10 Tough Questions about Black History

So ... how aware are you of black American history? Let's find out!

A multiple-choice quiz by CellarDoor. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
CellarDoor

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
268

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
6019

Awards
Top 5% quiz!

Last 3 plays: Guest 184 (5/10), Guest 134 (4/10), Guest 72 (8/10).

This quiz has 2 formats: you can play it as a or as shown below.
Scroll down to the bottom for the answer key.

1. Who was the first colonist slain in the Boston Massacre? Hint

John Adams

Olaudah Equiano

Phyllis Wheatley

Crispus Attucks

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2. This botanist, born a slave, became famous for his contributions to agricultural science. Who was this man, grand promoter of peanuts, sweet potatoes and soybeans, widely credited with inventing peanut butter? Hint

Charles Drew

Booker T. Washington

Paul Lawrence Dunbar

George Washington Carver

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3. Who wrote 'Go Tell It on the Mountain' and 'Notes of a Native Son'?

Answer: (Two Words)

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4. What author of 'Song of Solomon' won the Nobel Prize for literature? Hint

Alice Walker

Toni Morrison

Zora Neale Hurston

Langston Hughes

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5. The U.S. Emancipation Proclamation, signed in 1863, legally freed slaves in what areas? Hint

all territories (Confederate and Union)

Confederate territory

Union territory

some of the Confederate states

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6. What U.S. President signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law? Hint

John F. Kennedy

Lyndon B. Johnson

Richard M. Nixon

Dwight D. Eisenhower

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7. What Supreme Court decision decreed that public schools should be integrated? Hint

Brown v. Board

Dred Scott case

Plessy v. Ferguson

Scopes v. Kansas

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8. What is the arduous sea journey slaves made from West Africa to the Americas called? Hint

Long Passage

Middle Passage

Hard Passage

Trail of Tears

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9. What slave sued for freedom in the 1840s, claiming that since he was in a free state, it was illegal for his master to keep him in bondage? His case was finally decided by the Supreme Court in 1857. Hint

Dred Scott

John Brown

Nat Turner

Gabriel Prosser

NEXT>

10. A man called Cinque led a successful rebellion aboard what slave ship in the mid-nineteenth century?

Answer: (One Word)

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who was the first colonist slain in the Boston Massacre?

Answer: Crispus Attucks

Attucks was a free Bostonian of African descent.

Answer: George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver did not actually invent peanut butter (contrary to the assertions of countless grade school teachers), but peanut butter was a fixture of the bulletins he published to encourage poor farmers to rotate their crops. By publishing more than 300 uses for peanuts and soybeans, he proved that these nitrogen-fixing plants were marketable (in addition to improving the soil).

3. Who wrote 'Go Tell It on the Mountain' and 'Notes of a Native Son'?

Answer: James Baldwin

4. What author of 'Song of Solomon' won the Nobel Prize for literature?

Answer: Toni Morrison

'Song of Solomon' is the story of Milkman, Guitar, and an old, old slave legend . . .

5. The U.S. Emancipation Proclamation, signed in 1863, legally freed slaves in what areas?

Answer: Confederate territory

It wasn't until the ratification of the 13th Amendment that slaves were legally freed everywhere -- and the Emancipation Proclamation did not take effect immediately, since it only applied to areas Lincoln did not control.

6. What U.S. President signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law?

Answer: Lyndon B. Johnson

The Act was pushed through Congress largely on the strength of Kennedy's memory.

7. What Supreme Court decision decreed that public schools should be integrated?

Answer: Brown v. Board

The full name of the case is Brown et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas -- and it was actually the first alphabetically of five linked school integration cases from different districts.

8. What is the arduous sea journey slaves made from West Africa to the Americas called?

Answer: Middle Passage

Answer: Dred Scott

The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Taney, denied Scott's suit, ten years after the first trial in Missouri. John Brown led the famous raid at Harpers Ferry; Nat Turner and Gabriel Prosser both led famous slave rebellions, in the early 19th and late 18th centuries, respectively.

10. A man called Cinque led a successful rebellion aboard what slave ship in the mid-nineteenth century?

Answer: Amistad

This event was made famous in modern times by Steven Spielberg's movie 'Amistad'.

Source: Author CellarDoor

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

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