Skip to content
African-American firsts flashcards featuring Mae Jemison, Marian Anderson, and Ralph Ellison for Grade 8 history.
Flashcards

African-American Firsts Flashcards

View Flashcards →

Download as-is, or customize
to fit your needs.

About:

This 24-card flashcard set covers landmark achievements and pioneering figures in African-American history, from Mae Jemison's space program entry to Marian Anderson's Lincoln Memorial performance. Cards span accomplishments in civil rights, literature, jazz, theater, and science. Use it for exam review, cultural history study, or vocabulary practice in a Grade 8 social studies or history class.

Subject:
Social Studies
Topic:
History
Grade Level:
8th Grade
Updated March 2025

Terms in This Set

  • Before entering the space program in 1987, Mae Jemison worked in Sierra Leone, Africa for two years in what capacity?
  • She was the founder of her own college, the organizer of the premiere Black female public issue association in the 20th century, and the first African female administrator to head a federal office
  • This African-American educator was the first to have a U.S. stamp issued (1940) bearing his likeness
  • The first African American to be selected for the exceedingly rigorous training required by the space program's Manned Orbiting Laboratory in 1967.
  • He was the first person to follow explicitly scientific methods in 1843 in the conversion of cane juice to crystallized sugar
  • The first Black woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1968 had already served in her state legislature.
  • The first African American to head the National Science Foundation
  • A decade after World War I, an exciting cultural movement emerged in the African-American community. It was characterized by a spirit of protest and pride and reflected in a resurgence of African American literature, art music, and politics
  • Alex Hailey received a special Pulitzer Prize for this novel
  • Booker T. Washington published this book in 1900. It was the most successful autobiography written by a post-reconstruction black writer.
  • Established in 1944 and televised for the first broadcast New Year's Eve in 1984, its Telethon raised 14.1 million dollars
  • In 1939, she was the first African American singer to perform at the Lincoln Memorial
  • In 1952, Ralph Ellison published this book, for which he later received the National Book Award
  • In 1957, he formed this African American Dance Theater
  • Name the mutli-talented artist, athlete, singer, and actor who, in 1949, shocked the government by speaking out against the African American war effort on behalf of a racist society
  • She was the first African American "Miss America"
  • She was the first African American to win the Nobel Prize in literature
  • This actor won an Academy Award in 1964 for his character in "Lillies of the Field"
  • This African American woman playwright was the first African-American to win the New York Drama Critics Circle Award in 1959 for her play, "A Raisin in The Sun"
  • This controversial saxophonist's revolutionary "sheets of sound" technique influenced an entire school of avant garde jazz musicians?
  • The internationally known African American photographer's Photographs of Harlem and its people create a half-century long visual history of the area?
  • This New Orleans born gospel singer who became known as the "Queen of Gospel Music"
  • This outstanding jazz composer and orchestra leader is considered to have made the most pervasive contribution to the development of jazz in the United States?
  • The first African American to earn an Oscar award for Best Actress

How to Use This Flashcard Set

Print these flashcards for study sessions, test prep, or self-paced review. Click 'View Flashcards' to edit terms, add images, or change the layout before printing.

Related Activities

Roaring Twenties 2 Word Search

This 10-word Roaring Twenties word search covers 1920s American history for Grades 7–9 solvers.

The Survivor Tree Word Search

This 19-word word search tells the story of the Survivor Tree, a Callery pear that endured the September 11 attacks.

Gates of Jerusalem Flashcards

This 14-card flashcard set covers the historic gates of Jerusalem, including the Golden Gate, Damascus Gate, Jaffa Gate, and Sheep Gate.

Growth and Development Theories Flashcards

This 11-card flashcard set covers foundational theories of human growth and development, including Erikson's psychosocial stages (trust vs.

Chapter 5 Vocabulary Flashcards

This 11-card vocabulary set introduces middle-school students to career and education-related words from Chapter 5.

America's Story Test

This printable history test covers key figures and concepts from colonial America for 3rd graders.

Browse More Activities