaissance Dam was built by _____.

a)

Egypt

b)

Sudan

c)

Ethiopia

d)

Kenya

74.

An ancient dynasty known for creating rock-hewn churches in Lalibela.

a)

Zagwe

b)

Aksum

c)

Ethiopia

d)

Abyssinia

75.

What was the primary goal of the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

a)

To end racial segregation on buses

b)

To protest economic inequality in the transportation system

c)

To support political candidates

d)

To improve bus conditions

76.

The war in 1896 that saw Ethiopia defeat Italy is the?

a)

First Italo-Ethiopian War

b)

Second Italo-Ethiopian War

c)

Italo-Turkish War

d)

Italian Wars of Unification

77.

Name the Harlem Renaissance writer who authored Their Eyes Were Watching God.

a)

Langston Hughes

b)

Zora Neale Hurston

c)

Claude McKay

d)

Countee Cullen

78.

The Olympic sprinter and long jumper who won four gold medals in 1936 is:

a)

Jesse Owens

b)

Carl Lewis

c)

Usain Bolt

d)

Wilma Rudolph

79.

The Underground Railroad is largely associated with the efforts of:

a)

Harriet Tubman

b)

Harriet Beecher Stowe

c)

Frederick Douglass

d)

Sojourner Truth

80.

What African country is the world's largest producer of cocoa?

a)

Ivory Coast

b)

Ghana

c)

Nigeria

d)

Cameroon

81.

What was the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence?

a)

Ghana

b)

Nigeria

c)

Kenya

d)

Ethiopia

82.

Who wrote I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?

a)

Maya Angelou

b)

Toni Morrison

c)

Zora Neale Hurston

d)

James Baldwin

83.

The first African American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court is _______________.

a)

Thurgood Marshall

b)

Clarence Thomas

c)

John Roberts

d)

Sandra Day O'Connor

84.

Who was the first African American woman elected to the U.S. Congress?

a)

Shirley Chisholm

b)

Barbara Jordan

c)

Carol Moseley Braun

d)

Kamala Harris

85.

Which African country was founded by formerly enslaved Africans who migrated there from the United States in 1847?

a)

Liberia

b)

Sierra Leone

c)

Nigeria

d)

Ghana

86.

Who wrote The Souls of Black Folk?

a)

W.E.B. Du Bois

b)

Langston Hughes

c)

James Baldwin

d)

Zora Neale Hurston

87.

The first home security system was invented by ______.

a)

Marie Van Brittan Brown

b)

Alexander Graham Bell

c)

Thomas Edison

d)

Nikola Tesla

88.

Select the richest man in history who ruled the Mali Empire in the 14th century:

a)

Mansa Musa

b)

Mansa Suleyman

c)

Sundiata Keita

d)

Osei Tutu

89.

What war took place in a West African country from 1967 to 1970?

a)

Nigeria-Biafra Civil War

b)

World War II

c)

War of the Roses

d)

Nilo-Saharan War

90.

Who was the first African American president of the United States?

a)

Barack Obama

b)

George W. Bush

c)

Bill Clinton

d)

Ronald Reagan

91.

The religion introduced to North Africa by Arab traders is:

a)

Islam

b)

Christianity

c)

Judaism

d)

Hinduism

92.

The famous South African anti-apartheid activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 is:

a)

Desmond Tutu

b)

Nelson Mandela

c)

Steve Biko

d)

Albert Luthuli

93.

What mountain is the highest peak in Africa?

a)

Mount Kilimanjaro

b)

Mount Kenya

c)

Mount Elgon

d)

Mount Meru

94.

The first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is ______.

a)

Patrice Lumumba

b)

Joseph Kasa-Vubu

c)

Mobutu Sese Seko

d)

Moise Tshombe

95.

What Black abolitionist founded the anti-slavery publication, The North Star?

a)

Frederick Douglass

b)

Harriet Tubman

c)

Sojourner Truth

d)

W.E.B. Du Bois

96.

Identify the first European country to establish colonies in Africa.

a)

Portugal

b)

Spain

c)

France

d)

England

97.

The traditional religion of the Yoruba people is popularly known as __________.

a)

Orisha

b)

Ifá

c)

Ancient Yoruba Myth

d)

Yorùbá spirituality

98.

The first African American player to win a Grand Slam tennis tournament was:

a)

Arthur Ashe

b)

Althea Gibson

c)

Yannick Noah

d)

Serena Williams

99.

The first African American billionaire is:

a)

Robert L. Johnson

b)

Oprah Winfrey

c)

Sean Combs

d)

Tyra Banks

100.

What was the capital city of the Songhai Empire?

a)

Gao

b)

Timbuktu

c)

Ghana

d)

Mali