INSTITUTE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUTH, INC.
IDAAY
Presents
THE 2016 AFRICAN AMERICAN KNOWLEDGE COMPETITION
A CELEBRATION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use
to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela
IDAAY’s 2016 African American Knowledge Competition
Overview
In recognition of Black History Month, beginning in 1996, this project was
developed as a teaching tool to educate and empower the youth throughout the
IDAAY system and the broader community about African American history. It aims
to assist youth (ages 10-17) acquire a more comprehensive and in depth
knowledge of themselves and of their potential in continuing the legacy of African
American contributions to society throughout history. Since the Institute was
founded in 1991, IDAAY has grown tremendously, providing several critically
needed programs and services to youth and their families through several
initiatives. Today, this annual event is one of many activities that help the Institute
achieve its five primary goals:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Provide effective guidance
Develop communication skills
Build self-esteem
Develop leadership
Nurture appropriate family supports
This packet contains information grouped in four categories: 1) Historical
Happenings/Organizations, 2) Inventors, 3) Arts and Entertainment and, 4) Focus
on Philadelphia. Youth are expected to learn this information throughout the year
in their homes, in their schools and in their community-based programs.
Philadelphia was specifically added to highlight some on the many contributions of
our native sons and daughters. Staff is expected to share this and other
information with youth throughout the year, facilitate fun and engaging activities
that will ensure youth retain the information, and provide effective guidance so that
youth will work cooperatively and diligently to prepare and compete with
confidence. Consequently, youth should develop communication skills, build selfesteem and build leadership.
Competition Format
There will be several organizations/agencies/groups teams competing; each team
will be comprised of four youth plus two alternates. The list of organizations and
IDAAY teams will be finalized and issued on February 11, 2016. Please note; all
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IDAAY’s 2016 African American Knowledge Competition
agency informational forms to participate in this event must be submitted and
received via email, fax or traditional mail no later than close of business February
8, 2016. Prior to the competition the team must identify the captain. Each
organization/agency/group will identify a Team Leader to answer questions for the
team.
The competition will have three parts; Rounds 1 and 2 will be the elimination
rounds which will consist of equal number of questions (20) asked teams in each
round. The third Round will consist of the winners from the previous rounds going
up against each other at a lightning speed (20 questions).
The questions will be placed in boxes by categories and the selection will be
random. The teams will flip a coin to determine who picks first. The team
captain will pick a question from the selected box. The team which picks has 30
seconds to answer from the time the moderator finishes asking the question. The
scorekeeper will time them with a stopwatch. If they are unable to answer it, the
question is open to the other teams in subsequently order. The first one to answer
correctly will receive one point. If none of the teams can answer, the moderator
will give the answer and go to the next question. Whichever team has the most
points at the end of the round goes into the lightning round.
Rules
1. Answers will be given by and accepted from the Team Captain Only. Team
members may consult among themselves; however, only the captain may
speak for the team.
2. Only the team that answers the question correctly will receive a point. There
are no points taken away for incorrect answers.
3. A team may not pass the question. They must attempt to answer.
4. If there is a tie between the teams at the conclusion of the elimination round,
three questions will be asked to break the tie.
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5. The lightning round will proceed in the same manner. Teams will have 15
seconds to answer.
THERE WILL BE THREE JUDGES. THE JUDGES HAVE THE FINAL SAY AS
TO WHETHER OR NOT THE ANSWERS ARE CORRECT.
Prizes
The following three prizes will be awarded to: (a) 1st place winners, (b) 2nd place
winners and (c) 3rd place winners. 1st place winners: The four principal team
competitors will each receive $100 with the two alternates each receiving $25. 2nd
place winners: The four principal team competitors will each receive $50 with the
two alternates receiving $25. 3rd place winners: The four principal team
competitors will each receive $25, and the two alternates also receiving $25. All
prices will be distributed in the form of money orders at the end of the Knowledge
Competition.
People
1.
Al Sharpton - Pentecostal Minister, political activist, civil rights
activist and film actor. He ran for the Democratic Party nomination for
President of the United States in 2004.
2.
Andrew Young- noted Civil Rights activist, former mayor of Atlanta
Georgia and the US Ambassador to the United Nation during Jimmy Carter’s
presidency.
3.
Angela Davis – black activist, philosopher, and educator. Known for
her affiliations with the Black Panther party, as well as SNCC.
4.
Barrack Obama – 44th president of the United States. He is the first
African American President.
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5.
Booker T. Washington – educator, writer and prominent
spokesperson for African American people. Advocate for economic
development for African Americans. He founded Tuskegee Institute on July
4, 1881.
6.
Cecil B. Moore – Philadelphia lawyer and civil rights activist. He
served as president of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP. He also
served on the Philadelphia City Council.
7.
Colin Powell – was the 65th US Secretary of State, serving under
President George W. Bush.
8.
Coretta Scott King – wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. and a noted
community leader in her own right.
9.
Fannie Lou Hamer – Civil and Women’s rights activist. In 1962 she
was violently attacked and imprisoned for challenging Mississippi’s
discriminatory voting laws.
10.
Frederick Douglas – writer, public speaker and abolitionist. He was
born enslaved in February, 1818. He escaped in 1838 and continually
fought for the freedom of others. He was firm in his belief that slavery must
be abolished.
11.
George Washington Carver was an agricultural chemist. He
discovered three hundred uses for peanuts and hundreds more uses for
soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes. He contributed his life savings to a
foundation for research at Tuskegee University.
12.
Harriet Tubman was a conductor for the Underground Railroad.
During a ten year span, she made 19 trips to the south and escorted over
300 slaves to freedom.
13.
Ida B. Wells initiated her long and dedicated struggle for equality for
blacks by sitting in a whites-only railroad coach. She was forcibly removed,
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after which she initiated a legal suit and won. Later, a higher court struck
down the decision. She then became a part owner of the Memphis Free
Speech, writing articles condemning lynching.
14.
Jesse Jackson is a politician, civil rights activist, Baptist minister and
founder of several humanitarian organizations. He worked closely with Dr.
Martin Luther King, JR. and has since then continued to be involved in civil
rights issues. He was also, a candidate for the Democratic presidential
nomination in 1984 and 1988.
15.
Julian Bond is a civil rights activist and spokesperson for the NAACP.
He was a co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC) in the 1960’s at Morehouse College. He has been the chairperson
for the NAACP since 1998.
16.
Kwame Ture, formerly known as Stokley Carmicheal was a black
activist and leader of SNCC and the Black Panther Party. He set off a storm
of controversy by calling for and coining the term “Black Power”.
17.
Louis Farrakhan is a religious leader and spokesperson for the
Nation of Islam and African Americans. In 1995, he was one of the chief
organizers of the Million Man March, a day of renewal of African American
men in Washington, DC in 2000.
18.
Malcolm X was a civil rights activist and spokesperson for the Nation
of Islam. Formerly known as Malcolm Little, he converted to Islam while in
prison. He believed firmly that African Americans were to be treated equally
and “by any means necessary” he fought for equality and social change.
19.
Marcus Garvey was a publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, crusader for
Black Nationalism and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement
Association and the African Communities League (UNIA-ACL). He is most
widely known for the Back to Africa Movement” under which he believed that
people of African descent should return to their native land.
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20.
Margaret Murray Washington graduated from Fisk University and
was the wife of Booker T. Washington. In 1896 she united two major
national black women’s associations with hundreds of local organizations,
founding the National Association of Colored Women.
21.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights activist, writer, public
speaker and Baptist minister. His name was originally Michael but he
wanted to follow 100% in his father’s footsteps. He is known as the father of
the civil rights movement. He was a follower of Ghandi and believed in
nonviolence as a direct action to white supremacy and discrimination. On
the evening of April 4, 1968, he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
22.
Mary Shad Cary was the first black woman to practice law in the
United States and the first in North America to edit a newspaper.
23.
Maulana Karenga is an author, political activist educator and scholar.
Karenga is best known as the founder and popularizing of Kwanzaa in 1966,
a week –long celebration emphasizing values and practices of the African
American family and culture.
24.
Maxine Waters has been a Democratic member of the US House of
Representatives since 1991, representing the 35th District of California.
25.
Medgar Evers was born in Mississippi in 1925 and fought for equality
during the civil rights era. He was assassinated in 1963.
26.
Milla Gransom was originally enslaved but after being taught to read
by the children of her owner, she later founded a secret school and
educated hundreds of African Americans.
27.
Nat Turner led, in Southampton County Virginia, what is believed to
be one of the most remarkable instances of Black resistance during slavery.
“Nat Turner’s Rebellion” began on August 21, 1831 and ended on August
23rd.
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28.
Rosa Parks often referred to as the ‘mother of the civil rights
movement”. In December, 1955, she refused to give up her seat on the bus
to a white passenger. The bus driver had her arrested. Her act started a
citywide boycott of the bus system by blacks which lasted for a year.
29.
Ruby Bridges, at the age of 5, she was one of four black girls in New
Orleans to integrate the public schools due to her high test scores. She was
the first black student at her elementary school.
30.
Sojourner Truth, born Isabella Baumfree, was an antislavery and
women’s rights activist and public speaker. She escaped from slavery and
moved to the north and continued to fight for freedom and rights.
31.
Thurgood Marshall was a jurist (judge) and the first African American
to serve on the US Supreme Court. Prior to becoming a judge, he was a
lawyer and best known for his victory when arguing before the Supreme
Court the case of Brown vs. the Board of Education.
32.
W. Wilson Goode, Sr. was the first African American of Philadelphia
serving from 1984-1992.
33.
W.E.B. DuBois was a civil rights activist, educator, writer, sociologist,
historian, scholar and public speaker as an advocate for Black Nationalism
and Pan-Africanism. His best known work is the book, The Soul of Black
Folks.
Events and Organizations
34.
Dred Scott Case: Dred Scott first went to trial to sue for his freedom
in 1847. Ten years later, after a decade of appeals and court reversals, his
case was finally brought before the US Supreme Court. The court decided
that all people of African descent could never become citizens of the United
States and therefore could not sue in Federal Court.
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IDAAY’s 2016 African American Knowledge Competition
35.
Emancipation Proclamation: On January 1, 1863, the proclamation
declared, “that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious (southern)
states are henceforth and forever free.”
36.
Jim Crow Laws: From 1865-1965, these laws were enacted to
support racial segregation. These laws required black and white people to
use separate water fountains, public schools, bathrooms, restaurants, public
libraries and rail cars in public transport. Originally called the Black Codes,
they were used to legally justify the separation of black and white citizens for
100 years.
37.
NAACP: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People was founded in 1909.
38.
The Black Panthers: Also known as the Black Panther Party for Self
Defense was founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seals in October,
1966.
Inventors
39.
Albert R. Robinson invented the Electric Trolley
40.
Alexander Miles invented the Elevator
41.
Alexander P. Ashbourne invented the process for preparing coconut
42.
Alice Parker invented the Heating Furnace
43.
Augustus Jackson invented ice cream
44.
Benjamin Banneker invented a clock
45.
Charles Brooks invented the Street Sweeper
46.
Charles William Allen invented the self-leveling table
47.
Dr. Charles Drew invented the Blood Bank
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48.
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams started the Modern Open Heart Surgery
49.
Elijah McCoy had over 50 patents and people talked about the “Real
McCoy” to talk about a good product
50.
Frederick Jones invented the Air Conditioner
51.
Garrett A. Morgan invented the Traffic Light
52.
George T. Samon invented the Clothes Dryer
53.
Granville T. Woods invented the Automatic Cut Off Switch
54.
Henry Sampson set up the Communication System for the Cell
Phone
55.
Jan E. Matzelinger invented the Ironing Board
56.
Jesse Russell invented the Radio-Telephone, the Cell Phone
57.
John Burr invented the Lawn Mower
58.
John H. Allen invented the pattern generator for simulating image
generation
59.
John Love invented the Pencil Sharpener
60.
John Standard invented the refrigerator
61.
Joseph Smith invented the Lawn Sprinkler
62.
Julian Abele designed the Philadelphia Art Museum and Main Library
63.
Lee Barrage invented the Typewriting Machine
64.
Lloyd P. Ray invented the Dust Pan
65.
Marie Brown invented the Home Security System
66.
Dr. Mark Dean created the Small Computer
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67.
Michael Harvey invented the Lantern
68.
Moses T. Asom invented semiconductor devices based on optical
transitions between quasi-bound energy levels
69.
Nathaniel Alexander invented the folding chair
70.
Philip Emeagwali invented the Internet (www)
71.
Phillip Downing invented the Mail Box
72.
Ralph W. Alexander invented the Corn Planter rower
73.
Richard Spikes invented Automatic Gear Shift
74.
Robert T. Allen invented the vertical coin counting tube
75.
Tanya Allen invented the undergarment with a pocket for reliably
securing an absorbent pad
76.
Thomas Jennings invented the Dry Cleaning Process
77.
Thomas W. Steward invented the mop
78.
Virgie Ammons invented the Fireplace Damper Actuating Tool
79.
William Barry invented the Postmarking and Canceling Machine
80.
William Purvey invented the Fountain Pen and Handstamp
Arts and Entertainment
81.
Alice Walker is an African American author and feminist whose most
famous novel, The Color Purple, won both the Pulitzer Prize and the
American Book Awar.
82.
Bessie Smith (1894-1937) was the most popular and successful
female American blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. She was a strong
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influence on subsequent singers including: Billie Holiday, Mahalia Jackson,
Nina Simone and Janis Joplin.
83.
Chris Rock is an Emmy Award winning American comedian, actor,
screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted
by Comedy Central as the fifth greatest stand-up comedian of all time.
Produces a television show based on his life called “Everybody Hates
Chris.”
84.
Danny Glover is an award winning actor, film director, and political
activist. Among many awards, he has won five NAACP Image Awards, for
his achievements as an actor of color. He is known for his roles in The
Color Purple and Lethal Weapons.
85.
Denzel Washington, actor, director, and philanthropist. In 1989
Washington won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for the film Glory. He
also won an Oscar for Best Actor for the film Training Day in 2001.
86.
Diahann Carol Johnson is an actress and singer. She became the
first black actress in television history to star in her own series, Julia for
NBC.
87.
Diana Ross is an R&B, soul, pop, disco, and jazz singer, songwriter,
and actress, who originally gained fame as the lead singer in the 1960’s
Motown group the Supremes but has since then mad her name as a
successful solo artist.
88.
Dorothy Dandridge (1922-1965) was an actress. She was the first
African American to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
89.
Duke Ellington (1899 – 1974) was an American jazz composer,
pianist, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential
musicians in jazz as well as American music overall.
90.
Edmonia Lewis (1845 – 1890) America’s first black woman sculptor.
Art work includes: “Free Forever” (1867) and the “Death of Cleopatra” (1876)
91.
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917 – 2000) writer, scholar, and educator, she
was an award-winning woman poet and the first African American to win a
Pulitzer Prize.
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92.
Halle Berry won the best actress Oscar in 2002 for Monster’s Ball,
becoming the first African American woman to win this award.
93.
Harry Belafonte is a musician, actor, and social activist. One of the
most successful African American musicians in history, he was dubbed the
“King of Calypso” for popularizing the Caribbean musical style. Throughout
his career he has been an advocate for civil rights and humanitarian causes.
94.
Hattie McDaniel (1895 – 1952) was an Oscar-winning American
singer and actress.
95.
Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859 – 1937) was an artist and the first
African American painter to gain international acclaim. Best known for his
work, “Banjo Lesson” (1893)
96.
Josephine Baker (1906-1975) was a famous jazz singer and actor
who began her legendary career as an entertainer in Harlem night clubs.
She epitomized the Jazz Age wither her flamboyant and exuberant singing
and dancing.
97.
Langston Hughes (1902 -1967), poet and central figure of the Harlem
Renaissance, he wrote sixteen books of poems, two novels, three
collections of short stories, four volumes of “editorial” and “documentary”
fiction, twenty plays, children’s poetry, musicals and operas, three
autobiographies, a dozen radio and television scripts and dozens of
magazine articles.
98.
Lorraine Hansberry (1930 – 1965) was a playwright and off stage
writer. She is considered foremother of African American drama for play
Raisin in the Sun, which was the first ever Broadway production to be written
by a Black Woman and also marked the first Broadway play in fifty years to
be directed by a black director.
99.
Louis Allen Rawls (1933-2006) was a soul music, jazz, and blues
singer. In 1980, be began the “Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telethon” which
benefits the United Negro College Fund. The annual event, now known as
“An Evening of Stars”, consists of musical performances and stories of
successful African-American youth who have graduated or benefited from
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one of the many historically black colleges and universities who receive
support from the UNCF.
100.
Louis Satchmo Armstrong (1901-1971) (also known by the
nicknames Satchmo and Pops), one of the most famous jazz musician of the
20th century. His musical skills and bright personality influenced jazz and its
musicians for years to follow.
101.
Marian Anderson, (1897-1993) born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
on January 7, 1955, Anderson broke the color barrier by becoming the first
African-American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera.
102.
Marvin Gaye (1939 – 1984), was a singer, songwriter, composer,
multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who popularized and gained
international fame as an artist on the Motown record label in the 1960s and
1970s. He has recorded over six successful albums in both the US and the
UK.
103.
Maya Angelou is an author, poet, actress and an important figure in
the Civil Rights Movement. In 2001 she was named one of the 30 most
powerful women in America. She has published several autobiographies,
essays, children’s books, collections of poetry, plays, as well as films.
104.
Michael Jackson, singer and musician. Having thirteen number 1
singles in the country and known for his movie-like music videos, he has
been cited as the “Most Successful Entertainers of All Time” by Guinness
World Records.
105.
Miles Davis (1926-1991) is one of the most influential jazz musicians.
He was a jazz trumpeter, bandleader and composer. He was at the forefront
of every jazz transformation from World War II to the 1990’s.
106.
Nat King Cole (1917 – 1965) was a popular singer and jazz musician,
a daytime television entertainer. He is considered one of the most popular
vocalist of all times.
107.
Oprah Winfrey is the multiple-Emmy Award winning host of the Oprah
Winfrey Show, the highest-rated talk show in television history. She is also
an influential book critic, and Academy Award nominated actress, and a
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magazine publisher. She recently founded the Oprah Winfrey Leadership
Academy in South Africa.
108.
Paul Lawrence Dunbar (1872-1906) was the first African-American to
gain national eminence as a poet. Multi-talented he wrote short stories,
novels, librettos, plays, songs and essays as well as the poetry.
109.
Paul Robeson (1898-1976) actor, athlete writer, and civil rights
activist, and bass concert singer. Known for musical performance in the
movie “Showboat” in 1928 when he sang “Ol’ Man River.”
110.
Queen Latifah is an African American Grammy Award winning hiphop artist and singer, and an Academy Award-nominated actress.
111.
Ray Charles (1930-2004) He was a pioneering pianist and soul
musician who helped shape the sound of rhythm and blues and brought a
soulful sound to every musical piece that he touched.
112.
Richard Pryor (1940-2005) was an American comedian, actor, and
writer. His controversial yet influential comedy acts has continued to mold
and shape the styles both today and yesterday’s comedians.
113.
Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925 – 1990) was a dancer, singer, multiinstrumentalist (playing vibraphone, trumpet, and drums); impressionist,
comedian, and actor. In 1959 he became a charter member of the Rat
Pack, which was led by his old friend Frank Sinatra.
114.
Sean Carter better known by his stage name Jay-Z is a Hip-hop artist
and former president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella
Records. He also co-owns the 40/40 Clubs and the New Jersey Nets NBA
team. He is one of the most financially successful hip-hop artists and
entrepreneurs in America.
115.
Sean Combs in an African American record producer, CEO, clothing
designer, actor, and rapper. He is known as P. Diddy, one of the most
successful producers of all time.
116.
Sidney Portier is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Grammywinning American actor, film director, and author. He consciously played in
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roles that defined the stereotypical role of African Americans and their
relations with White Americans.
117.
Sonia Sanchez is a prolific writer. Her poems depict the struggles
between black people and white people, between men and women, and
between cultures. She has also written plays and children books.
118.
Spike Lee is a film director, producer, writer, and actor noted for his
many films and documentaries dealing with social and political issues. He
teaches film at New York University.
119.
Stevie Wonder is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and
record producer. He has recorded more than thirty top ten hits, won twentyfive Grammy Awards plus one for lifetime achievement, won an Academy
Award for Best Song and been inducted into both the Rock and Roll and
Songwriters halls of fame.
120.
Tavis Smiley is an author, journalist, political commentator, activities,
and talk show host. His show is currently aired on PBS.
121.
Terry McMillan an acclaimed author has written and published over
seven novels. Her third novel, Waiting to Exhale, spent months on the New
York Times bestseller list and sold nearly 4 million copies.
122.
Whitney Houston is a pop and R&B singer, actress, film producer,
record producer, songwriter, and former fashion model. She has sold over
nine successful and highly acclaimed albums.
123.
Whoopi Goldberg and actress, comedian, television personality, and
author. She has won an Academy, Tony, Grammy, and Oscar for acting.
124.
Zora Neal Hurston (1891 – 1960) is conserved one of the most
prolific African American female authors and folklorist in the United States. A
Harlem Renaissance writer, Hurston examined the roles of African American
and Black Women in Americans society. She is best known for her book,
“Their Eyes Were Watching God.”
Focus on Philadelphia
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125.
Bessie Smith This African American Blues singer lived on Christian
Street. Her home is across the street from what is now the Philadelphia
High School for the Creative and Performing Arts
126.
Robert Purvis This abolitionist lived on North 16th street. He was the
president of the Underground Railroad.
127.
Julian Abele This African American architect lived at 1515 Christian
Street. He was the first African American graduate of the University of
Pennsylvania School of Architecture and worked on designs for the
Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Free Library.
128.
Aspiranto Health Home Located at 2104 Jefferson Street was
established by Virginia Alexander as a lying-in and well-baby clinic to help
reduce the mortality rate of African American mothers and babies.
129.
Divine Lorraine Hotel Located at 699 N. Broad Street was built in
1894 Built in 1894, this 246-room landmark was acquired by the followers of
Father Divine (ca. 1876-1965) in 1948. and operated as the Divine Lorraine
Hotel. It was considered one of the finest integrated hotels of its caliber in
the U.S. Father Divine's Peace Mission movement was known for its
establishment of low-cost, morally and hygienically exemplary hotels in the
city of Philadelphia. It was one of the first integrated hotels of its caliber in
the U.S.
130.
Fellowship House Growing out of the Philadelphia Friends' Young
People's Inter-Racial Fellowship Committee on Race Relations, Marjorie
Penney (1908-1983) founded Fellowship House in 1941 as a haven for all
races to meet, socialize and pray together. Fellowship House moved to 1521
W. Girard Avenue in 1956, and in 1963 the group opened Little Fellowship
House at 1710 N. 27th Street. The group purchased Fellowship Farm in
1951, and moved its headquarters there in 1973. To learn more, visit
http://www.fellowshipfarm.org/
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131.
Gratz High School African American catcher Roy Campanella
began his baseball career at Gratz High. Later, he was a record-breaking
catcher with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1948-57.
a. There is a Historical Marker at Gratz which reads as follows: Roy
Campanella: A record-breaking catcher with Brooklyn Dodgers, 194857. He began his professional baseball career while in high school
here. In Negro League, 1937-42, '44-45. MVP, National League, 1951,
'53, '55. All-Star, '49-'56. Baseball Hall of Fame, 1969.
132.
Baker Bowl Built in 1887, Baker Bowl stadium was home to the
Philadelphia Phillies baseball team from 1887 to 1938. Located between N.
Broad Street and 15th Street, between W. Huntingdon Street and W. Lehigh
Avenue. The Phillies moved in 1938 to join the Philadelphia Athletics (A's)
baseball team at Shibe Park (see entry). The stadium was demolished in
1950. The Phillies' baseball park from its opening in 1887 until 1938. Rebuilt
1895; hailed as nation's finest stadium. Site of first World Series attended by
U.S. President, 1915; Negro League World Series, 1924-26; Babe Ruth's
last major league game, 1935. Razed 1950.
133.
Joe Frazier Gym Originally a venue for ballroom dancing, in 1968 this
building became the home-base gym for heavyweight boxing champion Joe
Frazier.
134.
North Broad Street Station This building was designed by African
American architect Julian Abele (1881-1950) ca. 1928 while he was the chief
designer in the office of Horace Trumbauer, according to Wilson's dictionary
of African American architects.
135.
Opportunities Industrialization Centers (OIC) Founded in 1964 by
the Reverend Dr. Leon H. Sullivan (1922-2001) of Zion Baptist Church (see
entry), the OIC encourages young people to learn marketable job skills and
enter the work-force. The first training center was located in an abandoned
jail at this address. The OIC has since provided skills training to more than 1
million people in 145 cities throughout the U.S. and abroad. The
headquarters is currently located at 1231 N. Broad Street. To learn more,
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visit http://www.philaoic.org/ Text of Historical Marker: Established here in
an abandoned jailhouse in 1964, O.I.C. was founded by Rev. Leon H.
Sullivan and achieved worldwide recognition as a self-help vocational
training center for Blacks which opened job opportunities formerly closed to
them.
136.
Philadelphia Museum of Art As the chief designer for Horace
Trumbauer, Julian Francis Abele (1881-1950) was the architect for the
museum as well as the main branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia (see
entry) and several buildings at Duke University. Abele was the first black
graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Architecture after his
term at the Institute for Colored Youth (see entry).
137.
Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania (Masonic Hall)This
fraternal order is named for Prince Hall, who established the nation's first
Masonic lodge for African-Americans. Originally located on Lombard Street
between 5th and 6th Streets (see entry), the lodge moved to a larger
building on this site on North Broad Street when activities such as sports
leagues expanded. Previously, this estate was owned by Christopher J.
Perry (1854-1920) of the Philadelphia Tribune newspaper Text of Historical
Marker: This Masonic lodge was named after Rev. Prince Hall, founder of
Freemasonry among Africans. The first Grand Master of African Masonry
was Absalom Jones, organizer in 1797 of Philadelphia's first lodge, the
African Lodge of Free Masons.
138.
Pearl Theater Considered a "premier colored theater" and commonly
called "The Black Pearl," the Pearl Theater had all of the top bands and acts
of the black circuit after it opened in 1927. Pearl Bailey (1918-1990, see
entry) made her first stage appearance here in an amateur talent show while
her brother Bill Bailey sold candy in the back of the house. The three-story
red brick structure had a lavish interior with jeweled light fixtures and red
velvet hangings, a Kimball Theater Organ and an 11-piece pit orchestra.
139.
Pyramid Club Address: 1517 W. Girard Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19130
Founded in 1937 and formally opened three years later, the Pyramid Club
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IDAAY’s 2016 African American Knowledge Competition
was a small, exclusive club for black professionals. Members included
Raymond Pace Alexander, Robert N. C. Nix, John Mosley, Dr. William
Warrick and Theodore Spaulding. The club hosted a wide range of social
and cultural activities, including performances by Marian Anderson and
Duke Ellington and, after 1941, annual art exhibitions for African American
artists. The club was dissolved in 1963. The Italianate townhouse is now
owned by the YWCA.
140.
U.S. Post Office (Philadelphia) Address: Germantown Ave. and
Luzerne St. Philadelphia, PA 19140. This building was designed by African
American architect James Plater (1908-1965) in the Jim Crow era, according
to Wilson's dictionary of African American architects.
141.
Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA ) Address: 160911 Cecil B. Moore Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19121:In 1923, as many as 6,000
African-Americans were members of the New York City-based UNIA.
Founded in 1914 by Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), the organization was
Afrocentric in ideology and promoted African colonization, black business
and racial pride. Garvey spoke many times in Philadelphia between 1916
and 1924, including at the Academy of Music, the People's Church at 15th
and Christian Streets, and Mother Bethel AME Church. The organization
remains active today.
142.
Uptown Theater Address: 2240 N. Broad St Philadelphia, PA 19132
Opened in 1929 as a movie theater, the Uptown Theater later became a
performance venue and hosted numerous African American greats from the
1950s to the late 1970s. Similar to Harlem's Apollo Theater, the Uptown
helped launch the careers of Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross.
143.
YWCA Branch for Colored Girls and Women Address: 6128
Germantown Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19144. African American tennis great
Ora Washington (1899-1971) played and taught at this Germantown YWCA
Branch for Colored Girls and Women, which occupied this Second Empire
building from 1917 to 1958. Built for approximately $100,000 in 1854 as
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IDAAY’s 2016 African American Knowledge Competition
Charles Megargee's mansion, after Megargee's death in 1884 the building
also housed a school and the Young Republican Club. The building is now
home to the Germantown branch of the Settlement Music School.
a. Ora Washington: African American athlete who dominated black
women’s tennis, 1929-1937. She won eight national singles titles from
American Tennis Association; starred with Philadelphia Tribunes, women’s
basketball team, 1932-1942; played and taught here at YWCA.
144.
John Trower Catering Company Address: 5706 Germantown Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19144. Said to have been the wealthiest black of his time in
Pennsylvania, John Trower (1849-1911) moved to Germantown in 1870 and
six years later bought this building, the former Germantown Savings Fund
building, which stood opposite the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad
station. Born in Virginia, Trower established himself in the catering business,
even holding the contract for the Cramp Shipyards on the Delaware River,
and made real estate investments in Germantown and Ocean City, Md. His
local philanthropy included financing the building of Cherry Church and the
Zion African Baptist Church, and he organized a building and loan
association.
145.
Pelham District Address: Pelham Rd. between Greene St. and
Germantown Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19144. African American realtor,
contractor and quarry owner William Byrd is said to have furnished the
stones for Germantown Avenue and Mt. Zion Church in the Pelham
neighborhood of Germantown. According to "A Souvenir of Germantown,"
he built more than 50 homes. Pelham was built in response to the
development of Germantown's second railroad, the Chestnut Hill line of the
Pennsylvania Railroad, which began operations west of Germantown
Avenue in 1884. The commuter neighborhood's Colonial Revival homes
extend along Pelham Road and its tributaries between Upsal Station (1884)
and the former Pelham Trust Company (1907) on Germantown Avenue.
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IDAAY’s 2016 African American Knowledge Competition
Revised: 1/25/2016
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