Black History Month Friday Morning Meeting 2018
Quiz Questions and Answers
1) Do you know when the idea of Black History Month was established?
Answer: Black History month has been nationally recognized since 1976, although Dr. Carter G. Woodson created it in 1926. Growing out of “Negro History Week”, which was celebrated between Abraham Lincoln’s birthday (February 12) and Frederick Douglass’ birthday (February 20), it is a designated time in which the achievements of Black people are recognized.
2) Do you know how long the Pan-African flag has existed?
Answer: The Pan-African flag was created in 1920 to represent the pride of African- American people. The red band is for the “blood that unifies African descendants”, the black is to affirm the existence of Black people and green reminds people about the “vegetation of the motherland”.
3) Do you know how many museums in the United States are dedicated to African- American culture or history?
Answer: There are over 150 museums dedicated to African-American culture and history in the country. The first was established in 1868 at the historically Black college, Hampton University in Hampton, VA. The largest museum was the Charles H. Wright museum of Detroit, Michigan, which was founded in 1965. However, the National Museum of African-American History and Culture completed in 2016 has exceeded it in size.
4) Do you know how many visits to the National Museum of African American History and Culture have been recorded since its opening?
Answer: The Smithsonian Institution has a museum dedicated to African-American culture and history? Located in the heart of Washington, D.C., it has over 36,000 artifacts highlighting subjects like community, the arts, civil rights, and slavery. Over 3,000,000 visits have been recorded to date. Founding Director Lonnie G. Bunch III states, “the African American experience is the lens through which we understand what it is to be an American”.
5) Do you know how many women in 1955 refused to give up their seat on a bus before Rosa Parks?
Answer: There were several women before Rosa Parks, who refused to give up their seats on a bus in 1955. Aurelia Browder, Claudette Colvin, Susie McDonald, Mary Louise Smith and Jeanetta Reese (though she later dropped out of the case) were all arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus in 1955 before Rosa Parks was arrested in December of that year. They were all plaintiffs in the Supreme Court Case, Browder v. Gayle (1956) and integral to desegregating Montgomery, Alabama buses.
6) Do you know how many Black women have run for president?
Answer: Over 10 Black women have run for president. Shirley Chisholm and Carol Moseley Braun ran for president as major party candidates before Hillary Clinton. Shirley Chisholm ran in 1972 because she wanted to represent “the interests of Black people and the inner-city poor”. Carol Moseley Braun ran in 2004 on the platform of “individual rights and a sense of American pride and common purpose”. Chisholm, however, didn’t receive enough delegates to become the democratic nominee, losing out to George McGovern and Braun’s campaign funds ran out before the Iowa Caucus in 2004.
7) Do you know which of the following organizations was not active in the Civil Rights Movement?
Answer: There were several unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. Bayard Rustin, Ella Baker, Pauli Murray and Fannie Lou Hamer worked with four main civil rights organizations, which were integral to the movement’s success. Ella Baker helped organize SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) and SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) Bayard Rustin and Pauli Murray were both founders of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) and were also a part of the LGBT community. Fannie Lou Hamer worked with SNCC to organize Freedom Summer in 1964, a voter registration drive for Black people.
8) Do you know why the Black Lives Matter movement began?
Answer: The Black Lives Matter movement was created in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who killed 17 year-old Trayvon Martin in 2013. In the wake of that tragedy, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi started a movement to affirm “Black folks’ humanity...contributions to this society, and...[their] resilience in the face of deadly oppression.”
Sites to Explore about African-American History:
History Channel: http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-facts
Newsela Search: Black History Month Smithsonian Institution’s NMAAHC: Explore
Stories- https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories
Smithsonian Institution’s NMAAHC: Many Lenses- https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/manylenses