The civil rights movement — the fight that changed America
From a Montgomery bus seat to the Voting Rights Act, this round covers the decade of organized courage that dismantled legal segregation in the United States.
Q1.Who was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama?Tap to reveal
Answer: Rosa Parks
Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and made her an enduring symbol of the movement.
Q2.Who delivered the "I Have a Dream" speech at the 1963 March on Washington?Tap to reveal
Answer: Martin Luther King Jr.
He spoke to some 250,000 people from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Q3.Which 1954 Supreme Court case declared school segregation unconstitutional?Tap to reveal
Answer: Brown v. Board of Education
The unanimous ruling overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson.
Q4.In what year was the Civil Rights Act signed, outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin?Tap to reveal
Answer: 1964
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed it on July 2, 1964, with Martin Luther King Jr. standing behind him.
Q5.Which constitutional amendment abolished slavery in the United States?Tap to reveal
Answer: The 13th Amendment
It was ratified in December 1865, months after the end of the Civil War.
Q6.Roughly how long did the Montgomery Bus Boycott last?Tap to reveal
Answer: 381 days (just over a year)
It ended in December 1956 after the Supreme Court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional.
Q7.Who was the first Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court?Tap to reveal
Answer: Thurgood Marshall
Before joining the Court in 1967, he argued and won Brown v. Board of Education as the NAACP's lead counsel.
Q8.What name was given to the nine students who integrated Central High School in Arkansas in 1957?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Little Rock Nine
President Eisenhower sent federal troops to escort them past crowds blocking the school doors.
Q9.The 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches helped secure the passage of which law?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Televised images of marchers attacked on the Edmund Pettus Bridge — "Bloody Sunday" — shifted national opinion.
Q10.Whose 1955 murder in Mississippi, and his mother's decision to hold an open-casket funeral, galvanized the civil rights movement?Tap to reveal
Answer: Emmett Till
Mamie Till-Mobley insisted the world see what was done to her 14-year-old son; the images shocked the nation.
Trailblazers and historic firsts
Every entry in this round broke a barrier that was supposed to be unbreakable — in politics, sports, space, and the arts.
Q1.Who became the first Black president of the United States in 2009?Tap to reveal
Answer: Barack Obama
The former Illinois senator won the 2008 election and served two terms.
Q2.Who was the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress?Tap to reveal
Answer: Shirley Chisholm
Elected in 1968 from New York, she later ran for president in 1972 under the slogan "Unbought and Unbossed."
Q3.Who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947?Tap to reveal
Answer: Jackie Robinson
He debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers and won the first-ever Rookie of the Year award; his No. 42 is retired league-wide.
Q4.Who was the first African American to win an Academy Award?Tap to reveal
Answer: Hattie McDaniel
She won Best Supporting Actress in 1940 for Gone with the Wind.
Q5.Who was the first Black woman to travel to space?Tap to reveal
Answer: Mae Jemison
The physician-engineer flew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
Q6.Who was the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize?Tap to reveal
Answer: Ralph Bunche
The UN diplomat won in 1950 for mediating armistice agreements between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
Q7.Who became the first Black woman to serve as Vice President of the United States?Tap to reveal
Answer: Kamala Harris
She was sworn in on January 20, 2021, also becoming the first woman to hold the office.
Q8.Explorer Matthew Henson is celebrated for being among the first people to reach what spot in 1909?Tap to reveal
Answer: The North Pole
Henson was a key member of Robert Peary's expedition and by some accounts stood on the pole first.
Q9.Who was the first Black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?Tap to reveal
Answer: Alice Walker
She won in 1983 for The Color Purple, later adapted into a film and a Broadway musical.
Q10.Who was the first Black player to win a Wimbledon singles title, in 1957?Tap to reveal
Answer: Althea Gibson
She won Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals in both 1957 and 1958, paving the way for Arthur Ashe.
Black inventors, scientists and pioneers
This is the round that surprises people most — everyday objects and landmark medical advances trace back to Black inventors whose names rarely made the textbooks.
Q1.Which scientist developed hundreds of products from the peanut?Tap to reveal
Answer: George Washington Carver
He promoted crop rotation and found over 300 uses for peanuts — though contrary to legend, he didn't invent peanut butter.
Q2.Which surgeon performed one of the first successful open-heart operations in 1893?Tap to reveal
Answer: Daniel Hale Williams
He repaired a stab wound to the pericardium at Provident Hospital in Chicago, a hospital he founded.
Q3.Who patented a three-position traffic signal in 1923?Tap to reveal
Answer: Garrett Morgan
His signal added a warning position between stop and go; he also invented an early safety hood used by firefighters.
Q4.Which inventor patented an improved process for making carbon filaments, making electric light bulbs longer-lasting?Tap to reveal
Answer: Lewis Latimer
Latimer also drafted the patent drawings for Alexander Graham Bell's telephone.
Q5.Madam C.J. Walker built her fortune in which industry?Tap to reveal
Answer: Hair care and cosmetics
She is widely regarded as America's first self-made female millionaire.
Q6.Mathematician Katherine Johnson's trajectory calculations were critical to which agency's spaceflights?Tap to reveal
Answer: NASA
Her work supported John Glenn's orbit and Apollo 11; her story reached wide audiences through Hidden Figures.
Q7.Which physician pioneered large-scale blood plasma storage and led early blood bank programs?Tap to reveal
Answer: Charles Drew
His plasma preservation techniques saved thousands of lives during World War II.
Q8.Which engineer's automatic lubricator for steam engines is often linked to the phrase "the real McCoy"?Tap to reveal
Answer: Elijah McCoy
He held over 50 patents; buyers reportedly asked for his genuine device rather than cheap imitations.
Q9.Who patented an improved ironing board in 1892?Tap to reveal
Answer: Sarah Boone
Her narrow, curved, reversible board made it far easier to press sleeves — she was among the first Black women to receive a U.S. patent.
Q10.Which NASA engineer invented the Super Soaker water gun?Tap to reveal
Answer: Lonnie Johnson
He came up with the pressurized design while working on a heat pump experiment at home.
Arts, music and culture
From the Harlem Renaissance to Motown to a Nobel Prize in Literature, this round celebrates the artists who shaped American — and global — culture.
Q1.What cultural movement of Black art, literature and music flourished in 1920s New York?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Harlem Renaissance
Centered in Harlem, it produced writers, musicians and artists who redefined American culture.
Q2.Which poet and memoirist wrote "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"?Tap to reveal
Answer: Maya Angelou
She later read her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at Bill Clinton's 1993 inauguration.
Q3.Which singer is known as the "Queen of Soul"?Tap to reveal
Answer: Aretha Franklin
In 1987 she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Q4.Which jazz trumpeter and singer was nicknamed "Satchmo"?Tap to reveal
Answer: Louis Armstrong
The nickname is short for "satchel mouth"; his gravelly voice and trumpet defined early jazz.
Q5.Which novelist wrote "Beloved" and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993?Tap to reveal
Answer: Toni Morrison
She was the first Black woman to win the literature Nobel; Beloved won the Pulitzer in 1988.
Q6.Which Harlem Renaissance poet wrote "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"?Tap to reveal
Answer: Langston Hughes
He wrote the poem at age 17 on a train crossing the Mississippi River.
Q7.Which blues singer was called the "Empress of the Blues"?Tap to reveal
Answer: Bessie Smith
She was the highest-paid Black performer of the 1920s.
Q8.Which Detroit record label, founded by Berry Gordy in 1959, launched the Supremes and Stevie Wonder?Tap to reveal
Answer: Motown
The name blends "motor" and "town," a nod to Detroit's auto industry.
Q9.Whose 1982 album "Thriller" became the best-selling album of all time?Tap to reveal
Answer: Michael Jackson
Thriller has sold an estimated 70 million copies worldwide and won a record eight Grammys in one night.
Q10.In the United States, Black History Month is celebrated during which month?Tap to reveal
Answer: February
Historian Carter G. Woodson chose February for Negro History Week in 1926 to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
Using black history trivia in classrooms and quiz nights
These rounds are built to work year-round, not just in February. In classrooms, read the "why" after every answer — the stories are the point. At quiz nights, mix this set with general history rounds so the material lands as core knowledge, because it is.
For a steady stream of history questions, Trivio.NET's History and Personalities categories serve fresh packs daily, plus live 1v1 battles for competitive players.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I play this black history trivia online?
Yes — this page includes a playable quiz widget, and the Trivio.NET app offers history trivia packs with daily quizzes, async duels and real-time 1v1 battles.
Where can I find more black history trivia questions and answers?
This page has 40 with fact notes, and Trivio.NET's History and Personalities categories add fresh questions daily.
Why is Black History Month in February?
Historian Carter G. Woodson launched Negro History Week in February 1926 to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass; it expanded to a full month in 1976.
Are these black history trivia questions suitable for students?
Yes — the set is written for middle school and up, and each answer includes a one-line fact teachers can expand on.
What's the most surprising answer in this set?
Most players don't know a NASA engineer, Lonnie Johnson, invented the Super Soaker — or that Daniel Hale Williams performed open-heart surgery back in 1893.
