Black Trivia

The first work authored by a black female former slave, what was the name of Harriet A. Jacobs' 1861 work?

Published in 1771, what book brought Phillis Wheatley wide acclaim?

Scott Joplin played his ragtime music on what instrument?

Music historians refer to what type of music as the first Black American music?

The operas A Guest of Honor and Treemonisha were written by whom in the early 1900s?

Who is the author of Before the Mayflower ?

What Broadway show became the longest running one-person show in the history of Broadway?

In 1953, Ralph Ellison received the National Book Award for what book?

“Bentwa” was a musical instrumental unique to Africa. What kind of instrument was it?

What is the name of the colorful fabric worn by African royalty?

Formerly the Virginia Theatre, what became the first Broadway theater to bear the name of an African American in 2005?

What is the name of the Marion Marche Perkins sculpture that won the Art Institute of Chicago Purchase Award in 1951?

What Black American cartoonist created the world famous “Wee Pals”?

What music is regarded by many as a form of street poetry?

Nat Love wrote what kind of stories?

In 1938, who was the first gospel singer to record for a major record label, Decca Records?

“Go Down, Moses” and “Nobody Knows the Trouble I‟ve Seen” are known as what type of songs?

George Shirley was a tenor and member of what opera company?

In 1972 Kathleen Battle made her professional debut as an opera singer at the Spoleto Festival in what country?

Who is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Waiting to Exhale ?

What was the occupation of Laura Wheeler Waring?

For what style of music were the Ward Singers famous?

Nominated for a National Book Award, what is Maya Angelou's first autobiography?

What writer created the character Jesse B. Semple, the quintessential middle-aged man in Harlem?

Playwright August Wilson had two Broadway plays run at the same time. Name them.

This pastor and journalist was the religious editor at the Hopkinsville Globe Journal for six years. Name him.

What New York library houses rare collections of Black culture?

Elizabeth Catlett Mora is a graphic artist and printmaker. For what other type of work is she best known?

What was the name of the newspaper started by Malcolm X?

For what profession is Leona Mitchell known?

Langston Hughes was responsible for publishing what Black American magazine?

Published in 1982, Alice Walker‟s novel The Color Purple became a monumental bestseller and won what coveted awards?

For what talent did Elizabeth Taylor-Greenfield receive worldwide acclaim?

In 1955, Arthur Mitchell became the first black man to dance for a major ballet company in 1955. Name the company.

Ralph Ellison turned to writing after his career in what field was not successful?

The “father of gospel music” was Thomas A. Dorsey. He composed how many songs?

Along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, what type of music is played with the accordion?

Who wrote the song Maple Leaf Rag?

What artist‟s painting is entitled After Church?

Kunta Kinte was one the characters in what Alex Haley book?

Julian Abele was involved in the design of what museum?

Published in 1907, what was the title of the first of six Claybron Merriweather books?

Vibraphone player Lionel Hampton started his career in 1936 with which band?

In 1905 the first black symphony was founded. What was it called?

For what work did August Wilson win two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama?

Gordon Parks was voted “Photographer of the Year” in 1960 while working for what popular magazine?

Sallie Martin was the “mother of gospel music.” She and Thomas A. Dorsey founded what group in 1933?

What aspiring fiction writer, journalist, and Hopkinsville native, served as editor of three African American weeklies:

Joshua Johnson made his living in the early 1800s with what profession?

Creators of bebop known today as modern jazz, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie played what musical instruments?

Who wrote Clotel , or The President’s Daughter , the first published novel by a Black American in 1833?

What Black American was acclaimed for his involvement in the design of the Philadelphia Museum of Art?

What famous Black American writer encouraged Ralph Ellison‟s efforts to become a writer?

What is the name of the main character in the Zora Neale Hurston novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God ?

What Harlem theatre is a showcase for Black talent?

Who wrote the book "Their Eyes Were Watching God" ?

Who was best known for her role as Bloody Mary in the 1949 Broadway stage production of South Pacific?

In 1963, Katherine Dunham became the first Black American choreographer to work at what New York City Theater?

Known for his social and political views, who published The Souls of Black Folks in 1903?

What actor appeared in the play Emperor Jones in 1925?

Who was the first Black American woman chosen as Miss America?

Name the three journalist sons of educator, poet, and author Ephraim Poston?

Where was Ralph Ellison, the famous Black American novelist, born?

Who was the first Black American poet to be nationally recognized for his writing?

What was the name of the first novel published by Charles W. Chestnut?

Roots, the miniseries, was aired eight nights in 1977 with nearly 130 million viewers. Its 1979 sequel was named what?

Specializing in portraits of black leaders, Harlem Renaissance arts educator Augusta Savage was what type of artist?

Born in Owensboro, KY, who was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize in photography?

Since 1987, who has held the position of director of jazz at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City?

Who was the first black to perform at the opening of the new Metropolitan Opera House in 1966?

Who was born in Florence, Alabama in 1873 and is called “Father of the Blues”?

What medium did Gordon Parks use to describe Black Americans deprivation and racial discrimination?

Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now , a platinum hit by Gene McFadden & John Whitehead was known as what in 1979?

What famed opera singer was known as “The Lady from Philadelphia”?

Who was the first Black American singer to be admitted to the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York?

Of what profession were Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Countee Cullen, contributors to the Harlem Renaissance?

In what city was Marian Anderson born?

What city is known as the “jazz capital of the Southwest?”

Who was the author of the hit play A Raisin in The Sun ?

What type of music with an emphasis on improvisation began in New Orleans around the 1900s?

What was the name of Charles W. Chestnut's final novel?

Whose screenplay, Georgia, Georgia , was the first original script by a Black women to be produced?

What author promoted her first novel, Mama , by contacting colleges and universities?

What musical instrument does jazz musician Grover Washington, Jr. play? Page 3 of 72

Under what name did poet Amiri Baraka publish some of his books?

In what state was Langston Hughes born?

What is the given name of blues great W.C. Handy?

What was the name of the first publication of jazz arrangements?

On January 21, 1973 where did opera singer Jessye Norman perform to a sellout crowd in the Great Performers series?

Who wrote the poem “A Negro Love Song”?

What Alex Haley novel was made into a television mini-series in 1977 and 1979?

What Ted Poston work was published after his death in 1974?

Robb Armstrong is the creator of what cartoon strip which features the trials and tribulations of Joe and Marcy?

Who published The Escape , the first play written by a Black American?

Who played the character “Fiddler” in the television mini-series Roots in 1977.

Which one of composer/pianist Anthony Davis' operas premiered in Philadelphia in 1985 ?

What form of music did Duke Ellington elevate into a serious art form?

Cartoonist Morrie Turner created what world famous syndicated comic strip?

Who was the first Black American painter to win national recognition?

What city known for jazz music had great influence on Mahalia Jackson?