Black History Quiz
Tubman, Rosa Parks, MLK, Mansa Musa, Mandela: 15 questions on Black history in America and the world.
Who was arrested in December 1955 for refusing to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, sparking a year-long boycott?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks, a seamstress and NAACP secretary, refused a driver's order to move on 1 December 1955, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott that followed lasted 381 days until the buses were desegregated.
After her death in 2005, Parks became the first woman to lie in honor in the US Capitol Rotunda.
Who delivered the 'I Have a Dream' speech at the March on Washington in August 1963?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Martin Luther King Jr.
King delivered the speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on 28 August 1963 to a crowd of around 250,000, and the following year, aged 35, he won the Nobel Peace Prize.
The 'I have a dream' passage was partly improvised after the gospel singer Mahalia Jackson called out 'Tell them about the dream, Martin'.
Which abolitionist escaped slavery and then guided around 70 others to freedom on the Underground Railroad?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman escaped from Maryland in 1849 and returned about 13 times to lead family and friends north, never losing a single passenger, which earned her the nickname 'Moses'.
During the Civil War Tubman guided the Combahee River Raid of 1863, which freed more than 700 enslaved people in South Carolina.
In which year was Barack Obama first elected President of the United States?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
2008
Obama, then a senator from Illinois, defeated John McCain in November 2008 to become the first Black president, and he was inaugurated on 20 January 2009.
Obama first drew national attention with his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, the same year he won his Senate seat.
Who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers in April 1947?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Jackie Robinson
Robinson played his first game for the Dodgers on 15 April 1947, won the first ever Rookie of the Year award and endured abuse from fans and opponents while helping Brooklyn win the pennant.
His number 42 was retired across all of Major League Baseball in 1997, the first number ever retired league-wide.
Which amendment to the US Constitution abolished slavery in 1865?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
The 13th
The 13th Amendment, ratified in December 1865, abolished slavery throughout the United States, going beyond the Emancipation Proclamation, which had applied only to areas in rebellion.
The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to formerly enslaved people in 1868, and the 15th barred denying the vote on grounds of race in 1870.
Which formerly enslaved abolitionist published the antislavery newspaper The North Star from 1847?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Frederick Douglass
Douglass escaped slavery in 1838, became a celebrated orator and the author of a bestselling autobiography, and launched The North Star in Rochester, New York, in 1847.
Douglass was the most photographed American of the 19th century, sitting for more than 160 portraits to counter racist caricatures.
Which 1954 Supreme Court ruling declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Brown v. Board of Education
In Brown v. Board of Education, decided unanimously on 17 May 1954, the Court ruled that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, overturning the separate but equal doctrine of 1896.
Oliver Brown sued because his daughter Linda had to travel across Topeka, Kansas, to a Black school when a white school stood a few blocks from home.
How many years did Nelson Mandela spend in prison before his release in February 1990?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
27
Mandela was jailed in 1962 and sentenced to life in 1964 at the Rivonia Trial, spending 27 years in prison, 18 of them on Robben Island, before walking free on 11 February 1990.
Four years after his release Mandela was elected South Africa's first Black president in the country's first fully democratic election.
Which ruler of the Mali Empire, often described as the richest person in history, made a famously lavish pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Mansa Musa
Mansa Musa's caravan reportedly included thousands of attendants and so much gold that his spending in Cairo depressed the price of the metal there for years afterward.
Mansa Musa turned Timbuktu into a center of learning, and he appears holding a gold nugget on the 1375 Catalan Atlas.
Which civil rights leader was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City in February 1965?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Malcolm X
Malcolm X was shot as he began a speech on 21 February 1965, less than a year after leaving the Nation of Islam and founding the Organization of Afro-American Unity.
His posthumous Autobiography, written with Alex Haley, was published later in 1965 and remains one of the most influential American memoirs.
The 1965 voting rights marches, including the 'Bloody Sunday' attack on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, set out from which Alabama city?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Selma
On 7 March 1965 state troopers beat marchers led by John Lewis and Hosea Williams as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, and the television images helped pass the Voting Rights Act that August.
The full march from Selma to the state capital, Montgomery, covered 54 miles (87 km) and was completed two weeks later under federal protection.
Who argued Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court and later became its first Black justice in 1967?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Thurgood Marshall
As the NAACP's chief counsel, Marshall argued the school segregation cases that produced the Brown ruling, and Lyndon Johnson appointed him to the Supreme Court in 1967, where he served until 1991.
Marshall's successor on the Court, Clarence Thomas, became only the second Black justice in US history.
Who led Ghana to independence in 1957 and became its first prime minister?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Kwame Nkrumah
Nkrumah led the Gold Coast's push for self-rule and became prime minister when Ghana gained independence from Britain on 6 March 1957, the first sub-Saharan colony to do so.
Nkrumah was a champion of pan-Africanism and was overthrown in a military coup in 1966 while on a visit to China.
Who became the first Black woman elected to the US Congress in 1968?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Shirley Chisholm
Chisholm won New York's 12th congressional district in 1968 and served seven terms, and in 1972 she became the first Black candidate to seek a major party's presidential nomination.
Her campaign slogan was 'Unbought and Unbossed', which also became the title of her 1970 autobiography.
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All History quizzes →About the Black History Quiz
Harriet Tubman led around 70 people out of slavery and never lost one. Rosa Parks kept her bus seat and launched a 381-day boycott. Mansa Musa carried so much gold to Mecca that he crashed the price in Cairo, and Nelson Mandela walked out of prison after 27 years to lead his country.
These 15 questions span Black history in the United States and around the world: abolitionists Frederick Douglass and Tubman, the 13th Amendment, Jackie Robinson, Brown v. Board of Education, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Selma, Thurgood Marshall, Shirley Chisholm, Kwame Nkrumah and the Mali Empire. It works well for Black History Month, classrooms and anyone who wants the full story, not just the headlines.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
Is this quiz only about American history?
Mostly, but it also includes world figures such as Mansa Musa of Mali, Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.
Is this quiz suitable for Black History Month?
Yes. It covers the key people and milestones taught in February in the US and October in the UK, with a short explanation after every answer.
What civil rights milestones are included?
The 13th Amendment, Brown v. Board of Education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the 1963 March on Washington, the Selma marches and Thurgood Marshall's appointment to the Supreme Court.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- Who was arrested in December 1955 for refusing to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, sparking a year-long boycott?
Rosa Parks Rosa Parks, a seamstress and NAACP secretary, refused a driver's order to move on 1 December 1955, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott that followed lasted 381 days until the buses were desegregated. After her death in 2005, Parks became the first woman to lie in honor in the US Capitol Rotunda. - Who delivered the 'I Have a Dream' speech at the March on Washington in August 1963?
Martin Luther King Jr. King delivered the speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on 28 August 1963 to a crowd of around 250,000, and the following year, aged 35, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. The 'I have a dream' passage was partly improvised after the gospel singer Mahalia Jackson called out 'Tell them about the dream, Martin'. - Which abolitionist escaped slavery and then guided around 70 others to freedom on the Underground Railroad?
Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman escaped from Maryland in 1849 and returned about 13 times to lead family and friends north, never losing a single passenger, which earned her the nickname 'Moses'. During the Civil War Tubman guided the Combahee River Raid of 1863, which freed more than 700 enslaved people in South Carolina. - In which year was Barack Obama first elected President of the United States?
2008 Obama, then a senator from Illinois, defeated John McCain in November 2008 to become the first Black president, and he was inaugurated on 20 January 2009. Obama first drew national attention with his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, the same year he won his Senate seat. - Who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers in April 1947?
Jackie Robinson Robinson played his first game for the Dodgers on 15 April 1947, won the first ever Rookie of the Year award and endured abuse from fans and opponents while helping Brooklyn win the pennant. His number 42 was retired across all of Major League Baseball in 1997, the first number ever retired league-wide. - Which amendment to the US Constitution abolished slavery in 1865?
The 13th The 13th Amendment, ratified in December 1865, abolished slavery throughout the United States, going beyond the Emancipation Proclamation, which had applied only to areas in rebellion. The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to formerly enslaved people in 1868, and the 15th barred denying the vote on grounds of race in 1870. - Which formerly enslaved abolitionist published the antislavery newspaper The North Star from 1847?
Frederick Douglass Douglass escaped slavery in 1838, became a celebrated orator and the author of a bestselling autobiography, and launched The North Star in Rochester, New York, in 1847. Douglass was the most photographed American of the 19th century, sitting for more than 160 portraits to counter racist caricatures. - Which 1954 Supreme Court ruling declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional?
Brown v. Board of Education In Brown v. Board of Education, decided unanimously on 17 May 1954, the Court ruled that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, overturning the separate but equal doctrine of 1896. Oliver Brown sued because his daughter Linda had to travel across Topeka, Kansas, to a Black school when a white school stood a few blocks from home. - How many years did Nelson Mandela spend in prison before his release in February 1990?
27 Mandela was jailed in 1962 and sentenced to life in 1964 at the Rivonia Trial, spending 27 years in prison, 18 of them on Robben Island, before walking free on 11 February 1990. Four years after his release Mandela was elected South Africa's first Black president in the country's first fully democratic election. - Which ruler of the Mali Empire, often described as the richest person in history, made a famously lavish pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324?
Mansa Musa Mansa Musa's caravan reportedly included thousands of attendants and so much gold that his spending in Cairo depressed the price of the metal there for years afterward. Mansa Musa turned Timbuktu into a center of learning, and he appears holding a gold nugget on the 1375 Catalan Atlas. - Which civil rights leader was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City in February 1965?
Malcolm X Malcolm X was shot as he began a speech on 21 February 1965, less than a year after leaving the Nation of Islam and founding the Organization of Afro-American Unity. His posthumous Autobiography, written with Alex Haley, was published later in 1965 and remains one of the most influential American memoirs. - The 1965 voting rights marches, including the 'Bloody Sunday' attack on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, set out from which Alabama city?
Selma On 7 March 1965 state troopers beat marchers led by John Lewis and Hosea Williams as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, and the television images helped pass the Voting Rights Act that August. The full march from Selma to the state capital, Montgomery, covered 54 miles (87 km) and was completed two weeks later under federal protection. - Who argued Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court and later became its first Black justice in 1967?
Thurgood Marshall As the NAACP's chief counsel, Marshall argued the school segregation cases that produced the Brown ruling, and Lyndon Johnson appointed him to the Supreme Court in 1967, where he served until 1991. Marshall's successor on the Court, Clarence Thomas, became only the second Black justice in US history. - Who led Ghana to independence in 1957 and became its first prime minister?
Kwame Nkrumah Nkrumah led the Gold Coast's push for self-rule and became prime minister when Ghana gained independence from Britain on 6 March 1957, the first sub-Saharan colony to do so. Nkrumah was a champion of pan-Africanism and was overthrown in a military coup in 1966 while on a visit to China. - Who became the first Black woman elected to the US Congress in 1968?
Shirley Chisholm Chisholm won New York's 12th congressional district in 1968 and served seven terms, and in 1972 she became the first Black candidate to seek a major party's presidential nomination. Her campaign slogan was 'Unbought and Unbossed', which also became the title of her 1970 autobiography.
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