National Black Herstory Task Force

1. Known as the Queen of Afro-Cuban, Salsa and Latin Music this woman thrilled audiences across the globe. Who was she?

C. Celia Cruz

2. Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1928 she will become the first African American streetcar conductor in San Francisco. She will become known as a great author and entertainer. Who is she?

B. Maya Angelou

3. Born in 1783 she became the first woman to preach in an AME Church. She was also one of the first African American women to protest slavery in public. Who was she?

A. Jarena Lee

4 . This 44 year old African-American mother of three, was the only woman ever executed in Georgia’s electric chair on March 5, 1945 for killing a white man. Who was she?

B. Lena Baker

5. In 1985 she started her career as a U.S. Mail Coach driver for the Cascade County region of Central Montana. She and her mule Moses, never missed a day and it was in this capacity that she earned her nickname of “stagecoach” for her unfailing reliability. Who is she?

B. Mary Fields

6. “Stormy Weather” by Harold Arlen became this famous singer biggest hit.Who is she?

C. Lena Horne

7. Which one of the following women became the first African-American female Secretary of State?

C. Condoleeza Rice

8. Who was the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature?

B. Toni Morrison

9. This actress became the first African-American female to win an Oscar for supporting actress. Her name was…

B. Hattie McDaniel

10. The following women have all been crowned Miss America except for

A. Jane Kennedy

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Interesting Facts

In 1992, astronaut, doctor, and chemical engineer MAE CAROL JEMISON become the first Black woman to travel in space.

JO ANN GIBSON ROBINSON issued the initial call for, and was the primary organizer of, the boycott of the Montgomery Bus System that lasted 381 days and sparked the modern civil rights movement.

SADIE TANNER MOSSELL ALEXANDER was the first Black woman to earn a doctorial degree in Economics.

GAY McDOUGALL is the international lawyer from Washington, D.C. who was the only American citizen, among five non-south Africans, to serve on the Independent Electoral Commission that was developed to monitor the country's first all-race election in April 1993.

In 1974, the educator, civil rights organizer, and women's rights activists MARY McLEOD BETHUNE became the first Black person in America, female or male,to have a monument built in her honor at Lincoln Park in Washington, D.C.

MERLENE OTTEY was the first woman in Olympic history to participate in five finals in the same Olympic games.

ALICE WALKER coined the term "womanism" to describe the work/writings of women grounded in an African-centered cultural identity.

Writer, historian, and musician BERNICE J. REAGON was an activist in the civil rights movement and formed the world-renowned singing group Sweet Honey in the Rock.

DA BRAT was the first female rap artist to have her premier album sell platinum.