Black History Month Quick Facts & Trivia

Black History Month Magic Quick Facts
• Black History Month originated in 1926 by Carter Godwin Woodson. February was picked in honor of Frederick Douglass & Abraham Lincoln, who were both born in that month.
• The banjo originated in Africa and up until the 1800’s was considered an instrument only played by black people.
• Buffalo Soldiers was the name given to the all-black regiments of the U.S. Army started in 1866. The oldest Buffalo Soldier, Mark Matthews, died at the age of 111 in 2005.
• Harriet Tubman was a spy for the Union Army
• The first Africans arrived in America, between 1526 and 1539 in the company of Spanish and Portuguese explorers.
• Vermont was the first state to abolish slavery in 1777.
• The 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery in 1865.
• Kwanzaa means “first fruits” in Swahili.
• Violet Palmer was the first African American female to referee in a regular season NBA game in 1997.
• Wilt Chamberlin was the first basketball player to score 100 points in a single game and also the first to score 30,000 points in the NBA.
• Sheryl Swoopes was the first woman to have an athletic shoe named after them.
Black History Month Magic Vision Trivia

1) The parents of Colin Powell immigrated from what country?
A.) Barbados
B.) Jamaica
C.) Haiti

2) What major U.S. city elected the first African American Mayor in 1967?
A.) Cleveland
B.) New Orleans
C.) Atlanta

3) What is Tiger Woods’ real first name?
A.) Elmer
B.) Samuel
C.) Eldrick

4) What is the name of the great Civil Rights leader who won the Nobel Peace Prize and was assassinated in 1968?
A.) Martin Luther King Jr.
B.) Malcolm X

5) What is the name of the first African American who served on the U.S. Supreme Court?
A.) Barack Obama
B.) Thurgood Marshall

6) What is the name of the woman who helped over 300 escaped slaves flee to freedom in the North via the Underground Railroad?
A.) Rosa Parks
B.) Harriet Tubman

7) Jean-Baptist-Point Du Sable was a Haitian-French pioneer who founded the settlement that would later become which large U.S. city?
A.) New York City
B.) Chicago
C.) New Orleans

8) What is the name of the slave who sued for his freedom & lost, in a major Supreme Court case before the Civil War?
A.) Dred Scott
B.) Nat Turner

9) The first black player in the NHL was Willie O’Ree. What team did he play for?
A.) Toronto Maple Leafs
B.) New York Rangers
C.) Boston Bruins

10) Which track & field star was the first athlete to win 4 gold medals in an Olympic Games?
A.) Jesse Owens
B.) Carl Lewis
C.) Michael Johnson

11) Which African American basketball star made history becoming the first woman to dunk during a pro game in 2002?
A.) Michelle Snow
B.) Lisa Leslie
C.) Teresa Weatherspoon
Answers: 1) B 2) A 3) C 4) A 5) B 6) B 7) B 8) A 9) C 10) A 11) B