Arts and entertainment

Question 1

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

Answer 1

Zydeco

Question 2

Who wrote “Their Eyes Were Watching God?”

Answer 2

Zora Neale Hurston

Question 3

Which one of composer/pianist Anthony Davis’ operas
premiered in Philadelphia in 1985 and was performed
by the New York City Opera in 1986?

Answer 3

The Life and Times of
Malcolm X

Question 4

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

Answer 4

Wynton Marsalis

Question 5

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

Answer 5

LiteraryWriters\Auth
ors

Question 6

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

Answer 6

William Wells Brown

Question 7

For what 1954 film was Dorothy Dandridge the first
black actress to receive an Academy Award nomination
for Best Actress ?

Answer 7

Carmen Jones

Question 8

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

Answer 8

William Christopher Handy

Question 9

What aspiring fiction writer, journalist, and
Hopkinsville native, served as editor of three African
American weeklies: the Indianapolis Recorder, the
Freeman, and the Indianapolis Ledger?

Answer 9

William Alexander
Chambers

Question 10

Nat Love wrote what kind of stories?

Answer 10

Westerns

Question 11

Cartoonist Morrie Turner created what world famous
syndicated comic strip?

Answer 11

Wee Pals

Question 12

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

Answer 12

WC Handy

Question 13

Georgia Douglas Johnson was a poet during the
Harlem Renaissance era. She often held writers‟
workshops at her home in what city?

Answer 13

Washington
DC

Question 14

Growing up with a white Jewish mother and an African
American father, who wrote Devil in a Blue Dress, A
Red Death, White Butterfly, and Black Betty?

Answer 14

Walter Mosley

Question 15

Name at least three nationally renowned 20th Century
tap dancers.

Answer 15

Bill Bailey; Charles
“Honi” Coles; Sammy
Davis, Jr.; Savion
Glover; Gregory
Hines; Maurice
Hines; Fayard
Nicholas; Harold
Nicholas; Bill
“Bojangles” Robinson

Question 16

Known for his social and political views, who published

The Souls of Black Folks in 1903?

Answer 16

W.E.B. Du Bois

Question 17

Who was the first Black American woman chosen as

Miss America?

Answer 17

Vanessa Williams

Question 18

In addition to her outstanding career as a singer, what

was Marian Anderson
appointed to by President Dwight D. Eisenhower?

Answer 18

U.S. Delegate to the
United States

Question 19

Harlem Renaissance writer Eric Walrond was born in
Georgetown, British Guiana and penned what book
that consists of a collection of ten stories?

Answer 19

Tropic Death

Question 20

What Hopkinsville natives and brothers owned and

edited The Detroit Contender?

Answer 20

Ulysses and Robert
Poston

Question 21

Name the three journalist sons of educator, poet, and

author Ephraim Pastor?

Answer 21

Ulysses, Robert, and
Ted Poston

Question 22

Gustavus Vassa was a slave who had written the first
autobiography. His African name was Olaudah
Equiano. How many volumes made up his narrative?

Answer 22

two

Question 23

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

Answer 23

the National
Convention of Gospel
Choirs and Choruses

Question 24

Langston Hughes was responsible for publishing what

Black American magazine?

Answer 24

The Nation

Question 25

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

Answer 25

the Metropolitan Opera

Question 26

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

Answer 26

The Lady and Her Music

Question 27

What New York library houses rare collections of Black culture?

Answer 27

The Schomburg Center

Question 28

What is the name of the sculpture designed as a tribute to the four Black girls killed during a church bombing in Alabama in 1963?

Answer 28

The Crucifixion

Question 29

What is the name of the newsletter which was originally edited by W.E.B. Du Bois and published by the NAACP in 1910?

Answer 29

The Crisis

Question 30

What is the name of the Harlem club where many famous Black American entertainers began their careers?

Answer 30

The Cotton Club

Question 31

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

Answer 31

Spiritual

Question 32

This director, screenwriter and actor was born in Atlanta but relocated to Brooklyn, where he later established a film company. Whether working with a low-budget and unknown actors or Hollywood heavyweights, his films continue to be controversial and push racial boundaries. Name him.

Answer 32

Spike Lee

Question 33

Porgy was a black musical play that had its debut in 1927. It became a film in 1959 entitled Porgy and Bess and had an all star black cast. Name two of the actors/actresses that performed in this film?

Answer 33

Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Pearl Bailey, Sammy Davis, Jr., Brock Peters, Diahann Carroll, Ivan Dixon, Clarence Muse

Question 34

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

Answer 34

Roots

Question 35

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

Answer 35

Roots

Question 36

What one-time Negro League professional baseball player, turned-artist created collages on the lifestyles of blacks in the 1960s?

Answer 36

Romare Bearden

Question 37

What artist’s painting is entitled After Church?

Answer 37

Romare Bearden

Question 38

Julian Abele was involved in the design of what museum?

Answer 38

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Question 39

In what city was Marian Anderson born?

Answer 39

Philadelphia

Question 40

What actor appeared in the play Emperor Jones in 1925?

Answer 40

Paul Robeson

Question 41

What city and what college did Paul Robeson live and attend?

Answer 41

Princeton New Jersey and Rutgers University

Question 42

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

Answer 42

Paul Lawrence Dunbar

Question 43

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

Answer 43

New York City Ballet

Question 44

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

Answer 44

Muhammad Speaks

Question 45

She was known as the “queen of gospel music.” Her first recording “Move On Up a Little Higher” sold over a million copies in 1945. What was her name?

Answer 45

Mahalia Jackson

Question 46

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

Answer 46

Life

Question 47

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

Answer 47

Leontyne Price

Question 48

What term refers generally to the artistic and socio-cultural awakening among black people in the 1920s and early 1930s?

Answer 48

Harlem Renaissance

Question 49

In 2015, who was the 1 st African American woman to be promoted to principal ballerina in American Ballet Theater’s 75 year history?

Answer 49

Misty Copeland

Question 50

In 1957, Who was the African American man who became the 1 st Black principal dancer in the New York City Ballet?

Answer 50

Arthur Mitchell

Question 51

Who was the African American singer who performed a historic open-air concert at the Lincoln Memorial after the Daughters of the American Revolution had barred her from singing to an integrated audience at Constitution Hall?

Answer 51

Marian Anderson

Question 52

Who was the 1st African American to publish a book of poetry, in 1773?

Answer 52

Phillis Wheatley

Question 53

In 1933, who was the 1st African American woman and composer whose original music was played by a major orchestra at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra?

Answer 53

Florence Price

Question 54

From 1919-1929 there was a resurgence of literature, knowledge, and the period?

Answer 54

Harlem Renaissance

Question 55

What American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer was the leader of the first Black American band to play in Carnegie Hall?

Answer 55

William "Count" Basie

Question 56

What was the venue called where classic blues singers: Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith, and Alberta Hunter, performed?

Answer 56

Vaudeville Music Houses

Question 57

The first rap song to achieve commercial success was “Rapper’s Delight.” What was the name of the group who recorded this single in 1979?

Answer 57

The Sugar Hill Gang

Question 58

In the 1920s the Lindy Hop was made famous at this Harlem dance venue.

Answer 58

The Savoy Ballroom

Question 59

Name three dance steps from the Disco era?

Answer 59

the Hustle, the Bump, and the Bus Stop

Question 60

Who became Hollywood’s first Black millionaire actor?

Answer 60

Stepin’ Fetchit

Question 61

What is MC Hammer’s real name?

Answer 61

Stanley Kirk Burrell

Question 62

In 1972, Cicely Tyson was nominated for Best Actress for her performance in what film?

Answer 62

Sounder

Question 63

What will be the longest, continuously running, first-run syndicated television program until at least 2016?

Answer 63

Soul Train

Question 64

Who was the first black entertainer to sleep in the White House?

Answer 64

Sammy Davis, Jr.

Question 65

Name the hip-hop group that created the theme song “Fight the Power” to Spike Lee’s film Do The Right Thing.

Answer 65

Public Enemy

Question 66

What instrument did Count Basie play, while leading his group “The Count Basie Orchestra”?

Answer 66

Piano (or organ)

Question 67

What musical instrument did Nat King Cole play?

Answer 67

Piano

Question 68

What was the name of the first successful TV variety show starring a Black American?

Answer 68

Nat King Cole Show

Question 69

Which rapper known for such albums as Black on Both Sides began rhyming at age nine in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York?

Answer 69

Mos Def

Question 70

The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin recorded how many albums?

Answer 70

She recorded more than 50 albums

Question 71

This trumpet player was also a vocalist and was the first to use a technique known as scat singing. What was his name?

Answer 71

Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong

Question 72

What famous singer hosts the annual Parade of Stars in order to raise money for the United Negro College Fund?

Answer 72

Lou Rawls

Question 73

What was the given name of popular comedienne and pioneer of African American vaudeville, Moms Mabley?

Answer 73

Loretta Mary Aike

Question 74

She witnessed the East St. Louis riots in 1917 and immigrated to France just six years later. She was a singer, dancer, nightclub owner and a member of the French resistance during World War II. Name this popular entertainer.

Answer 74

Josephine Baker

Question 75

Who provided the voice for Darth Vader in the movie Star Wars?

Answer 75

James Earl Jones

Question 76

Who was the first Black American woman to win an Academy Award?

Answer 76

Hattie McDaniel

Question 77

Musician and Hopkinsville native John Brim taught himself to play what two instruments?

Answer 77

Guitar and harmonica

Question 78

Sidney Poitier starred in a famous movie about an interracial marriage. What was the name of the movie?

Answer 78

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

Question 79

What was the name of the first screenplay produced by a Black American woman?

Answer 79

Georgia, Georgia

Question 80

Name 3 movies that Eddie Murphy starred.

Answer 80

Trading Places, Coming to America, Beverly Hills Cop II & II

Question 81

From 1975 to 1980 this Disco star had eight gold records and two platinum records. Name her.

Answer 81

Donna Summer

Question 82

Who is called “The Queen of the Blues”?

Answer 82

Dinah Washington

Question 83

Name the Grammy award-winning Philadelphia quartet that sold over 4 million copies of their album Cooley High Harmony?

Answer 83

Boyz II Men

Question 84

Portrayed by Diana Ross in the film Lady Sings the Blues, what was the name of the singer whose song “Strange Fruit” became her signature piece?

Answer 84

Billie Holiday

Question 85

What famous female vocalist toured with “The Count Basie Orchestra”?

Answer 85

Billie Holiday

Question 86

What is the name of B.B. King’s guitar? “

Answer 86

Lucille

Question 87

Sung by Diahann Carroll, this song was made popular in the film version of “Porgy and Bess.” Name it. “

Answer 87

Summertime”

Question 88

In what year did the cable network BET begin broadcasting music videos?

Answer 88

1980

Question 89

The book Roots was made into a movie in what year?

Answer 89

1977

Question 90

What hit song made Ella Fitzgerald a national celebrity at the age of 20?

Answer 90

“A Tisket, A Tasket”

Question 91

What all-black situation comedy television show started as a radio program in the 1920s to 1950s whose actors were all white?

Answer 91

“Amos n’ Andy”

Question 92

What non-performer, founder of Motown was inducted into the hall of fame in 1988 with The Drifters and The Supremes?

Answer 92

Berry Gordy, Jr.

Question 93

This former beauty queen from Ohio started her career as a model. In 2001 she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Who is she?

Answer 93

Halle Berry

Question 94

What does the nickname of rapper and actor LL Cool J stand for?

Answer 94

Ladies Love Cool James

Question 95

During the 1860’s and the period leading up to Juneteenth, there was a composer, musician and activist who worked with Frederick Douglas on the Underground Railroad. Who was he?

Answer 95

Justin Holland

Question 96

Who was George Washington Johnson?

Answer 96

In 1890, George Washington Johnson became the first African-American to make commercial records. The Library of Congress is now adding Johnson's "The Laughing Song" to the National Recording Register