Capitol Report
By State Representative, Leon D. Young
Leon D. Young
For the next two weeks, in honor of Black History Month, I would like to deviate from my usual column format. Instead, I invite you and your family to test your (individual and collective) knowledge of the extraordinary accomplishments and milestones of Black Americans.
1. Before it became Black History Month what was the observance of “Black History called?
A. Negro History Week
B. Black Rights Awareness Day
C. Freedom Day
D. Slave History Week
2. What was the first African-American owned-and-operated newspaper?
A. Our Times
B. Freedom’s Journal
C. The Mississippi Enterprise
D. Birmingham Times
3. Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr. was the first African-American to become what?
A. Astronaut
B. Army General
C. Policeman
D. Pilot
4. Who is considered the “Father of Black History”?
A. Jesse Jackson
B. Carter G. Woodson
C. Malcolm x
D. Martin Luther King
5. Who became the first African-American to graduate from Harvard University?
A. W.E.B. DuBois
B. Charles Hamilton Houston
C. Thurgood Marshall
D. Richard Theodore Greener
6. The PGA was considered “Caucasian Only” until which golfer joined?
A. Charles Sifford
B. Tiger Woods
C. Lee Elder
D. Calvin Peete
7. Whose proposal that Congress consider Civil Rights legislation culminated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
A. Martin Luther King
B. Lyndon B. Johnson
C. Dwight Eisenhower
D. John F. Kennedy
8. Who broke three track and field world records in 45 minutes at Ohio State?
A. Carl Lewis
B. Jesse Owens
C. Tommie Smith
D. Michael Johnson
9. Who shot Martin Luther King on April 4, 1968?
A. Sirhan Sirhan
B. Lee Harvey Oswald
C. James Earl Ray
D. John Wilkes Booth
10. An all-white jury acquitted J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant for the murder of whom?
A. Malcolm X
B. Medgar Evers
C. Emmett Till
D. Fred Hampton
11. Who was the first African-American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize?
A. Charles H. Mahoney
B. Martin Luther King, Jr.
C. Frank E. Peterson
D. Ralph Bunche
12. Who was the first African-American to win an Academy Award?
A. Hattie McDaniel
B. Denzel Washington
C. Whoopi Goldberg
D. Sidney Poitier
13. Who was the first African-American woman to hold a cabinet position?
A. Constance Baker Motley
B. Shirley Chisholm
C. Patricia Roberts Harris
D. Carole Moseley Braun
14. Who was the first African-American to travel in space?
A. Ronald McNair
B. Michael Anderson
C. Guion Bluford
D. Frederick Gregory
15. Who was the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for literature?
A. Gwendolyn Brooks
B. Zora Neale Hurston
C. Lorraine Hansberry
D. Toni Morrison
16. Who was the first African-American woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives?
A. Cardiss Collins
B. Barbara Jordan
C. Shirley Chisholm
D. Maxine Waters
17. Who was the first African-American to be elected mayor of New York City?
A. Thomas Bradley
B. David Dinkins
C. Coleman A. Young
D. Harold Washington
18. In 1990, L. Douglas Wilder became the first African-American elected governor. What state elected him?
A. Georgia
B. Massachusetts
C. North Carolina
D. Virginia
19. Who was the first African-American to head a major American political party?
A. Mickey Leland
B. Ron Brown
C. Michael Espy
D. Kweisi Mfume
20. Who was the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy?
A. O.J. Simpson
B. Jim Brown
C. Ernie Davis
D. Ron Dayne
Postscript:
In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson initiated the observance of “Negro History Week,” to be celebrated in February as close as possible to the birthdays of both Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, during which African American leaders would be appropriately honored. Negro History Week has grown into what is now Black History Month.
Make exploring Black History a year-round endeavor. You and your family will learn a great deal, while spending valuable family time together.
ANSWER KEY: 1. A 2. B 3. A 4. B 5. D 6. A 7. D 8. A 9. C 10. C 11. D 12. A 13. C 14. C 15. A 16. C 17. B 18. D 19. B 20. C