Black History Month Trivia – Week 2

Patricia Roberts Harris (1924–1985)

As the first Black woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (1977-1979), Patricia Roberts Harris expanded housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income families under President Jimmy Carter. She championed programs that revitalized distressed neighborhoods and aggressively fought housing discrimination. Her leadership reinforced the federal government’s commitment to creating inclusive communities and ensuring fair access to affordable housing.  MORE ABOUT PATRICIA ROBERTS HARRIS

Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005)

As the first Black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1968, Chisholm fought to transform the Fair Housing Act from a statement of goals into an active force against discrimination. In June 1979, she testified before Congress in support of Fair Housing Act Amendments, advocating for stronger enforcement mechanisms and raising awareness about racial and economic inequality in housing. She pushed for policies that would expand access to affordable housing for low-income families, and her legislative efforts helped strengthen fair housing protections and advance equal housing opportunities for all Americans.  MORE ABOUT SHIRLEY CHISHOLM

Charles Hamilton Houston, Sr. (1895 – 1950)

Known as “The Man Who Killed Jim Crow,” Charles Hamilton Houston, Sr. was a pioneering civil rights lawyer who served as dean of Howard University Law School and the NAACP’s first special counsel. A graduate of Amherst College and Harvard Law School, Houston strategically dismantled segregation through legal warfare, particularly targeting racially restrictive housing covenants and school segregation. His 22-year campaign against housing discrimination employed sociological evidence demonstrating how covenants caused overcrowding, poor health, and increased crime in Black communities, ultimately laying the legal groundwork for the landmark Shelley v. Kraemer (1948) decision that declared judicial enforcement of such covenants unconstitutional.  MORE ABOUT CHARLES HAMILTON HOUSTON, SR.