We can’t deny that numerous people of color significantly contributed to the growth and development of our country. Yet, we just know about a few Black Americans and their contributions, neglecting others.
Today, we’re putting your knowledge of the Black history of America to the test with 35 questions that everyone should know. Let’s see how many you can answer correctly
Q1. What was the triggering point of the Civil Rights Movement?
a) Selma to Montgomery March
b) Montgomery Bus Boycott
c) Brown v. Board of Education
d) Emancipation Proclamation
Hint: The triggering event occurred when a black woman, Ross Park, refused to leave white people entitled seats on a bus and was forcibly removed.
A1. What was the triggering point of the Civil Rights Movement?
Answer: b. Montgomery Bus Boycott
Q2. Which movement prohibited disparities in race, gender, sex, and ethnicity by signing a law in 1964?
a) Brown v. Board of Education
b) Emancipation Proclamation
c) Civil Rights Act of 1964
d) Voting Rights Act of 1965
Hint: It eliminated racial-based differences in the public sector.
A2. Which movement prohibited disparities in race, gender, sex, and ethnicity by signing a law in 1964?
Answer: b. The Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Q3. Which movement of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s happened in 1965 within the Southern region?
a) Birmingham Campaign
b) Selma to Montgomery March
c) Greensboro Sit-In
d) March on Washington
Hint: The march was triggered after Ross Park’s bus-seat dispute. Hundreds of people joined this peaceful march and encountered violent attacks on them.
A3. Which movement of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s happened in 1965 within the Southern region?
Answer: b. Selma to Montgomery March
Q4. What is the court case name that removed race-based segregation in the education system?
a) Loving v. Virginia
b) Plessy v. Ferguson
c) Dred Scott v. Sandford
d) Brown v. Board of Education
Hint: The event happened in 1964 which shaped the education system of America.
A4. What is the court case name that removed race-based segregation in the education system?
Answer: d. Brown v. Board of Education
Q5. Which black leader was more inclined towards armed movements?
a) Martin Luther King Jr.
b) Malcolm X
c) Medgar Evers
d) Rosa Parks
Hint: He was known for his radical ideas for movements and was a member of the Nation of Islam.
A5. Which black leader was more inclined towards armed movements?
Answer: b. Malcolm X
Q6. Who freed numerous slaves in the South, was an underground railroad contractor and was known as “Moses of her people?”
a) Sojourner Truth
b) Harriet Tubman
c) Frederick Douglass
d) Nat Turner
Hint: The person travelled frequently to the South to free the enslaved people.
A6. Who freed numerous slaves in the South, was an underground railroad contractor and was known as “Moses of her people?“
Answer: b. Harriet Tubman
Q7. Which Supreme Court case confirmed black people were not US citizens, so they could not get protection from the Federal Government and Courts?
a) Marbury v. Madison
b) Brown v. Board of Education
c) Plessy v. Ferguson
d) Dred Scott v. Sandford
Hint: The decision of the Supreme Court resulted in the intensifying black-white relationship and encouraged the South to go with slavery.
A7. Which Supreme Court case confirmed black people were not US citizens, so they could not get protection from the Federal Government and Courts?
Answer: d. Dred Scott v. Sandford
Q8. What was the name of the ship that was taken by enslaved people in 1839 when there was no public movement?
a) The Nina
b) The Mayflower
c) The Amistad
d) The Santa Maria
Hint: The respective happenings created awareness that black people can achieve rights by court case.
A8. What was the name of the ship that was taken by enslaved people in 1839 when there was no public movement?
Answer: c. The Amistad
Q9. What is the famous colored woman’s name who worked for slavery abolishment, women’s rights, Civil Rights, and social equality?
a) Harriet Tubman
b) Sojourner Truth
c) Nat Turner
d) Frederick Douglass
Hint: She spoke publicly for rights and equality during and after the Civil War.
A9. What is the famous colored woman’s name who worked for slavery abolishment, women’s rights, Civil Rights, and social equality?
Answer: b. Sojourner Truth
Q10. Which States fell in the Emancipation Proclamation?
a) Confederate states only
b) All states, both Union and Confederate
c) Border states only
d) All states in the Union
Hint: This proclamation was highly active in areas with strongholds against the Union.
A10. Which States fell in the Emancipation Proclamation?
Answer: a. Confederate states only
Q11. Which action you do not have the protection of the 13th Amendment?
a) Crime
b) Debt
c) Murder
d) Treason
Hint: Those citizen activities are related to the justice department.
A11. Which action you do not have the protection of the 13th Amendment?
Answer: a. Crime
Q12. Who is known as the “Queen of Souls” and famous for her contribution to black movements?
a) Diana Ross
b) Aretha Franklin
c) Whitney Houston
d) Etta James
Hint: For more clues, Rolling Stones mentioned her several times as a great singer. She is counted as an all-time best singer with more than 75 million record sales.
A12. Who is known as the “Queen of Souls” and famous for her contribution to black movements?
Answer: b. Aretha Franklin
Q13. What is the name of the phenomenal black music artist who is praised for the creations of “You Never Can Tell,” “Johnny B. Goode,” and “Roll Over Beethoven.”
a) Little Richard
b) Jimi Hendrix
c) B.B. King
d) Chuck Berry
Hint: He redefined the concept of rhythms and blues, forming a new genre of music. He was called the “Father of Rock and Roll.”
A13. What is the name of the phenomenal black music artist who is praised for the creations of “You Never Can Tell,” “Johnny B. Goode,” and “Roll Over Beethoven.“
Answer: d. Chuck Berry
Q14. Who was a phenomenal Jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer; created “kind of blue,” and “Tutu.”
a) Louis Armstrong
b) John Coltrane
c) Miles Davis
d) Duke Ellington
Hint: He is considered the most influential musician in the post-WWII era.
A14. Who was a phenomenal Jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer; created “kind of blue,” and “Tutu.“
Answer: c. Miles Davis
Q15. Who was a great guitarist renowned for performing with the band “The Experience?”
a) Jimi Hendrix
b) Carlos Santana
c) B.B. King
d) Eric Clapton
Hint: His music career lasted for only four years, and he is known as the modern electric guitar sound creator. He served US Army as well.
A15. Who was a great guitarist renowned for performing with the band “The Experience?“
Answer: a. Jimi Hendrix
Q16. Which black inventor originated the Super Soaker water gun and the Nerf foam football in 1989.
a) Granville Woods
b) Otis Boykin
c) Lonnie Johnson
d) George Crum
Hint: He was an engineer in the Mariner Mark II Spacecraft project and founded Johnson Research and Development Co.
A16. Which black inventor originated the Super Soaker water gun and the Nerf foam football in 1989.
Answer: c. Lonnie Johnson
Q17. Who changed the beauty and skincare industry in the USA and was an influential chemist, entrepreneur, political and social activist?
a) Mae Jemison
b) Madam C.J. Walker
c) Shirley Jackson
d) Patricia Bath
Hint: She is known as the first self-made millionaire in the black community.
A17. Who changed the beauty and skincare industry in the USA and was an influential chemist, entrepreneur, political and social activist?
Answer: b. Madam C. J. Walker
Q18. Which black female great mathematician worked for NASA and competed with that time racial disparity in this organization?
a) Dorothy Vaughan
b) Katherine Johnson
c) Christine Darden
d) Mae Jemison
Hint: Recently, a movie named “The Figures” has included her story.
A18. Which black female great mathematician worked for NASA and competed with that time racial disparity in this organization?
Answer: b. Katherine Johnson
Q19. Who participated in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and won four gold medals? Whose life is captured in the film named “Race?”
a) Jackie Robinson
b) Carl Lewis
c) Usain Bolt
d) Jesse Owens
Hint: He is known as “perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and field history.”
A19. Who participated in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and won four gold medals? Whose life is captured in the film named “Race?“
Answer: d. Jesse Owens
Q20. Who is the legendary black boxer and a social movement activist?
a) Joe Louis
b) Muhammad Ali
c) Sugar Ray Robinson
d) Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Hint: He described his boxing style as “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”
A20. Who is the legendary black boxer and a social movement activist?
Answer: b. Muhammad Ali
Q21. Who was the pioneer African American who defended racial segregation in Major League Baseball by entering into the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947?
a) Satchel Paige
b) Hank Aaron
c) Jackie Robinson
d) Willie Mays
Hint: His jersey number was 42, and no one ever will have this jersey number in MLB.
A21. Who was the pioneer African American who defended racial segregation in Major League Baseball by entering into the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947?
Answer: c. Jackie Robinson
Q22. Which African American track and field athlete won four gold medals in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics?
a) Usain Bolt
b) Ben Johnson
c) Justin Gatlin
d) Carl Lewis
Hint: He won 8 golds in total between 1979 and 1996.
A22. Which African American track and field athlete won four gold medals in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics?
Answer: d. Carl Lewis
Q23. Who was a player in the Chicago Bulls winning six NBA titles during the 1990s?
a) Michael Jordan
b) Magic Johnson
c) LeBron James
d) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Hint: He was the highest-paid NBA player and also played basketball.
A23. Who was a player in the Chicago Bulls winning six NBA titles during the 1990s?
Answer: a. Michael Jordan
Q24. Which black Baptist minister joined the Montgomery Bus Boycott movement and promoted non-violent protests?
a) Malcolm X
b) Martin Luther King Jr.
c) Booker T. Washington
d) Medgar Evers
Hint: He was assassinated in 1964 and is known for originating “the American Dream.”
A24. Which black Baptist minister joined the Montgomery Bus Boycott movement and promoted non-violent protests?
Answer: b. Martin Luther King Jr.
Q25. Who was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as the first black justice for the Supreme Court in 1967?
a) Thurgood Marshall
b) Constance Baker Motley
c) Barbara Jordan
d) Clarence Thomas
Hint: He was an American Civil Rights lawyer and also a jurist.
A25. Who was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as the first black justice for the Supreme Court in 1967?
Answer: a. Thurgood Marshall
Q26. Who is the colored individual with both music and entrepreneurial careers and co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records and the fashion line Rocawear?
a) Jay-Z (Shawn Carter)
b) Diddy (Sean Combs)
c) Pharrell Williams
d) Dr. Dre (Andre Young)
Hint: He was named as an all-time rapper by Billboard in 2023.
A26. Who is the colored individual with both music and entrepreneurial careers and co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records and the fashion line Rocawear?
Answer: a. Jay-Z (Shawn Carter)
Q27. Who is the chief executive officer of the lifestyle label FUBU?
a) Russell Simmons
b) Daymond John
c) Sean John Combs (Diddy)
d) Damon Dash
Hint: He is an investor at Shark Tak, an ABC reality TV show.
A27. Who is the chief executive officer of the lifestyle label FUBU?
Answer: d. Daymond John
Q28. Who was the earliest black billionaire and entrepreneur in the United States who established BET (Black Entertainment Television)?
a) Tyler Perry Hint: His initials are “RLJ.”
b) Robert L. Johnson
c) Magic Johnson
d) Oprah Winfrey
Hint: He is the founder of RLJ Companies.
A28. Who was the earliest black billionaire and entrepreneur in the United States who established BET (Black Entertainment Television)?
Answer: b. Robert L. Johnson
Q29. Which African American female is a fashion designer and established the high-end fashion label Fenty?
a) Cardi B
b) Beyoncé
c) Solange Knowles
d) Rihanna
Hint: She is also a singer, actor and songwriter.
A29. Which African American female is a fashion designer and established the high-end fashion label Fenty?
Answer: d. Rihanna
Q30. Which African American actor secured an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal in the movie “Training Day”?
a) Denzel Washington
b) Chadwick Boseman
c) Idris Elba
d) Will Smith
Hint: He also acted in “Glory”, “He Got Game,” “Inside Man,” and many other famous movies.
A30. Which African American actor secured an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal in the movie “Training Day”?
Answer: a. Denzel Washington
Q31. Which D.C. site is famous for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963?
a) Washington Monument
b) National Museum of African American History and Culture
c) Smithsonian Institution
d) Lincoln Memorial
Hint: It symbolizes the memory of President Abraham Lincoln.
A31. Which D.C. site is famous for Dr Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963?
Answer: d. Lincoln Memorial
Q32. Which spot in Memphis, Tennessee, is significant by being the location of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s murder in 1968?
a) Sun Studio
b) Stax Museum of American Soul Music
c) Lorraine Motel
d) Graceland
Hint: It is within the National Civil Rights Museum complex.
A32. Which spot in Memphis, Tennessee, is significant by being the location of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s murder in 1968?
Answer: c. Lorraine Motel
Q33. Which island near Charleston, South Carolina, was a key arrival point for enslaved Africans?
a) Alcatraz Island
b) Robben Island
c) Ellis Island
d) Sullivan’s Island
Hint: It is a UNESCO Heritage Site.
A33. Which island near Charleston, South Carolina, was a key arrival point for enslaved Africans?
Answer: d. Sullivan’s Island
Q34. What is the church in Birmingham, Alabama, in which four young girls were killed due to a bombing in 1963 bombing?
a) Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church
b) 16th Street Baptist Church
c) Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church
d) Bethel Baptist Church
Hint: This church is just a couple of blocks away from the City Hall, and it is still active.
A34. What is the church in Birmingham, Alabama, in which four young girls were killed due to a bombing in 1963 bombing?
Answer: b. 16th Street Baptist Church
Q35. Which Atlanta, Georgia, college campus is renowned for being the alma mater of several notable African American leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?
a) Clark Atlanta University
b) Howard University
c) Morehouse College
d) Spelman College
Hint: It is a private college and also known as black men’s liberal arts college.
A35. Which Atlanta, Georgia, college campus is renowned for being the alma mater of several notable African American leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?
Answer: c. Morehouse College
