African-American History Quiz: How Well Do You Know Black History?
Written by Susanna Henke
Last updated · 8 min play time
How much African-American history do you know? Try this quiz to test your knowledge of some of the essential people and events of black history.
Fascinating and richly diverse, African-American history reflects some of the most inspirational as well as the most shameful aspects of humanity. From its beginning with the tragedy of slavery through every remarkable step toward progress that's been made right up until today, the story of black people in America is one of strength, resilience and hope. There have been heroes along the way, to be sure—you know some of them already (and just might encounter a few new faces in this quiz). This quiz takes a look at some of the titans of black history, from poets to civil rights activists. But as with the history of any other culture, remembering the contributions, struggles and achievements of ordinary, everyday people is an essential part of looking at the past. Further, while it's important to celebrate the triumphant moments of history, remembering the horrific events is also essential—and African-American history has perhaps more than its fair share of both.
Understanding the history of black people and race relations in America is to understand America itself. By looking at our past, we appreciate how far we've come since the dark days of slavery, as well as how much progress is left to go before true equality is reached. As President Obama so eloquently put it in his remarks at the Dedication of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2016:
And by knowing this other story, we better understand ourselves and each other. It binds us together. It reaffirms that all of us are America -- that African-American history is not somehow separate from our larger American story, it's not the underside of the American story, it is central to the American story.
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Some now-centric folks dismiss the value of anything that happened in the past. American industrialist Henry Ford once articulated this misguided attitude: “History is more or less bunk [nonsense] . . . the only history worth a damn is the history we make today." Hopefully you being here means that you already know the truth: that knowledge of history is vital. Seeing current events through the lens of history reveals the timelessness of certain themes and issues with which humankind has grappled from the start. Same problems, different day. If you believe that (or even if you just think history facts are cool), go check out the rest of our fascinating history quizzes!
Quiz written by
Susanna Henke: Black History Quiz Questions
20 Questions · 3.6K Plays · 1 Comment
Question 1
Harriet Tubman was the most productive conductor on the Underground Railroad. What was her codename?
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AJesus
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BMoses
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CFred
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DJehovah
Moses
Tubman achieved her own freedom by walking alone for 90 miles through woods and wetlands from her Maryland home to cross the Mason-Dixon line. Almost immediately, she embarked on her first of 13 return trips over the next eight years to rescue a total of 70 enslaved family and friends.
Question 2
This former slave became one the most influential abolitionists of the 19th century.
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ANat Turner
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BUlysses S. Grant
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CFrederick Douglass
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DDred Scott
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was renowned for his powerful and eloquent oratory, such as in this excerpt from an 1852 speech: "What to the American slave is your Fourth of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him more than all other days of the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him your celebration is a sham. . ."
Question 3
Civil rights leader and one-time Nation of Islam devotee Malcolm X adopted the "X" to replace the slave name that had been forced on his family. What was that last name?
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ALydell
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BLittle
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CJohanssen
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DLittell
Little
Long before his rise to fame, Malcolm X was just a regular young man nicknamed "Red" trying to get by in 1940s New York. His odd jobs included working as a dishwasher at Jimmy's Chicken Shack in Harlem alongside another Red: future comedy star Redd Foxx.
Question 4
Where was Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated?
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ADallas, Texas
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BAtlanta, Georgia
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CMemphis, Tennessee
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DPalm Springs, California
Memphis, Tennessee
As if prophesizing his own death, King's final speech in Memphis the previous night was his celebrated "I've Been to the Mountaintop," which ends with these historic words: “I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man."
Question 5
Who is this political activist, college professor and one-time Black Panthers supporter?
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AAssata Shakur
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Bbell hooks
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CAngela Davis
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DGloria Steinem
Angela Davis
Angela Davis spent 18 months in jail for charges connected to a violent prison outbreak, but was later acquitted. She is still politically active today and is a sought-after speaker.
Question 6
Which historic document concerning slavery did President Abraham Lincoln sign on January 1, 1863?
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AGettysburg Address
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B14th Amendment
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CEmancipation Proclamation
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DArticles of Confederation
Emancipation Proclamation
While it was a major step towards the abolition of slavery in the United States, the Emancipation Proclamation declared the freedom of only a subset of slaves: those living in the rebel states of the Confederacy. Slaves in neutral border states and in those already controlled by the Union were exempted in order to avoid conflict. The document also declared that liberated black men could now enlist in the Union Army; by the Civil War's end, nearly 200,000 black soldiers had fought for the Union and the cause of freedom.
Question 7
What is the name for the period of American history immediately following the Civil War?
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AReformation
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BThe Jazz Age
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CReconstruction
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DReparation
Reconstruction
Although the Union's Civil War victory resulted in the 13th Amendment and official abolition of slavery, life in the South after the war looked a whole lot like it did before for many of the former slaves. With no money, property or experience other than living and working on a plantation, many freedmen and women had no viable choice but to remain under the control of their former enslavers as sharecroppers—an agricultural system also known as debt slavery.
Question 8
Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter was one of the preeminent Mississippi Blues musicians. What's another name for this blues subgenre?
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ASouthern Blues
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BDelta Blues
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CTennessee Blues
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DCalifornia Blues
Delta Blues
Lead Belly is a true blues legend, revered by artists from Frank Sinatra to Kurt Cobain, who once said, "Isn't he all of ours?" after naming Lead Belly as his favorite musician.
Question 9
This painting by African-American artist Jacob Lawrence depicts the mass exodus of blacks out of the rural south to urban areas in the North and Midwest between 1915 and 1970. What do historians call this period of dramatic population shift?
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AGreat Transition
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BGreat Migration
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CGreat Crossing
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DGreat Exodus
Great Migration
At the turn of the 20th century, 90% of African Americans still lived in the South, the vast majority in rural areas. By the Great Migration's end in 1970, only 53% remained in the South. Across the nation, 80% of African Americans now lived in cities. Why did millions of black migrants leave the South? To seek better economic opportunities, away from the racially oppressive structure that persisted there in spite of slavery's abolition 50 years earlier.
Question 10
Legendary bandleader Duke Ellington and countless other jazz greats got their start at New York's Cotton Club. In which neighborhood would you have found the iconic club?
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AWall Street
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BLenox Hill
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CHarlem
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DSouth Bronx
Harlem
From 1922 to 1935, the Cotton Club was THE venue for black entertainers—Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Lena Horne, and the list goes on. An ugly irony, however, is that the performers played to white-only audiences; the Cotton Club was known as the most strictly segregated nightclub in New York.
Question 11
This historically black men's college in Atlanta boasts Martin Luther King, Jr. among its alumni.
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ASpelman
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BMorehouse
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CLouisiana State
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DHoward
Morehouse
Although Morehouse was founded in 1874 with the mission to educate black men, the institution did not have an African-American president until 1913.
Question 12
Which of these is true about the infamous Tuskegee Experiment, the 40-year, secret syphilis study on 400 black men conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service?
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AAt the study's end, 128 men had died from syphilis.
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BThe subjects were never treated, even after a cure existed.
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CThe subjects were told they were being treated for "bad blood."
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DAll of the above.
All of the above.
One of the worst atrocities of 20th century America, the Tuskegee Experiment followed 400 African-American men with syphilis from 1932 to 1972 in order to study the full course of the disease. When penicillin became available as a treatment just 13 years into the study, the researchers withheld it from the men and went to great lengths to prevent them obtaining it elsewhere. A whistleblower finally exposed the experiment in 1972. Public outrage led to significant legal changes to protect human subjects of scientific studies.
Question 13
What genre of music is the classic hymn, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"?
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ADevotional
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BTune
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CSpiritual
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DBallad
Spiritual
Spirituals are a uniquely African-American genre of songs. The style combines the African oral tradition of call and response (called a "field holler") with themes of Christianity and hardship reflecting the slaves' experience in America.
Question 14
This legendary actor broke through the race barrier by becoming the first black artist to win the Academy Award for Best Actor.
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AHarry Belafonte
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BLouis Gossett Jr.
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CJames Earl Jones
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DSidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Poitier received both the Oscar and the Golden Globe Best Actor awards for his portrayal of Homer Smith in <i>Lilies of the Field</i> (1963). Over his career, Poitier earned a total of six Golden Globe and two Oscar nominations.
Question 15
Which of these facts about African-American poet Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784) is NOT true?
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AShe was the first African American to publish a book.
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BShe was the first slave in the U.S. to publish a book.
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CHer 1773 book of poems was first published by the Boston publishing house, Green & Russell.
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DShe had her first poem printed in the newspaper at age 14.
Her 1773 book of poems was first published by the Boston publishing house, Green & Russell.
While Wheatley had significant support among New England's abolitionist elite, many whites refused to believe that a slave could produce eloquent poetry. Even after she successfully defended her authorship in court, no American publishing house was willing to publish her book. The determined wife of Wheatley's slaveowner then brought the young poet to London, where they successfully secured a publishing deal.
Question 16
Which eccentric civil rights activist and self-declared "Provisional President of Africa" founded the massively popular, black nationalist Universal Negro Improvement Association?
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ALangston Hughes
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BMarcus Garvey
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CMartin Luther King, Jr.
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DW. E. B. Du Bois
Marcus Garvey
Garvey had a charismatic, larger than life presence with dreams big enough to match. He didn't just champion the black nationalist movement—he bought three ships intended to transport black Americans back to Africa. But Garvey's Black Star Shipping Company was a mess: the ships were in poor repair and the company mismanaged (perhaps fraudulently), and Garvey died never having set foot in Africa. A highly polarizing figure in his day, Garvey's controversial acts included meeting with the Grand Wizard of the K.K.K. to coordinate their shared mission to send blacks back to Africa. But his legacy is largely positive; he is credited for his contribution to the black civil rights movement (including coining the phrase "Black is Beautiful") and his influence on subsequent black nationalist movements in Africa as well as the U.S.
Question 17
Which of these facts about civil rights icon Rosa Parks is FALSE?
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AShe was born in Tuskegee, Alabama.
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BShe did not plan to refuse to give up her bus seat that day.
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CShe was a longtime member of the local NAACP chapter.
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DShe was the first black citizen of Montgomery to be arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person.
She was the first black citizen of Montgomery to be arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person.
While no doubt a civil rights pioneer, Rosa Parks was not actually the first African American to be arrested for defying Montgomery's bus segregation laws. Nine months earlier, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin was arrested for doing the exact same thing. In fact, Parks had helped to fundraise for Colvin's defense!
Question 18
Which celebrated opera singer sang for 75,000 people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial after the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow her to perform in their auditorium due to her race?
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ALeontyne Price
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BJessye Norman
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CMarian Anderson
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DMaria Callas
Marian Anderson
On hearing of the organization's refusal to allow Anderson to perform, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt promptly resigned her membership and helped organize Anderson's historic performance at the mall. The two women became lifelong friends.
Question 19
Which baseball legend broke the sport's color line by becoming the first African American to play in the Major Leagues?
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AHank Aaron
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BJackie Robinson
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CWillie Mays
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DJesse Owens
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson made history when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Until that time, black ballplayers had only played in the Negro Leagues. Robinson went on to an extraordinary baseball career, winning Rookie of the Year that first season and League MVP two years later.
Question 20
What was "40 Acres and a Mule"?
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AA civil rights manifesto.
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BA classic plantation song.
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CA post-Civil War reparations plan.
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DThe first published children's book by an African-American author.
A post-Civil War reparations plan.
When the Civil War ended, the Union had to figure out what to do with all that confiscated rebel land. Their utterly radical decision? Give it to the newly freed slaves—up to 40 acres each (the mule part came later). Within months of the January 1865 order, 40,000 former slaves had settled onto 400,000 acres of plantation land once owned by their white masters. And then, just as quickly, it was snatched back. If Lincoln hadn't been assassinated that spring, the course of American history might have been dramatically different. But his Southern-sympathizing successor, Andrew Johnson, wasted no time reversing the order, expelling the former slaves and giving the land back to the country's sworn enemies.
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This had some very good historical accounts