African-Americans Famous People Trivia

1. Which African American actor is credited with becoming the first millionaire?

From Quiz 20th Century "Colored" Entertainment

Answer: Lincoln Perry

Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry started his entertainment career in 1914, as a 12 year old singer and tap dancer in a traveling carnival. By the age of 20, Perry added working part time as a vaudeville comic. Perry continued to work and manage the traveling carnival. An avid horseracing fan, Perry enjoyed betting on the race horses. One of his biggest paydays from the track came after he bet on a horse named "Step and Fetch It". Perry later parlayed the name of the horse into the stage name that he would become famous for, Stepin Fetchit. Often billed for his character as "The Laziest Man in the World", Stepin Fetchit appeared in 54 films from 1925 through 1976. Fetchit's roles often provided comic relief in films, and proved to be very successful and lucrative for him. Throughout his career, he was criticized by much of the African American community, who felt that his character perpetuated a negative image, and fed into the stereotype of African Americans being uneducated, slow moving, unproductive, and lazy. Perry was the first African American actor to become a millionaire as well as the first black actor to receive feature screen credits for the films he played a role in. Between 1925 and 1975, Fetchit appeared in over 50 motion pictures. Lincoln Perry was born on May 30, 1902 in Key West, Florida, and passed away in Los Angeles, California on November 11, 1985, from pneumonia and heart failure.

From Quiz African American Firsts - 1991 Through 2011

Answer: John Singleton

"Boyz n the Hood" was written and directed by John Singleton. Singleton's debut film as a director made him the youngest person (age 24) ever to be nominated for the "Best Director" Academy Award, as well as the first African American film director to be so honored. The stellar list of nominees with Singleton for the award were Jonathan Demme, who won the Academy Award for "Silence of the Lambs", Barry Levinson for "Bugsy", Ridley Scott for "Thelma & Louise", and Oliver Stone for "JFK". Other films directed by Singleton includes "Poetic Justice" (1993), "Rosewood" (1997), "Shaft" (2000) and "2 Fast 2 Furious" (2003). Films produced by Singleton includes "Higher Learning" (1995), "Baby Boy" (2001), "Hustle & Flow" (2005) and "Black Snake Moan" (2007).

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #3

Answer: George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver is believed to have been born in January, 1864, in Diamond, MO. He was one of the children of a pair of slaves, Mary and Giles, but was raised by their owner and his wife, Susan and Moses Carver. Carver received his high school diploma in Minneapolis, KS. Although he was accepted by Highland College in Highland, KS, upon arrival he was refused entry because of his race. Thus, he homesteaded a claim, built a house and planted crops, all the while studying and conducting experiments in biology, geology, and art. In 1890 he enrolled in Simpson College, IA, to study art and music, using and developing his artistic skills by drawing botanical samples. A teacher recommended he join the botany program at Iowa State Agricultural College and in 1891 he became the first black student at Iowa State in Ames, IA. His work at the Iowa State Experimental Station on plant pathology, while working on his master's degree, brought him national attention. After graduation from Iowa State Carver was recruited by Booker T. Washington and headed Tuskegee's Agricultural Department where he gained national renown. He even pioneered a mobile "Jesup" wagon, named after the New York benefactor Morris Ketchum Jesup, to take the lessons of crop diversification, rotation, and alternate types of cash crops, to farmers themselves. He is said to have found 300 new uses for peanuts, and hundreds more for sweet potatoes, pecans and soybeans, inventing hundreds of products from plastic to paints to dyes and even to a type of gasoline. He taught and conducted research at Tuskeegee for 47 years. In 1916 Carver was honored by being made a member of the British Royal Society of Arts. He also was the advisor on agriculture and nutrition to Mohandas Gandhi. A frugal man, upon his death in 1947 the George Washington Carver foundation was established with his savings to promote future agricultural research. A national monument is outside of home town, Diamond, MO, on a 210-acre complex which includes a nature trail, museum and statue of Carver. It is the first national monument dedicated to a black man as well as the first to be dedicated to anyone but a president. His face has appeared on stamps and a commemorative coin. His name is on a number of schools as well as two military vessels and there is a George Washington Carver garden in the Missouri Botanical Garden with a life-size statue of the man. These honors are all well deserved by a person who started out in difficult circumstances.

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #2

Answer: "Goose" Tatum

"Goose" Tatum was born Reece Tatum in May, 1921, in El Dorado, Arkansas, the fifth of seven children. He was a man who excelled at both baseball and basketball, and by 1937 he was playing baseball in the Negro leagues where he was seen by Abe Saperstein, the founder of the Harlem Globetrotters. With his 6'4" height and his 84" arm span, his comedy routines were set off against those attributes. He played basketball in 1941 and 1942 with the Globetrotters but then was drafted to the Army. After the War he returned to playing for the Globetrotters, while still playing baseball where he played in an all-star game. During Tatum's time with the Globetrotters he invented the hook shot for which a later player, named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, became well-known. He played with the Globetrotters for another ten years after the War and then branched out with his own teams. His #50 jersey was retired in February 2002, at the same time in which he became a Globetrotters' "Legend".

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #1

Answer: Booker T. Washington

Booker Taliaferro Washington, born a slave in April, 1856, worked his way through what is now Hampton University and, after graduating, returned to Hampton as a teacher where the President of the school, and former Union general, recommended him to become president of what would become Tuskegee University. At that time it was only a dream of Lewis Adams, a former slave, and George Campbell, a former slaveholder who both wanted to see education for the black people. The first classes Washington held were in a run-down church. The following year he bought a former plantation, and as part of the work-study program of the students, the new campus buildings began to be erected. Washington not only trained teachers, but also taught classes that would be needed for his students to work in the rural south, such as farming and related trades. Eventually, Tuskegee attracted notable scholars to its employment, such as George Washington Carver who became a professor there and whose work on peanuts helped the South after the boll weevil decimated its agriculture. Washington and NAACP leader W.E.B. DuBois did not see eye-to-eye since DuBois wanted a more militant protest. Washington replied that DuBois' way would simply lead to disaster and that the only possible way was to cooperate with supportive whites, of whom there were quite a few, and many of them were wealthy. Because of Booker T. Washington's moderate stance on segregation and other similar issues, he was able to convince many wealthy white donors to contribute to Tuskegee. At his death, in 1915, it had an endowment of over $1.5 million. By 2011 it had reached over $76 million. Tuskegee is the only historically black college with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program that is fully accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

From Quiz Black Women Politicians and Activists

Answer: Shirley Chisholm

Chisholm was the first black woman to serve in the House of Representatives, from 1969 to 1983. In 1972 she ran in the primaries and got 152 votes on the first ballot at the Democratic Convention. She is given credit for organizing the Black Caucus in Congress.

From Quiz Saluted Black Americans

Answer: Alex Haley

Alex Haley is actually a descendent of Kunta Kinte. Kunta Kinte is a Gambian warrior who was captured and sold to a plantation in Maryland who forced him to change his name to Toby.

From Quiz African American Firsts - 1991 Through 2011

Answer: Mae Jemison

With the successful launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour from the John F. Kennedy Space Center on September 12, 1992, Mae Carol Jemison became the first African American woman astronaut to fly into space. Jemison, a physician and NASA astronaut served as a Mission Specialist aboard STS-47, the 50th mission of the Space Shuttle Program. This represented Jemison's first and only flight into space. The seven day mission traveled 5,265,523 kilometers (3,271,844 miles) and completed 126 orbits of the Earth. In her role as a Mission Specialist, Jemison conducted a number of medical experiments during the flight.

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #3

Answer: Jack Johnson

John Arthur Johnson, born in March, 1878, was nicknamed the "Galveston Giant" from the city in Texas where he was born. He was one of six children whose parents taught them how to read and write. He was the first African-American heavyweight boxing champ from 1908 to 1915. Johnson had a distinctive style of boxing by beginning a bout in a cautious manner then building up over time into a more aggressive fighter, a great deal like James Corbett had done ten years earlier. However, instead of saying how "clever" Johnson was as the reporters had of Corbett, they wrote of him as "cowardly and devious". In February, 1903, Johnson beat "Denver" Ed Martin for the World Colored Heavyweight Championship, keeping that title until he won the World Heavyweight title in Sydney, Australia, in December, 1908, beating Canadian, Tommy Burns. After this victory, white people were extremely unhappy and began looking for "A Great White Hope" to take the title away from Johnson. In July, 1910, James L. Jeffries was thought to be such a person. He was a former undefeated heavyweight champion and came out of retirement for the fight which was held in Reno, Nevada, in a fight called "The Fight of the Century". Johnson won. John L. Sullivan stated that the entire fight had been fair on Johnson's part. That evening the race riots began, although it is thought that some of the "riots" were merely black people celebrating. (A black poet, Cuney, even wrote a short, clever, poem called "My Lord, What a Morning" about the fight.) The riots occurred in more than 25 states and 50 cities with a total of 25 deaths and hundreds more injured. After winning that fight, Johnson himself set a "color barrier" and refused to fight any black men. In April, 1915, Johnson fought Jess Willard, a working cowboy from Kansas, in Havana, Cuba, for the title. Johnson was knocked out in the 26th round and never again fought for the heavweight title. For three years, while in retirement, Johnson owned a nightclub in Harlem. He sold it to Owney Madden who renamed it the Cotton Club. Jack Johnson was married three times, all to white women, which in those days was not looked upon kindly. None of the marriages resulted in children. In 1913 a jury convicted him of violating the Mann Act by transporting a prostitute over the state line, even though the action had been done before the Mann Act had been passed. The jury that convicted him was all white and the judge was Kenesaw Mountain Landis, a future baseball commissioner who kept the color barrier intact in that sport. Rather than go to prison he left the country and spent the next seven years in exile, traveling the world with his wife. In 1920 he returned to the US and was sent to Leavenworth in September to serve his sentence. While in prison, Johnson invented a modified type of wrench which was patented in April, 1922. Johnson was named to the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1954. In 1970 a play and later a movie starring James Earl Jones, named the "Great White Hope", was made about him. A number of documentaries have also been made about him, and both Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis have done soundtracks for documentaries. Ken Burns, in his documentary, said about Johnson, "For more than thirteen years Jack Johnson was the most famous and most notorious African-American on earth." All because he was the best at what he did.

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #2

Answer: Andrew Brimmer

Andrew Felton Brimmer, born in September, 1926, in Louisiana where his father was a sharecropper, was an economist and author who attended the University of Washington for both his undergraduate and his master's degrees, after which he went to India on a Fulbright Scholarship. Upon his return he enrolled in Harvard and received his Ph.D. degree in 1957. President Lyndon Johnson appointed him to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank in 1966, on which he served for eight years. In 1974 he resigned, first to teach at Harvard and then to branch out into business on his own as a consultant. In 1962, while a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Brimmer published a book entitled "Life Insurance Companies in the Capital Markets".

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #1

Answer: Ice cream scoop

Alfred L. Cralle, born in September, 1866 in Kenbridge, Virginia, later became a businessman and inventor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While working as a porter at a drug store he noticed how hard ice cream, a popular treat, was to serve, taking at least two hands and two spoons. So, he invented the ice cream scoop, for which he received patent #576395 in February, 1897. Cralle named his device the "Ice Cream Mold and Disher" and it was so practical that now, over 100 years later, it is still in use. It can be shaped in various ways, and contains a mechanical device to force the ice cream out of the spoon. It was strong, durable and inexpensive and did a good job, so it was, naturally, a great success. Mr. Cralle became famous for his invention.

From Quiz Saluted Black Americans

Answer: Rosa Parks

Parks' actions lead to a 381-day bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama that took a strong stand against segregation on public transportation. It is also known as the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

From Quiz 20th Century "Colored" Entertainment

Answer: Josephine Baker

Freda Josephine McDonald performed and gained international fame under her stage name Josephine Baker. From her very humble childhood, Josephine became a dancer and toured the United States in 1919, performing as a stage show comic. She eventually became one of the chorus girls with the "Dixie Steppers" dance group. Once considered too skinny to be a chorus girl, Josephine danced at the end of the chorus line, injecting an element of comic relief into the dance routines. Making funny faces, rolling her eyes, and appearing to be clumsy and not totally familiar with the dance routines, she soon became a standout feature on the show. She gained fame and recognition by later performing her uninhibited exotic dance routines, wearing little more than her custom-made costume made of feathers. Josephine traveled to Paris, France, where she performed in the "La Review Nègre", "La Folie du Jour", and "The Folies Bergères with her suggestive and risqué custom-made stage costume that consisted only of a skirt made of 16 artificial bananas. Josephine gained unprecedented fame for her performances, becoming the first African American international superstar. By 1927, Josephine was earning more money that any entertainer in Europe. In 1934, she became the first African American woman to star in a major motion picture "Zouzou", which featured French actors Jean Gabin and Pierre Larquey. Josephine, who was fluent in both English and French, became a citizen of France in 1937. She found the environment in Europe to be free of the racial prejudices and restrictions that she encountered while performing in the United States. Josephine Baker was born on June 3, 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri, and died on April 12, 1975, in Paris, France.

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #3

Answer: William H. Carney

William Harvey Carney, born as a slave named just "William" in Norfolk, Virginia, in February, 1840, earned the first Medal of Honor by a African-American. This was during the Civil War in July, 1863, at Fort Wagner, South Carolina, although the medal was not awarded for nearly 37 years after his act of bravery. William had escaped to Massachusetts via the Underground Railroad and joined the Massachusetts regiment. There he met a man by the name of William Carney who allowed him to use his last name so he could serve in the 54th. Our Carney was a sergeant with the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. His medal was given for his having saved the American flag, planting it on a parapet, and finally retreating across the battlefield when the Union had to pull back, all the while having been wounded a total of three times. He made sure the flag never touched the ground. The attack on Fort Wagner is shown in the movie "Glory". Carney's face is depicted on the monument sculpted by Auguste St. Gaudens honoring Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Regiment which is on Boston Common. Carney worked for the post office after the war until retirement. In 1901 a song was written about his deed called "The Old Flag Never Touched the Ground", which is allegedly what he said when he got back across the battlefield with it. Robert Black, another African-American, was the second person to perform an action that was given the Medal of Honor, but he was the first one to actually receive his Medal.

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #2

Answer: Chicago

Very little is known of Point du Sable's antecedents, including even his date or place of birth. However, the consensus is that he was born in Haiti, circa 1745, to a French man and a Haitian woman, and thus he was of African descent. Sometime probably in the late 1780s he settled on the north bank of the Chicago River, near to its mouth. He was known to be there in 1790 because a Hugh Heward bought supplies from him on his way west. In 1794 he was described as a large man as well as a wealthy trader by another person who'd traded with him. In 1800 he sold his farm and property and moved to St. Charles, Missouri. The reason for the move is, also, not known, with scholars disagreeing with each other. It could have been because of the death of his wife, a Potowatomie by the name of Kittihawa, otherwise known as Catherine. In 1968 the state of Illinois acknowledged du Sable as the founder of the city of Chicago.

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #1

Answer: Chicago

Oscar Stanton de Priest was born in March, 1871, in Florence, Alabama. In 1889 he left Salina, Kansas, where he was attending school, for Chicago, Illinois where he became a successful contractor and real estate broker, while building a fotune in the stock market as well as in real estate. In 1928 the mayor, William Thompson, chose de Priest to run on the ballot that the deceased Martin Madden was to have done. Mr. de Priest won. He was a Republican who served three consecutive terms as a Congressman. He introduced at least three anti-segregation bills, two of which were passed. By the early thirties his star was waning because he opposed higher taxes on the rich and fought Depression-era federal relief programs. In 1934 he was defeated by another African-American and went home to Chicago where he again became an alderman, until 1947.

From Quiz Saluted Black Americans

Answer: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King's involvement in the Montgomery Bus Boycott led him to do the march down Washington and make that speech on August 28, 1963 in Washington DC.

From Quiz African American Firsts - 1991 Through 2011

Answer: Tyra Banks

Supermodel Tyra Banks appeared with model Valeria Mazza on the 1996 cover of the "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue". The leopard-print bikini clad models were photographed on a beach in South Africa. The following year, Tyra Banks appeared alone on the cover of the issue, wearing a red bikini, covered with large polka-dots. The cover photo was shot on a beach in The Bahamas. With two cover appearances, Banks is only one of 14 models to be featured on multiple occasions. She is surpassed only by models Elle McPherson with 5 covers (1986, 1987, 1988, 1994, and 2006), Christie Brinkley with 3 covers (1979, 1980, 1981), Cheryl Tiegs with 3 covers (1970, 1975, 1983), Kathy Ireland with 3 covers (1989, 1992, 1994) and Daniela Pestova also with 3 covers (1995, 2000, 2006). The annual "Swimsuit Issue" of the magazine, which illustrates models dressed in swimwear, and photographed in exotic locations, was first published in 1964, and was designed to keep readers interested in the magazine during the winter months when there are traditionally fewer scheduled sporting events. The issue is released in mid February of each year. In February of 1996, Tara Banks was the first African American female model to appear on the cover of "GQ Magazine". She also appeared on the January, 2000, cover. In 1997, she received the VH-1 Award for "Supermodel of the Year". In 1997, she also became the first African American model to appear on the cover of the "Victoria's Secret" catalog.

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #3

Answer: James "Cool Papa" Bell

James Thomas Nichols, nicknamed "Cool Papa", was born in May, 1903, in Starkville, Mississippi, and played center field in the Negro Baseball League. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. It is not known why, or even when, he changed his named to "Bell", but one of six siblings was also named Bell. He played baseball for various teams, in both the US and Mexico, from 1922 until 1946. During the late 1940's he coached for the Kansas City Monarchs and taught the various strategies of the game to such future great players such as Jackie Robinson and Ernie Banks. Bell is recorded as having rounded all the bases in 12 seconds. Satchel Paige once said "If Cool Papa had known about college, or if colleges had known about Cool Papa, Jesse Owens would have looked like he was walking". The historian, Ken Burns, once related in his "Baseball" that Bell once scored from first on a sacrifice bunt. He scored standing up. There are many stories like this about "Cool Papa" but no one knows how many are true. John Holoway says in his book that Bell was in the Top 5 in stolen bases nine times. Bell has been inducted into the St. Louis, Missouri, Walk of Fame, and there is a street in that city named after him. Also, the road leading into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in Jackson is named for him and he is a member of that Hall of Fame.

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #2

Answer: Sojourner Truth

Isabella Baumfree was born a slave about 1797 in New York state. Her last name was that of her father's owner. After being sold a number of times, she was married to another slave by the name of Thomas, by whom she had five children. In 1827 New York freed all the slaves. Isabella had left Thomas and taken their youngest child with her, going to work for a family named Van Wagenen. While working for that family, she found that another of her children had been sold to a slave owner in Alabama. Since this child had been freed under New York law, she didn't feel he could be a slave in Alabama and took the matter to court, where she won. About that time she had a religious moment and moved to New York city and into a religious commune. She still worked as a household servant while living there, but the commune fell apart in a few years because of defamations. Isabella was accused of poisoning. She again went to court, this time for libel, and won that case, too. In 1843 she became Sojourer Truth and became a traveling preacher, which was the meaning of her name, in the belief that the Holy Spirit had called her. In the late 1840s, now Sojourner, she began preaching about the abolitionist movement and in 1850 she branched out to womens' suffrage. Her autobiography, "The Narrative of Sojourner Truth" had the introduction written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, who also wrote about her in the Atlantic Monthly. Later, Sojourner moved to Michigan and again joined a commune, although this time it was one associated with the Quakers. Active collecting food and clothes for Black regiments during the Civil War and recruiting troops for the Union forces, she also tried to challenge the discrimination by street cars in Washington, D.C., when she was there to meet President Abraham Lincoln. In 1870 forward, without success, she tried to garner land grants from the federal government for former slaves. Sojourner Truth had strong support from many famous people of that day, including Parker Pillsbury, Amy Post, Susan B. Anthony and others.

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #1

Answer: Lincoln Memorial

Marian Anderson, a contralto, was born in 1897 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She performed everything from concert pieces, to operatic arias, to lieders, as well as traditional American songs and spirituals. In 1939 the Daughters of the American Revolution refused her the opportunity to perform to an integrated audience in Constitution Hall. Thankfully, Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband, the President, stepped in and Anderson performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, 1939. It was an acclaimed open-air concert before a crowd of 75,000 people, with millions listening on the radio. She later became the first black person, American or otherwise, to perform at the Metropolitan Opera. Normally she would not sing in an opera because she felt she had no acting experience and would, therefore, not do well. However, in January 1955, she sang the role of Ulrica in Verdi's "Un Ballo en Maschera", thus breaking another barrier for black artists in the USA. Anderson sang for the soldiers in both World War II and the Korean War in both the bases and in hospitals. She also sang for the inaugurations of both Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. She traveled as a "goodwill ambassador" of the US State Department and later, because of that, she was appointed an official delegate to the United Nations. She supported the Civil Rights Movement by giving benefit concerts and was eventually given the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She retired after singing at Carnegie Hall in April of 1965, after a year of international touring which began at, of all places, Constitution Hall. She was not only a gifted singer, she was an author. In 1956 she wrote her autobiography called "My Lord, What a Morning", the name of a traditional spiritual from the 17th - 18th century, which was a best seller. (You can hear her sing that on youtube.com, as well as later people such as Harry Belafonte, The Kingston Trio, Mahalia Jackson, Joan Baez and many, many others.) She also released an album which included short stories and songs about her black cat that she so loved. It was called "Snoopycat: The Adventures of Marian Anderson's Cat Snoopy". Marian Anderson died in 1993 at the home of her nephew in Portland, Oregon, of congestive heart failure. She was 96.

From Quiz Saluted Black Americans

Answer: Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall played a major part in the "Brown vs Board" case regarding to racial segregation in the school system.

From Quiz 20th Century "Colored" Entertainment

Answer: first to produce a feature length film

Oscar Devereaux Micheaux was an author, a director of early motion pictures, and a producer of both silent films and talkies. In 1920, Micheaux became the first African American to produce a full length feature film. The movie, entitled "The Homesteaders" (1919) was a black and white silent film that featured an all "colored" cast. Micheaux served as the screenwriter, co-director, and producer on the film. Micheaux was considered the most prolific African American film maker and producer of the first half of the twentieth century, producing in excess of 44 films. Micheaux authored seven novels, including "The Homesteaders", his first novel and the subject of his first feature length film. Honors bestowed on Micheaux included receiving a 'star' on the famed "Hollywood Walk of Fame" in 1987, being honored by the U.S. Postal Service by having his image on a 44 cents stamp in 1910, being awarded the "Golden Jubilee Special Award" in 1989 by the Director's Guild of America and the creation of an annual achievement award in his name by the Guild. Oscar Devereaux Micheaux was born on January 2, 1884, in Metropolis, Illinois, and died of a heart attack on March 25, 1951, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

From Quiz African American Firsts - 1991 Through 2011

Answer: Tiger Woods

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods, one of the premier professional golfers of all time, was the first African American golfer to play in "The President's Cup" tournament. The tournament, a biennial event, was established in 1994. Woods made his first appearance in the tournament in 1998, and has competed in eight consecutive tournaments through 2013. In his 40 matches, Woods has established a record of 24 wins, 15 losses, and one match halved. Woods ranks second in the number of tournaments participated in with 8, surpassed only by golfer Phil Mickelson, who has had 10 appearances since 1994. The President's Cup is a tournament where a group of male professional golfers representing the United States, competes against a team comprised of golfers from around the world, with the exception of Europe. A European team competes in a separate event, the "Ryder Cup", against the American team. Unlike most professional tournaments, there is no prize money awarded to the golfers in the President's Cup. All proceeds are donated to various charities selected in advance by the players. The tournament has been held on various locations throughout the world including golf courses in Inchon, South Korea, Melbourne, Australia, San Francisco, California, and George, Western Cape, South Africa. The event was created, and is organized by the "PGA Tour".

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #3

Answer: Dr. Maulana Karenga

Ronald McKinley Everett was born on a farm in Parsonburg, Maryland, in July of 1941, the last of fourteen children. In the late 1950s, while living with his brother, who was a teacher, he attended Los Angeles City College and became the first African-American student body president. He received both his BA and MA from the University of California, Los Angeles and at that time took the name Maulana (Swahili for "master teacher") Karenga (Swahili for "keeper of tradition"). In 1976 he received his first PhD from United States International University and in 1994 he was awarded a second PhD with a dissertation about Maat, the ancient Egyptian idea of truth, balance, order, law, morality and justice This degree was from the University of Southern California. He is presently the Chair of the African Studies department at California State University, Long Beach. He has written several books, including "Introduction to Black Studies", now in its fourth edition. He founded Organization US which in the 1950s was put on various lists by the FBI as being dangerous, revolutionary and committed to the armed Black Power movement, which it was. In 1971 he was sentenced to prison for ten years, for torturing women, although he was pardoned in 1975, on the grounds the sentence was politically motivated. Those years, and the violent ones leading up to them, were not his finest hour and certainly not a time when he was a role model who should be followed. After his release from prison he re-established the US organization and called on African-Americans to adopt secular humanism, using the Seven Principles of Blackness, which are followed on the seven days of Kwanzaa. Those are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. Basically, Kwanzaa is a celebration of one's African heritage and the African-American community. It has nothing to do with religion and should not be compared to Christmas or Chanukah. In 1998 Karenga published a book called "Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture".

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #2

Answer: Jackie Robinson

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was born January, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia. In 1947 he began playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson was the first black man to play in the major leagues since the 1880s and, as such, broke the color line in the leagues allowing other African-American players to leave the Negro Leagues and join the major leagues. His career with the Brooklyn Dodgers last over ten seasons and included six World Series as well as a World Championship. Robinson was given the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year in 1947 and in 1949 was the first black player to win the National League's MVP. Then, in 1962, he was entered into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and later, in 1997, his jersey uniform number, 42, was retired from all the major league teams. For his achievements, Jackie Robinson was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Unfortunately both were given after his death.

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #1

Answer: Benjamin O. Davis

Benjamin O. Davis was born in Washington, DC, in July 1877. However, his biographer has shown birth papers proving he was actually born in 1880 and lied about his age so he could enlist in the Army without his parents' consent at the start of the war with Spain. (The earlier date is what is on his grave at Arlington National Cemetery, though.) He had been attending Howard University before enlisting and entered as a temporary first lieutenant. In March of 1889 he was mustered out and turned right around and joined up again as a private in one of the original Buffalo Soldier regiments. He rose through the ranks and in February, 1901, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Cavalry. In 1905 he was attached for four years to a university in Ohio as a Professor of Military Science and Tactics. Over the years he was transferred to various locales, twice going back to Ohio to teach, as well as to Tuskegee for six years. In 1938 he took command of the 369th Regiment of the NY National Guard, and finally in 1940 he was promoted to brigadier general, the first African-American to become a general in the US Army. After that he had various assignments, many of them involving inspection tours of African-American troops. He was also sent back to Liberia (where he had been the US military attache in 1910-11), this time as a representative of the US for Liberia's centennial. At that time, he was a Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. The following year, after 50 years in the military, he retired. President Harry Truman presided over the ceremony. Not only was Benjamin O. Davis a model for African-Americans, so was his son, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., who became a brigadier general in the Air Force in 1954, and in 1998 was advanced to a 4-star general. While serving he was the commanding officer of the Tuskegee Airmen. President Clinton pinned on his general's insignia.

From Quiz Saluted Black Americans

Answer: Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman accompanied over 300 slaves down the underground railroad going from Maryland to Philadelphia. She accomplished that in 19 trips. What an amazing woman!

From Quiz African American Firsts - 1991 Through 2011

Answer: Vernice Armour

Former U.S. Marine Corps officer Vernice Armour became the first African American female combat pilot in the U.S. armed forces when she flew her AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopter into battle during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Armour participated in the invasion of Iraq as well as served two complete tours of duty in Iraq. Armour also has the distinction of being the first African American female naval aviator in the U.S. Marine Corps.

From Quiz African-American Role Models - #3

Answer: Meadow "Meadowlark" Lemon III

Meadow Lemon, born in April, 1932, in Wilmington, North Carolina, played in more than 16,000 games and in 94 different countries with the Harlem Globetrotters. He began playing with the Globetrotters in 1955 and became the "Clown Prince" in 1958, a position he held for 20 years and one which he had wanted since he was a child. In 1980 he left to found a similar type of basketball team to the Globetrotters and didn't return to them until 1994. He returned to his Meadowlark Lemon's Harlem All-Stars Team in 2004. In 2000, Lemon received the John Bunn award, which is the highest award given by the Basketball Hall of Fame other than induction into it, itself. In 2003 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2001 the Globetrotters awarded him a "Legends" ring and retired his #36 jersey. In 1986 Lemon became an ordained minister and had the offices of Meadowlark Lemon Ministries, as well as the offices for his touring basketball team, in Arizona.

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:53 AM

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