During Black History Month, we focus our historical hindsight on the contributions that people of African descent have made in this country. The celebration spurs us to seek out and lift up the best in African-American accomplishments. When we observe Black History Month, we also give other races the chance to learn about a past and people of which they have little awareness.
And speaking of awareness, how much knowledge do you have about your own people’s history? Knowing your own history makes you a stable, well-rounded individual. Knowledge of the past is the guide to acting in the present and planning for the future. It gives you a start toward understanding the pattern of society. History prepares you for living in the world of today.
Test your knowledge of the achievements and contributions of African Americans. How Black are you? Let’s find out!
- Whose refusal to give up her seat on a public bus sparked a boycott of Montgomery, Alabama buses from 1955-1956?
a) Sojourner Truth
b) Nikki Giovanni
c) Marian Wright Edelman
d) Rosa Parks
2. What was Malcolm X’s given name?
a) Malcolm Williams
b) El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz
c) Malcolm Little
d) Elijah Muhammad
3. What world-famous boxer’s birth name is Cassius Clay?
a) Mike Tyson
b) Sugar Ray Leonard
c) Muhammad Ali
d) Joe Louis
4. Who was the first Black woman U.S. representative?
a) Shirley Chisholm
b) Condoleezza Rice
c) Constance Baker Motley
d) Carol Mosely Braun
5. Who was the first Black female astronaut to travel into space?
a) Dr. Mae Jemison
b) Dr. Joycelyn Elders
c) Sylvia Trent-Adams
d) Regina Benjamin
6. Who was the first Black woman to speak out publicly against slavery?
a) Sojourner Truth
b) Mary Mcleod Bethune
c) Harriet Tubman
d) Sally Hemings
7. Who was the first African American to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize in poetry?
a) Lorraine Hansberry
b) Gwendolyn Brooks
c) Zora Neale Hurston
d) Dr. Maya Angelou
8. Who co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)?
a) W.E.B. Du Bois
b) Ida B. Wells-Barnett
c) Archibald Grimke
d) Mary Church Terrell
9. What group launched the Freedom Rides in 1961?
a) SNCC–Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
b) SCLC–Southern Christian Leadership Conference
c) CORE–Congress of Racial Equality
d) ACLU–American Civil Liberties Union
10. In 1960, four African American college students staged a sit-in that helped integrate this store’s lunch counter.
a) S.S. Kresge
b) Walmart
c) Woolworth’s
d) Horn & Hardart
11. Who was elected chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1966?
a) John Conyers
b) Bobby Seale
c) Jim Brown
d) Stokely Carmichael
12. Which gospel singer would go on to be called the “Godmother of Rock-n-Roll?”
a) Faye Adams
b) Etta James
c) Varetta Dillard
d) Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Answers: 1) d, 2) c, 3) c, 4) a, 5) a, 6) a, 7) b, 8) All, 9) c, 10) c, 11) d, 12) d