February Trivia Answer Key

1. Of what profession were Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Countee Cullen, major contributors to the Harlem Renaissance?

Writers

2. In 1909, on President Lincoln’s birthday, W.E.B. Du Bois co-founded what national organization?

NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

3. Who was the first Black American woman chosen as Miss America?

Vanessa Williams

4. What famous musician played guitar for Little Richard before starting his solo career?

Jimi Hendrix

5. Who provided the voice for Darth Vader in the movie Star Wars?

James Earl Jones

6. Langston Hughes was responsible for publishing what Black American magazine?

The Nation

7. In 1960, what did four Black American students do at a whites- only lunch counter to protest discrimination?

Staged a Sit-In

8. This former beauty queen from Ohio started her career as a model. In 2001 she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Who is she?

Halle Berry

9. What will be the longest, continuously running, first-run syndicated television program until at least 2016?

Soul Train

10. Who directed an award-winning documentary about the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina and ways in which the storm’s aftermath affected African-Americans?

Spike Lee

11. What Alex Haley novel was made into a television mini-series in 1977 and 1979?

Roots

12. What was Louis Armstrong‟s nickname?

Satchmo

13. This multifaceted author delivered her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at President Bill Clinton‟s inauguration in 1993. What is her name?

Maya Angelou

14. 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. What was her name?

Mahalia Jackson

15. What Black American sparked the “Montgomery Bus Boycott”?

Rosa Parks

16. Who wrote the anti-slavery novel PUangecl6eoTf o72m’s Cabin ?

Harriet Beecher Stowe

17. Hattie McDaniel was the first black performer to receive an Academy Award. She won for Best Supporting Actress for what 1939 film?

Gone With The Wind

18. Alice Walker‟s Meridian is a novel about what?

Civil Rights Movement

19. In 1963 Sidney Poitier became the first Black American to win the Best Actor Oscar for his role in what film?

Lillies of the Field

20. Jackie Robinson began and ended his major league baseball career with what team?

Brooklyn Dodgers

21. Born in 1968, who directed such films as Boyz N the Hood, Poetic Justice, Higher Learning, Baby Boy, and 2 Fast 2 Furious?

John Singleton

22. What periodical was the first black newspaper published in the United States?

Freedom’s Journal

23. In the late nineteenth century there was a system of laws that enforced racial discrimination in the United States. What was it called?

Jim Crow

24. What was thenickname given to the campaign in the South to register black people to vote during the summer of 1964.

Freedom Summer

25. The North Star was a weekly newspaper founded by which abolitionist in 1847?

Frederick Douglass

26. Who founded the National Negro Business League in 1900?

Booker T. Washington

27. He was born Cassius Clay but changed his name after he joined the Nation of Islam. Who is this former Olympic Gold Medal prizefighter?

Muhammad Ali

28. What was the name of Eddie Murphy’s first movie which grossed over $100 million and propelled him into stardom?

48 Hours

29. What organization helps fund over forty Black American colleges?

United Negro College Fund

30. What is the name of the institute that was founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881?

Tuskegee Institute

31. What is the name of Debbie Allen‟s sister who appeared on the Cosby Show?

Phylicia Rashad

32. From what college did Martin Luther King, Jr. graduate?

Morehouse College

33. Jim Brown began his professional football career with what team in 1957?

The Cleveland Browns

34. Who discovered over 300 uses for the peanut?

George Washington Carver

35. What artist recorded the songs, “I Will Always Love You, ”The Greatest Love of All”, and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”?

Whitney Houston

36. George Washington commended what Black American woman for her literary achievements?

Phyllis Wheatley

37. What did Benjamin Banneker publish for farmers which became the first scientific book published by a Black American?

The Farmer’s Almanac

38. The first rap song to achieve commercial success was “Rapper‟s Delight.” What was the name of the group who recorded this single in 1979?

The Sugar Hill Gang

39. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, who recorded the song “Twist and Shout”?

The Isely Brothers

40. Who was the first black entertainer to sleep in the White House?

Sammy Davis, Jr.

41. What was the nickname given to Harriett Tubman because of her efforts to free the slaves?

Moses

42. Who was the first Black American professor at Harvard University?

Dr. William Hinton

43. Who really built the first model of steam engine, but was unable to patent his work because he was a slave?

Benjamin Bradley

44. In 1968, Arthur Ashe became the first Black American to win what major tennis tournament?

The U.S. Open

45. Bill Russell was the first Black American player in what professional sports league?

NBA

46. What was the first war in which blacks served in every branch of the U.S. armed forces?

World War II

47. In what year did the U.S. Supreme Court order school integration?

1955

48. What was Chubby Checker‟s longest running hit song on the Top 40 charts?

The Twist

49. What actor and comedian warned others of the dangers of drug abuse after his own near death experience?

Richard Pryor

50. Name the Grammy award-winning Philadelphia quartet that sold over 4 million copies of their album Cooley High Harmony?

Boyz II Men