Who was the first African-American to fly solo around the world?
1. Robert Barrington
2. Barrington Irving
3. Levi Irving
4. Julius Irving
Barrington Irving
On June 27, 2007, Barrington Irving, of Jamaican descent, at 23 years old, became both the youngest person and the first African-American to fly solo around the world.
Who was the first African-American woman to serve as President of an Ivy League university?
1. Ruth Simmons
2. Johnetta Cole
3. Beverly Tatum
4. Gloria Harris
Ruth Simmons
Elected in 2000, Ruth Simmons was the 18th president of Brown University and became, not only the first Black person to serve in that capacity, but, as well, the first woman, making her the first Black woman to serve.
Rosa Parks died at the age of 92 in what year?
1. 2000
2. 2003
3. 2005
4. 2009
2005
Known for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger and spurring the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Rosa Parks died quietly in her sleep at the age of 92 in 2005.
Fifteen years after his death, this artist was designated as the best-selling hip hop artist of all time?
1. Notorious B.I.G
2. Jam Master Jay
3. Tupac
4. Seagram
Tupac
Tupac Shakur released 6 albums while alive, and 8 albums posthumously and 15 years after his death, he had sold 38 million albums. Although he was killed in 1996, in 2011 he remained the best-selling rapper.
In what sport did the first African-American, Vonetta Flowers, win a gold medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics?
1. Ice skating
2. Bobsledding
3. Skiing
4. Snowboarding
Bobsledding
On February 19, 2002, Vonetta Flowers, from Birmingham AL, became the 1st person of African descent to win a Gold Medal in the Winter Olympics; she won hers in bobsledding.
Who was the first owner and CEO of a Black television network?
1. Charles Johnson
2. Bill Gates
3. Robert Jackson
4. Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson, first owner and CEO of a Black television network, Black Entertainment Network, was also the first African-American billionaire.
What prestigious prize in History did author scholar Annette Gordon-Reed win for her book, "The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family"?
1. Harvard University Historical Prize
2. American Historical Association
3. Nobel Prize
4. The Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize
In 2009, Harvard law and history professor, Annette Gordon-Reed earned the Pulitzer Prize in History for her ground-breaking work, "The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family", published in 2008. The work detailed the lives of Sally Hemings and her descendents. Sally Hemings was the enslaved concubine of Thomas Jefferson.
What was the name of the Black unarmed youth who was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson, in Ferguson, MO?
1. Trayvon Martin
2. Jonathon Wilson
3. Michael Brown
4. Tamir Rice
Michael Brown
Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teenager, was shot and killed on Aug. 9, 2014, by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in Ferguson, Missouri.
Misty Copeland became the first African-American principal dancer for what ballet company?
1. NYC Ballet Company
2. Metropolitan Ballet Company
3. The American Ballet Company
4. National Ballet Company
The American Ballet Company
Not starting ballet until the ripe “old” age of 13, in 2015, Misty Copeland rose to become the principal dancer of the American Ballet Company, the first African-American woman to do so.
In what year was Barack Obama sworn in as the 44th President of the United States?
1. 2009
2. 2000
3. 2008
4. 2012
2009
While he won the general election for the US Presidency in 2008, Senator Barack Obama was sworn in as President in January, 2009.
Who was the first African-American woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State?
1. Condoleezza Rice
2. Madelyn Albright
3. Hillary Clinton
4. Donna Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza “Condi” Rice was the first African-American woman to serve as Secretary of State; she was selected by President George W. Bush and served from 2005-2009. She served in his first term as National Security Advisor, making her also the first African-American woman to serve in that office.
Which of the following is NOT a successful hip-hop artist from 2000-present?
1. Lil’ Kim
2. Bessie
3. Missy Elliot
4. Eve
Bessie
Bessie, as in Bessie Smith, was neither a hip-hop artist nor a millennial entertainer; rather Bessie was a blues legend of the 1920s.
What was the name of the large hurricane that hit the Gulf Coast in August of 2005 and killed over 1,700 people, most of whom were African-Americans?
1. Korina
2. Kathlene
3. Katrina
4. Karine
Katrina
Hurricane Katrina, fifth hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, was one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States.
Who became the first African-American to serve as the chairman of the National Republican Party?
1. Michael S. Brass
2. Michael S. Steele
3. Michael S. Irone
4. Michael S. Ironsides
Michael S. Steele
Michael S. Steele served as the first African-American chairman of the Republican National Committee from January 2009 until January 2011.
In 2008, who was the first legally blind person, an African-American, to be sworn in as governor of a major U.S. state?
1. David Paterson
2. Andrew Cuomo
3. Bill De Blasio
4. Denzel Washington
David Paterson
David Alexander Paterson served as the 55th Governor of New York from 2008 to 2010 and became the first African-American governor of New York and the first legally blind governor of any U.S. state. (Legally blind Bob C. Riley served as Acting Governor of Arkansas for 11 days.)
Who was the first African-American woman to climb to the summit of Mt. Everest?
1. Sophia Evers
2. Sophia Rice
3. Sophia Danenberg
4. Sophia Schmidt
Sophia Danenberg
At the age of 34, in 2006, mountain climber Sophia Danenberg became the first African-American man or woman to reach the summit of the world’s tallest mountain, Mt Everest.
Which of the following quarterbacks NEVER played in a Super Bowl game?
1. Russell Wilson
2. Donavan McNabb
3. Michael Vick
4. Cam Newton
Michael Vick
In 2001 Michael Vick signed with the Atlanta Falcons and seemed be on the road to taking the Falcons to Super Bowl heights, when his career was short circuited after he was found guilty and served time in prison for illegal dog fighting. Since his release, he has played for several teams. He has never gone to the Super Bowl.
Sen. Barack Obama, from what state, became the first African-American to be nominated for the office of President by a major political party?
1. Illinois
2. Wisconsin
3. Michigan
4. New York
Illinois
Barack Obama became the U.S. Senator of Illinois on January 4, 2005 and ended on November 16, 2008, when he resigned his seat to become President of the United States.
Who was the first Black woman to win the women’s title at Wimbledon since Althea Gibson in 1957?
1. Ruth Williams
2. Serena Williams
3. Aretha Williams
4. Venus Williams
Venus Williams
After Althea Gibson won Wimbledon in 1957 and 1958, another Black woman did not win the prestigious match until Venus Williams won it in 2000.
Who was the first Black woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress?
1. Kerry Washington
2. Halle Berry
3. Angela Basset
4. Viola Davis
Halle Berry
At the 74th Academy Awards in 2002 Halle Berry became the first African-American woman to win the Oscar. She won for Best Actress for "Monster's Ball".
Who was the first Black person to become president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (The Oscars)?
1. Cheryl Boone Isaacs
2. Sherry Rose
3. Irma B. Isaacs
4. Rosetta Alice Michaels
Cheryl Boone Isaacs
On July 30, 2013, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, a film marketing executive, was elected as the 35th president of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is the first African-American to hold this office.
Who was the very first African-American Secretary of State?
1. Sarah Palin
2. Allen West
3. Colin Powell
4. Condaleezza Rice
Colin Powell
Colin Powell, a retired four-star general in the United States Army, became the 65th United States Secretary of State. He served under President George W. Bush from 2001-2005 and was the first African-American appointed to that position.
Who became the first African-American woman to serve as United States Attorney General?
1. Gloria Mathews
2. Loretta Lynch
3. Condoleezza Rice
4. Shirley Chisolm
Loretta Lynch
On November 8, 2014, Loretta E. Lynch was confirmed by President Barack Obama as the first African-American woman U.S. Attorney General, succeeding Eric Holder, the first Black Attorney General.
