Q 01/05

Which president caused a Southern uproar in 1901 by inviting Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House?

A) Theodore Roosevelt

B) Grover Cleveland

C) William Howard Taft

D) Woodrow Wilson

Answer · why

A) Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt had only just moved in when he asked his adviser to dinner with his family. Southern politicians and newspapers erupted, and the Wh...

Q 02/05

An ambassador who put on Booker T. Washington's coat by mistake at the White House said he found which charm inside?

A) A four-leaf clover

B) A lucky horseshoe

C) A rabbit's foot

D) A silver dime

Answer · why

C) A rabbit's foot

A rabbit's foot was in the pocket, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador claimed after the 1905 mix-up. A Detroit paper joked that he could walk off with th...

Q 03/05

In 1940, Booker T. Washington became the first African American pictured on which everyday item?

A) A dollar banknote

B) A postage stamp

C) A savings bond

D) A military medal

Answer · why

B) A postage stamp

A postage stamp worth ten cents carried his portrait from April 7, 1940. Six years later he was honoured again, this time on a commemorative coin.

Q 04/05

What unusual entrance exam did Booker T. Washington pass to win a place at Hampton Institute in 1872?

A) Chopping firewood

B) Reciting a psalm

C) Plowing a field

D) Sweeping a room

Answer · why

D) Sweeping a room

Sweeping a room was the whole test, so he swept it three times and dusted it four. The head teacher could not find a speck of dirt, admitted him, and ...

Q 05/05

Which 1901 autobiography by Booker T. Washington became a bestseller and has been widely read ever since?

A) Twelve Years a Slave

B) My Bondage and My Freedom

C) Up from Slavery

D) Behind the Scenes

Answer · why

C) Up from Slavery

Up from Slavery stayed the best-selling autobiography by an African American for more than sixty years. It was his second memoir, following The Story ...