Here are the answers to the Black History Month Quiz. Did you know
your Black History?
Each correct answer below is in red and includes a
brief explanation.
1. In 1857 the Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott was
a:
A. Slave
B. Free man
C. Immigrant
D. U.S. Citizen
The 1857 Supreme Court
ruling not only said Scott was a slave, but
dismantled the Missouri Compromise and was one of the catalysts
for the
Civil War.
2. Who wanted the state of Virginia turned into an all-Black
state?
A. Marcus Garvey
B. Frederick Douglass
C. Gabriel Prosser
D. Louis Farrakhan
Gabriel Prosser also
led the unsuccessful slave revolt in Virginia in 1800.
3. The first African American to serve in the United States
Senate, Hiram
Rhodes Revels, was a member of what political party?
A. Democrats
B. Republicans
C. Whig
D. Independent
Hiram Rhodes Revels
was of the same party as Abraham Lincoln, the Republican Party.
4. Which country was the first independent Black ruled country
in the
Western Hemisphere?
A. Haiti
B. Jamaica
C. Dominican Republic
D. Barbados
Haiti became the first independent Black country in the
Western hemisphere in 1804.
5. Anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells was also a:
A. Nurse
B. Maid
C. Accountant
D. Journalist
Ida B. Wells used her
writing in the nation's newspapers and magazines as her weapon
against lynching.
6. Who was the first Black college quarterback to win the
Heisman trophy?
A. Andre Ware
B. Donovan McNabb
C. Michael Vick
D. Doug Williams
Andre Ware won the Heisman
Trophy in 1989.
7. What year was Nelson Mandela sworn in as the first Black
president of
South Africa?
A. 1990
B. 1992
C. 1998
D. 1994
Nelson Mandela was
sworn in as president of South Africa in 1994. He served until
1999.
8. The book "Their Eyes Were Watching God" was written
by:
A. Zora Neale Hurston
B. Maya Angelou
C. Nikki Giovanni
D. Alice Walker
Zora Neale Hurston wrote
"Their Eyes Are Watching God."
9. Kenneth Chenault became the first Black CEO of what major
company?
A. IBM
B. The Washington Post Company
C. General Motors
D. American Express
Kenneth Chenault runs
American Express.
10. Before becoming Secretary of State, Colin Powell was a
general in which branch of the U.S. military?
A. Army
B. Navy
C. Air Force
D. Marines
Colin Powell was a four-star
general in the U.S. Army and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff before he became Secretary of State.
BONUS: Who was the first Black astronaut?
A. Michael Anderson
B. Guion Bluford Jr.
C. Robert Lawrence Jr.
D. Mae Jemison
Robert Lawrence Jr.
was the first African American accepted into the United States'
space program. He died during a test flight and never made
it to space. Guion Bluford Jr. is the first African American
to fly in space.
