Questions and Answers about
Black History
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Who was the first Black host of a US network television game show?
Answer: In 1975 Adam Wade became the first Black host of a network television game show – CBS’s weekly afternoon game show, “Musical Chairs.” The show was canceled after less than five months. Wade, better known for his singing and acting careers, died on July 7, 2022, at his home in Montclair, N.J. He was…
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in Classic TVWhich TV show featured the first kiss between a white man and a Black woman to be broadcast in a US series?
Answer: During the original “Star Trek”‘s third season, in 1968, Nichelle Nichols’ character, Lt. Uhura, and William Shatner’s Capt. James Kirk shared the first interracial kiss between a white man and a Black woman to be broadcast on a US TV series. Nichols died on July 30, 2022, at the age of 89.
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in SportsWho was the NBA’s first Black coach?
Answer: Bill Russell was the first Black coach in any North American professional sports, in his position as player-coach for the Boston Celtics from 1966 to 69, and the first to win a championship. Russell died on July 31, 2022, at the age of 88.
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in SportsWho was the first African American to play Major League Baseball (MLB)?
Answer: Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the white major baseball leagues on Apr. 15, 1947, when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. He was the first African American in the MLB since African-Americans had been excluded from major league baseball in 1884. Robinson was also the first black vice president…
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Karine Jean-Pierre is the first White House Press Secretary to be what?
Answer: On May 5, 2022, President Joe Biden appointed Karine Jean-Pierre, 44, to replace Jen Psaki as spokeswoman, making her the first Black woman and first openly gay person to hold the high-profile position. Psaki’s last day as press secretary will be May 13. She is expected to take an on-air role with MSNBC.
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in HistoryWhat was The Emancipator?
Answer: The Emancipator was America’s first newspaper dedicated to ending slavery, founded in 1820 in Tennessee. A joint effort by Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research and The Boston Globe revives the historical publication and reimagines it on digital platforms. The new online Emancipator will feature written and video opinion pieces, multimedia series, and virtual…
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Who was the first African American to win the Academy Award for Best Actor?
Answer: Sidney Poitier was the first African American and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for Lilies of the Field. He died on Jan. 6, 2022, in Los Angeles. He was 94._x000D_
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in ScienceWho is Jessica Watkins?
Answer: Jessica Watkins, 33, is the first Black woman to live and work at the International Space Station. She will join a SpaceX crew-4 mission after April 2022, marking her first flight into space. More answers inside!
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in PlacesWhat was the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean?
Haiti became the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean on January 1, 1804, when Jean-Jacques Dessalines defeated Napoleon Bonaparte’s forces. Haiti was also the first country in the region to abolish slavery._x000D_
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in PlacesWho is the first Black woman buried at the Pantheon monument in Paris?
Le Parisien newspaper reported Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021, that singer, dancer, actress, civil rights activist, and perhaps most notable, French Resistance agent, Josephine Baker, will be reburied at the Pantheon monument Paris. Baker is the first Black woman to get France’s highest honor. French President Emmanuel Macron decided on a Nov. 30, 2021, ceremony at…
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in CultureWhat was the occasion for which Lift Every Voice and Sing was set to its familiar tune?
James Weldon Johnson wrote the lyrics for “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sang” – the song known as the Black National Anthem in the United States – in 1900. His brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, set those lyrics to music for the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday in 1905._x000D_
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in CultureWhat is Blackfishing?
While according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, blackfishing is Scottish for the illegal catching of blackfish, the term gained a very different meaning in recent years. It describes the behavior of people pretending to have darker skin on social media – through hair, makeup, and accessories, to blur their actual racial background._x000D_
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in TVWho were the titular characters of ABC’s 1968-1973 hit series “The Mod Squad”?
The Mod Squad main characters were three rebellious “hippies” working as undercover detectives to avoid jail. The show was among the first TV programs to feature African-Americans as stars._x000D_
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in CultureWhat does the star in the Juneteenth flag represent?
The star in the middle of the Juneteenth flag represents the ‘”Lone Star State'” of Texas, where freed slaves first celebrated Juneteenth. The outline surrounding the star represents a new beginning for all. The colors on the flag are the same as the U.S. flag to show that former slaves and their descendants are free…
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in CultureWhat is the US state where Juneteenth originated?
Juneteenth originated in Texas. On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger informed a reluctant community in Galveston, Texas, that President Abraham Lincoln had freed enslaved people in rebel states two and a half years earlier. He pressed locals to comply with the directive. Texas was the last Confederate state to have the emancipation proclamation…
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in CultureWhat is the traditional menu for Juneteenth?
Traditional Juneteenth foods and drinks are red and include the Red Velvet cake, red strawberry soda or lemonade, and red hibiscus-tinged punch._x000D_
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in TVWhat was the first fictional on-screen depiction of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre?
HBO’s 2019 series Watchmen is considered the first time the entertainment industry depicted the 1921 Tulsa Massacre (Three documentaries preceded it)._x000D_
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in PoliticsHow many US states recognize Juneteenth as either a state holiday or ceremonial holiday?
President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday, June 17, 2021, establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery, following a bipartisan Congressional bill. Under the new law, the federal holiday is known as Juneteenth National Independence Day in all 50 states. The legislation made Juneteenth the 12th federal holiday._x000D_
