African American Firsts - 1991 Through 2011 Quiz

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).

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.

Answer: False

Former four-star general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell became the first African American United States Secretary of State in 1989.
Powell, nominated for the position by President George W. Bush, received unanimous confirmation from the United States Senate.

Powell served in the position from October 1, 1989 until September 30, 1993.

Powell, who was preceded in the job by Madeleine Albright, was succeeded by Condoleezza Rice, who was the first African American woman and second African American to hold the position.

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.

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".

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.

Answer: Phylicia Rashad

For her role in the 2004 Broadway revival of "A Raisin in the Sun", Phylicia Rashad reveived the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play". This marked a first for an African American woman.
Rashad has performed in a number of Broadway and off-Broadway stage productions, including the original Broadway productions of "The Wiz" in 1975 and "Dreamgirls" in 1981, and appearing on stage in the New York City and Los Angeles productions of "The Vagina Monologues".

Phylicia Rashad has over 50 television and movies credits on her resume, but she is probably best remembered and recognized for her role as Clair Huxtable, Bill Cosby's wife on the long running, highly rated "The Cosby Show", which aired from 1984 until 1992.

In her personal life, Rashad (formally Phylicia Allen) has been married three times. Her first husband was William L. Bowles, a dentist were wed from 1972-1975. Her second husband, Victor Willis, was the original lead singer and lyricist for the group, "The Village People". They were married from 1978-1980.
Her third marriage was to former NFL foot player and sportscaster Ahmad Rashad.
The couple remained wed from 1985-2001.

Answer: Sophia Danenberg

On the morning of May 19, 2006, at 7 AM, Sophia Danenberg completed her 29,035-foot ascent and reached the top of the world's tallest mountain, Mount Everest.
This marked the first time that an African American female climber had accomplished the feat.

For Danenberg, it all started in 1999 when at the age of 27, after one of her childhood friends encourage her to try rock climbing. She almost immediately fell in love with the sport. While participating in her local Appalachian Mountain Club Chapter, she me her future husband, David Danenberg.

During the next few years, she continued to refine her mountain climbing skills with technical climbs of Mount Rainier in Washington state and Kilimanjaro (Kenya) in 2002, and Mount Baker in Washington state and Mount Kenya in Africa in 2003.
In 2005, she completed climbs of the Grand Teton mountains in Wyoming, Mount Katahdin in Maine, Mount McKinley in Alaska, Mount Tasman in New Zealand, and Mount Ama Dablem in Napal.

Her historic two month climb up Mount Everest was unguided by a professional and not sponsored. For the climb, she carried her own gear and pitched her own tent.
Her accomplishment was overshadowed by her physical condition. She stood "on top of the world" suffering from frostbite on her cheeks, a stuffed nose, bronchitis, all aggravated by an oxygen mask clogged with ice and snow.
The only climbers from her party to witness her accomplishment were two Sherpas she'd hired, Pa Nuru Sherpa and his brother, Mingma Tshiring. After taking a rest break on the summit and taking pictures, they started their equally dangerous descent down the mountain.

Answer: Mike Carey

When Mike Carey was designated by the NFL as referee for Super Bowl XLII, he became the first African American referee to officiate a Super Bowl game.
The game saw the New England Patriots play against the New York Giants. The game was played on February 8, 2008, at the University of Phoenix, near Glendale, Arizona.

Carey, who was hired as a side judge in 1990, was promoted to referee at the start of the 1995 NFL season. Carey became the second African American referee in NFL history.

Considered one of the most respected officials in the game, Carey refereed over 229 games over his 15 year career, including two Conference Championship games, four Divisional Playoff games, and eight Wild Card games.

In 2008, Carey tied with referee Ed Hochuli for the most votes received for "Best Referee" in a poll conducted ESPN Sports of all NFL head coaches.

Mike Carey resigned from the NFL on June 24, 2014, to accept a position with CBS Sports. He will serve as an on-air analysis for their Thursday night and Sunday football game broadcast.

Answer: Duke Ellington

The reverse (tails) side of the new District of Columbia state quarter bears the solo image of jazz musician and legend, Duke Ellington. This marked the first time that an African American has appeared alone on a piece of circulated U.S. currency.

Ellington, who was born in the District of Columbia in 1899, won the honor over historical figures Frederick Douglass and Benjamin Banneker, following a vote by the citizens of the District of Columbia.

As with all U.S. quarters, the obverse (heads) side displays the profile picture of George Washington.

On the coin's reverse side, Ellington is shown sitting in front of a grand piano. The motto of the District of Columbia, "Justice For All", is inscribed just below the picture of Ellington.
88,800,000 quarters were minted.

Ellington, born Edward Kennedy Ellington, composed over 3,000 songs, won 13 Grammy Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize Award.