Black History Trivia
50 Trivia Questions & Answers
Discover iconic people and events of black history with these engaging trivia questions. These questions will educate and inspire you as you learn about the rich and diverse stories of black people, the civil rights movement, and more!
Who was the first African American to be elected as President of the United States?
Barack Obama Click to see the answer
Who was the first African American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Who was the first African American to be elected to the U.S. Senate in the post-Reconstruction era?
Hiram Revels
Who was the first African American to be appointed as a Supreme Court justice in the United States?
Thurgood Marshall
Who was the first African American to win an Academy Award for Best actor?
Sidney Poitier
Who was the first African American to be elected as the Governor of a U.S. state?
Douglas Wilder
Who was the first African American to be appointed as the U.S. Secretary of State?
Colin Powell Click to see the answer
Who was the first African American to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?
Toni Morrison
Who was the first African American to be appointed as the U.S. Surgeon General?
David Satcher
Who was the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature?
Toni Morrison
Who was the first African American to be appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations?
Andrew Young
Who was the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics?
Arthur Ashkin
Who was the first African American to be appointed as the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development?
Patricia Roberts Harris
Who was the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics?
Robert William Fogel
Who was the first African American to be appointed as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services?
Louis W. Sullivan
Who was a prominent civil rights leader and the first African American to be elected as mayor of Chicago, Illinois?
Harold Washington Click to see the answer
Who was the first African American woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine?
Françoise Barré-Sinoussi
Who was a prominent civil rights leader and the first African American to be elected as mayor of Los Angeles, California?
Tom Bradley
Who was the first African American woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry?
Frances Arnold
Who was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball?
Jackie Robinson
Who was the first African American to hold a patent in the United States?
Thomas L. Jennings
Who was the first African American to graduate from Harvard University?
Richard Theodore Greener
Who was the first African American woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics?
Donna Strickland
Who was the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry?
Franklin A. Thomas Click to see the answer
Who was the first African American to be appointed as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation?
Rodney E. Slater
Who was the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine?
Ralph Bunche
Who was the first African American to be appointed as the U.S. Secretary of Education?
Rod Paige
Who was the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Peace?
Ralph Bunche
Who was the first African American to be appointed as the U.S. Secretary of Energy?
Hazel R. O'Leary
Who was the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine?
James E. Rothman
Who was the first African American to be appointed as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture?
Mike Espy
Who was the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics?
William Phillips
Who was the first African American to be appointed as the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs?
Jesse Brown
Who was the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics?
James Heckman
Who was the first African American to be appointed as the U.S. Secretary of Labor?
Alexis Herman
Who was the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry?
Ahmed Zewail Click to see the answer
Who was the first African American to be appointed as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior?
Bruce Babbitt
Who was the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine?
Eric Kandel
Who was the first African American to be appointed as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce?
Ron Brown
Who was the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Peace?
Barack Obama
Who was the first African American to be appointed as the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security?
Janet Napolitano
Who was the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine?
Tony Fauci
Who was the leader of the civil rights movement and famous for leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the 1950s?
Martin Luther King Jr.
Who was the first African American woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress?
Shirley Chisholm
Who was a prominent civil rights leader and the first African American to be elected as mayor of Atlanta, Georgia?
Maynard Jackson
Who was the first African American to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
Rosa Parks
Who was the first African American woman to win a medal at the Olympic Games?
Alice Coachman
Who was a prominent civil rights leader and co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)?
John Lewis
Who was the first African American to be elected as the Governor of Virginia?
L. Douglas Wilder
Who was a prominent civil rights leader and the first African American to be elected as mayor of New York City?
David Dinkins
