Sponsored by the Kenmore East Race Unity Club

The All-New Kenmore East Race Unity Club’s Annual Americans of African Ancestry History Contest

February 25th-26th, 2009

Sponsored by the Kenmore East Race Unity Club

Written by the members and advisors of the Kenmore East Race Unity Club: Katelin Blackburn, Jessica Reed, Jeff Steinborn, Rebecca Simmons, and Mr. Kresge. Also featuring the authorship of Mr. Spriegel

Edited and posted by: Mr. Kresge

Read and follow all directions! Not following directions will lower your score and reduce your chance at winning one of the highly valued prizes.

Hand write all answers on the answer sheet. You must print your own answer sheet found on the Race Unity Club website. Photocopies, plagiarized answers, and answer sheets not completed by the submitting individual will not be accepted for review.

Your answer sheet can be turned in to room 355, room 335, the library, or directly to Mr. Kresge or Ms. St. George at any time during the days of February 25th or 26th. Do not slide answer sheets under doors or put into teacher mailboxes. It must be given to a faculty or staff member willing to verify your turn in time. Answer sheets will be accepted until 9:00 am on the 26th.

The time of your submission must be written on the top of your answer sheet. If no time is recorded, the answer sheet will be disqualified from the contest. Only one answer sheet may be submitted per student or staff member.

The point of this contest is to teach, those of us not aware, just a small fraction of the significant contributions by Americans of African ancestry to this country’s history. Therefore, this is not an easy test. There will be many questions you can’t answer. Answers may be left blank but please remember it will affect your score.

Section 1: People

To answer questions #1-20, you must go to the Race Unity Club’s showcase on the first floor in the auditorium hallway at the north end on the left side just before the stairs. Do not go to the showcase until you have been given an opportunity to do so by your teacher. Some pictures in the showcase are labeled with numbers. Write the name of the person in the picture next to the number on the answer sheet that corresponds with their picture. For #1, name the group of people not the individual persons.

21. Name the person in this picture. 21.

22. Name the person in this picture. 22.

23. What actor was quoted as saying in a 2005 interview on “60 Minutes,” that the occasion (Black History Month) was a “ridiculous” attempt to relegate black history to a single month of the year when “indeed it should be incorporated into the larger narrative of the American experience at large?” Excerpt taken from a Buffalo News Article dated 1/30/09

24. In 1993, the United States Army conducted an investigation into racial discrimination for the awarding of medals for service during World War II. At the time, no Medals of Honor had been awarded to black soldiers who served in World War II. It was soon determined that several Distinguished Service Cross recipients of African ancestry merited an upgrade to the Medal of Honor. On January 13, 1997, President Bill Clinton awarded the Medal of Honor to seven African American World War II veterans. Only one was still alive to receive the award. Who was it?

25. What NCAA lacrosse legend is considered by many to be the best ever to play the game of lacrosse and even forced a rule change due to his dominating play?

26. Who is considered to be the first black man in America to earn a living as an artist?

27. Pete Townshend described seeing this guitarist for the first time as “a hell of a lot of pain. That’s what I felt. I still feel it.” There’s also a famous story about how he and this guitarist flipped a coin at the Monterey Pop Festival to see who would go on first. Who is the guitarist?

28. Who is believed to have taken the first bullet for American freedom at the Boston Massacre on March 5th, 1770?

29. This author, journalist, talk show host and political activist/commentator interned for Los Angeles’ first African American mayor, Tom Bradley, while attending the University of Indiana. He subsequently graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in law and public policy. Today he is considered one of the foremost leaders of the African American community.

30. An advocate for “greening” the United States economy and its energy usage, this prominent American has made significant contributions in developing new policies and programs regarding the use of renewable, sustainable, and cleaner energy sources. He is the author of bestselling books on the subject and a major focus of his work is to help provide effective ways for low-income families become energy and environmentally conscious through his “Green for All” movement.

31. Composer Arturo Toscanini told this famous American that “A voice like yours is heard only once in a hundred years.” Despite this praise, she was denied the opportunity to sing at Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution based simply on her race. She went on to sing at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, honored at the Kennedy Center, awarded the National Medal of the Arts, and also given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

32. According to Buffalo State College’s Office of Equity and Diversity, who can you contact for more information regarding mini-grants funded by that office?

33. This local jazz drummer, singer, dancer, composer, actor, guitarist, bandleader and educator is in the Buffalo Musicians Hall of Fame. He has toured and recorded with world famous musicians such as Ritchie Havens, Nina Simone, and Spyro-Gyra. He can be heard on Nina Simone’s live recording titled “Black Gold” and still performs locally at several venues throughout the area.

34. Name the person in this picture. 34.

Hint: She is the president of a local college.

35. This man is considered by many to be America’s first “shock jock” and was known to “tell it like it is.” Howard Stern was heavily influenced by him and even appeared on this man’s show. Actor Don Cheadle recently portrayed him in a feature film where he used this radio man’s catch phrase “adjust your color!”

36. At a time when African Americans in the U.S. Navy were not permitted to do anything but cook, do laundry and wash floors, this American hero manned a .50 caliber machine gun at Pearl Harbor despite never having been trained and fired at attacking Japanese aircraft until he ran out of ammunition and was ordered to abandon ship. Who is he?

37. This American of African ancestry was the first African American woman pianist to graduate from the Curtis Institute of Music with the coveted Bachelor of Music degree. She has since gone on to be the first African American woman pianist to play with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

38. What are the names of two schools that are now historic landmarks and played important roles in the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling by the Supreme Court that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” and dismantled the legal framework for racial segregation in public schools and Jim Crow laws which limited the rights of African Americans?

39. In 1878, what pitcher became the first black player to cross the minor league color barrier in the International Association?

40. What African American athlete had to ride in the service elevator to his award ceremony in the United States after winning 4 gold medals? For extra credit, name the events that he won medals in and label which ones were new world records at the time with a “wr” next to the event.

41. 1958 UB Bulls Lambert Trophy winning football team refused to play in their bowl game that year because the bowl organizing association in Florida did not allow black and white players to compete against each other on the same field. What were the names of the two African Americans on the UB football team that year? For extra credit, what was the team’s record that year, what was the name of the bowl game, and what was the name of the association that would not allow black and white players to compete with each other?

42. Who was the only four sport letter winner in UCLA history and was also a tank officer in the U.S. Army and why is he so famous?

43. What African American surgeon became the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital and was the first surgeon to operate on conjoined twins and save both?

44. Who was the first African American to be awarded the Medal of Honor? Be careful, this one’s tricky!

45. Who were the first two African American NFL quarterbacks to face each other in a conference championship?

Section 2 – multi-media experience

Open up Internet Explorer and go to Americaiam.org – take the virtual tour exhibition preview by clicking on “exhibition preview.” Then listen to Tavis Smiley’s preview audio tour and answer the questions below based on the audio tour and virtual gallery you must navigate through.

46. What is the title of the gallery Tavis Smiley describes in box 2?

47. What must you walk through to exit the gallery shown in box 3?

48. According to the gallery exhibit described in box 4, African Americans engendered 4 types of imprints on America. What are they?

49. What is the estimated value of the wealth created by enslaved African Americans in today’s dollars?

50. Originally, the U.S. Constitution stated that each slave was counted as what fraction of a person?

51. What time period is covered in the gallery shown in box #6? Post Civil War and Reconstruction

52. How old is the NAACP this year?

53. What filmmaker produced the video segments shown in the gallery for box #7 and what was the award winning documentary she made?

54. What major movement is covered in the gallery displayed in box #9?

55. Where and when does the “America I Am” exhibit open?

Now do a Google search for “Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938.” The first return is a Library of Congress site. Search for a slave narrative by Charlie Aarons and answer the following questions:

56. How old does Charlie say he is?

57. How old was Charlie when he was sold and taken from his family?

58. When was the next time he saw his parents?

59. What does Charlie mean by the word “jolifications?”

60. What Civil War battle does Charlie remember well?

Now go to YouTube (you’ll have to do this at home) and watch the BDP (Boogie Down Productions) video titled “You Must Learn.” This questions will be worth 10 points.

61. What is it that KRS 1 says that “you must learn?”

Section 3 Student authored questions

62. What Tennessee native won eight Grammy awards, is called the “Queen of Rock and Roll”, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991? She’s famous for songs such as “Fool in Love” and “River Deep, Mountain High”.

63. This man is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University and the director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research.

64. This performer is a classically trained pianist, who had his own VH1 reality television show for two years. His real name is William Johnathon Drayton Jr, and he has seven children.

65. This man is an Emmy and Grammy Award-winning comedian, as well as an actor, screenwriter, producer, and director. A television show based off the story of his life began in 2005.

66. This Olympic athlete possesses three gold, one silver, and two bronze medals in the long jump and heptathlon events. She still holds the record in the heptathlon and was named the “Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century” by Sports Illustrated.

67. This woman was the Secretary of State, and was previously the National Security Advisor. She is the second African-American to serve as National Security Advisor and the first woman to hold that office.

68. This popular musician who has released over 13 albums has a foundation named after him that seeks to maintain an active groundwork that will enable those in developing nations, particularly Jamaica and Africa, to create and execute programs that assist in the empowerment of the oppressed. The foundation also gives much-needed support to a world of people living in poverty.

69. This woman was the first African American woman to run for president, was the first African American woman to hold a congressional seat, she has won the Alumna of the Year, Key Woman of the Year, Outstanding Work in the Field of Child Welfare and Woman of Achievement. What is her name, what year did she pass away and where was she entered into rest?