Who was the first African American to win the heavyweight championship title?
1. Joe Lewis John
2. Muhammed Ali
3. Sugar Ray Robinson
4. Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson
Arthur "Jack" Johnson, nicknamed the Galveston Giant, became the first African American World Heavyweight Boxing champion in 1908, the height of the Jim Crow era. He held the title until 1915.
Who was the first black woman publisher in North America?
1. Joan Huntley
2. Mary Ann Shadd
3. Constance B. Motley
4. Gloria Merideth
Mary Ann Shadd
Born in Delaware, Mary Ann Shadd's free-born family moved to Canada to help with the Underground Railroad. There she became the first black woman publisher in North America and the first woman publisher in Canada when she edited the weekly Provincial Freeman, established in 1853.
Who was the first Black person to win an Oscar?
1. Sydney Poitier
2. Halle Berry
3. Hattie Mc Daniel
4. James Earl Jones
Hattie Mc Daniel
On February 29, 1940, Gone with the Wind, an epic romance, was honored with eight Oscars by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Among them was an Oscar for the first African American, Hattie Mc Daniels, for Best Supporting Actress.
Who was the first African American to serve as an umpire in the major leagues?
1. Satchel Paige
2. Bob Motley
3. Stanley Johnson
4. Emmett Ashford
Emmett Ashford
In 1951 Emmett Ashford took a leave of absence from his post office job for a two-month trial in the Southwestern International League, becoming the first Black umpire in organized baseball. After 15 years in the minor leagues, Ashford hit the majors with the American League in 1966.
Who was the first Black person to serve as Music Director of an American Orchestra?
1. Katherine Dunham
2. Henry Lewis
3. Andre Crouch
4. Leontyne Price
Henry Lewis
Henry Lewis broke racial barriers in the music world in 1968 by becoming the first Black conductor and music director of a major American orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony, and in 1972 by becoming the first Black conductor at the Metropolitan Opera.
Who was the first African American to graduate from the Naval Academy?
1. Wesley A. Brown
2. Charles V. Bush
3. Lawrence Chambers
4. John H. Alexander
Wesley A. Brown
A descendant of slaves, was the first Black midshipman to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy, in 1949
Who was the first African American to participate in a national PGA tournament?
1. Tiger Woods
2. Lee Elder
3. Charlie Sifford
4. Robert Hawkins
Charlie Sifford
After winning six Negro National Opens in the 1950s, Charlie Sifford broke the color barrier by becoming the first African American to participate in a national PGA tournament in 1960 even though he didn’t get full PGA membership until 1964.
Who was the first black coach in the NBA in 1966?
1. Bill Russell
2. Dominque Wilkins
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4. Wilt Chamberlin
Bill Russell
In 1966, Bill Russell became Head Coach of the Celtics, the first African American head coach in NBA history; the first black coach to win an NBA title in 196; in 1975, he became the first black basketball player inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Who was the first African American to win a Nobel Peace Prize?
1. Martin Luther King Jr.
2. John Hope Franklin
3. Ralph Bunche
4. A. Phillip Randolph
Ralph Bunche
For his peace mediation during the first Arab-Israeli war, American diplomat Ralph Joseph Bunche received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950, becoming the first African American to win the prize.
Who was the first African American to fly in outer space?
1. Robert H. Lawrence
2. Mae Jemison
3. Jr. Ronald McNair
4. Guion S. Bluford
Guion S. Bluford
As a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1983, Guion S. Bluford, an aerospace engineer and former airline pilot, became the first African American to travel into space.
Who was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize?
1. Alice Walker
2. Sterling Brown
3. Maya Angelou
4. Gwendolyn Brooks
Gwendolyn Brooks
In 1950 Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, which she won for her second book of poems called “Annie Allen”.
Who was the first African American "Miss America"?
1. Tyra Banks
2. Gloria Smith
3. Vanessa Williams
4. Suzette Charles
Vanessa Williams
She gained recognition as the first Black woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984
Who was the first African American billionaire?
1. Tyler Perry
2. Robert Johnson
3. Oprah Winfrey
4. Earl Graves
Robert Johnson
Robert L. Johnson became the first African American billionaire after successes in American businesses including founding the television network Black Entertainment Television (BET),and serving as its former chairman and chief executive officer.
What was the name of the first African American Newspaper?
1. Freedom’s Journal
2. Negro Gazette
3. New World Press
4. The North Star
Freedom's Journal
Freedom’s Journal, a weekly four column publication, was founded by free born African Americans John Russwurm and Samuel Cornish on March 16, 1827 in New York City.
Who was the first African American to be selected as a Rhodes Scholar?
1. Booker T. Washington
2. Alain Locke
3. W.E.B. DuBois
4. Henry Louis Gates
Alain Locke
Philosopher and scholar, Alain LeRoy Locke, became the first scholar to receive the Rhodes Scholarship in 1907; the Scholarship was not awarded to another Black American until 1962. In 2017, ten African Americans became the largest group of Black scholars to be inducted as Rhodes Scholars.
Who was the first Black male to win a Grammy Award?
1. Duke Ellington
2. Dizzy Gillespie
3. Count Basie
4. Cannonball Adderley
Count Basie
In 1958, William “Count” Basie became the first African-American male to win a Grammy award at the first annual award show, and for the first ever award for Best Jazz Performance, Group and Best Performance by a Dance Band.
What was the name of the first Black college?
1. Lincoln University (MO)
2. Wilberforce University
3. Cheyney University
4. Fisk University
Cheyney University
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania was established in 1837, before the end of slavery, and became the first college in the U.S. built for African Americans.
Who was the first African American to graduate from West Point?
1. Johnson
2. John Wesley Dobbs
3. Dori Miller
4. Henry O. Flipper
Henry Ossian Flipper,
Former slave, was the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1877; he earned a commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the US Army.
Who was the first African American to have a U.S. Postage stamp named in his honor?
1. Thurgood Marshal
2. Booker T. Washington
3. Martin Luther King Jr., Jr.
4. W.E.B. DuBois
Booker T. Washington
On April 7, 1940, the U.S. Post Office issued the first stamp honoring an African-American, educator Booker T. Washington, as part of its Famous Americans Series.
Who was the first Black man elected mayor of a major U.S. city?
1. Maynard Jackson
2. Carl Stokes
3. Tom Bradley
4. David Dinkins
Carl Stokes
Carl Burton Stokes was elected on November 7, 1967 and took office on January 1 becoming the 51st mayor of Cleveland and the first Black elected mayor of a major U.S. city.
Who was the first Black jockey to win the Kentucky Derby?
1. Camden Howard
2. James Perkins
3. Oliver Lewis
4. Billy Walker
Oliver Lewis
Thirteen of the 15 riders of the first Kentucky Derby in 1875 were African American and the winner of this inaugural event was a former enslaved man by the name of Oliver Lewis.
Who was the first Black man to hold the rank of Brigadier General in the U.S. Army?
1. Charles D. Young
2. Daniel “Chappie” James
3. Benjamin O. Davis
4. Colin Powell
Brigadier General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr.
He was the first African-American general officer in the United States Army.
Who was the first African American to win the bodybuilding title of Mr. America?
1. Lee Haney
2. Ronnie Coleman
3. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
4. Chris Dickerson
Chris Dickerson
Chris Dickerson was the first Black bodybuilder to win the Mr. America title in 1970 and then in 1982 he became the oldest to win the Mr. Olympia title.
Who was the first African American to host his own television show?
1. Harry Belafonte
2. Nat King Cole
3. Sammy Davis Jr.
4. Bob Howard
Bob Howard
While most people believe that The Nat King Cole Show, (1956) which premiered on NBC, was the first for an African American, actually the first was in 1948 when entertainer Bob Howard hosted a 15 minute nightly show on CBS called The Bob Howard Show, which lasted thirteen episodes.
Who was the first African American to receive an appointment as a diplomat?
1. Oscar Dunn
2. Benjamin Mays
3. Fredrick Douglass
4. Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett
Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett
Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett, a free-Blackman born in Connecticut, was appointed United States Ambassador to Haiti in 1869, becoming the first African-American diplomat.
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