South Carolina women’s history quiz
How well do you know about the famous women in South Carolina history? Take our quiz and learn more for Women’s History Month.
Match the name with the accomplishment.
Civil Rights pioneers
1. This educator born in Sumter County started a school for African-American girls that grew into Bethune-Cookman University, and she founded the National Council for Negro Women.
2. Born in Charleston, this “Queen Mother of the Civil Rights Movement”, was a leader in the NAACP and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and established Citizenship Schools to help black people learn to read to pass voter registration tests.
3. Born in Columbia, this school teacher was active in the NAACP and a pivotal force in the lawsuit that led to integration of schools.
4. This Orangeburg woman in 1940 became the first African-American woman admitted to the S.C. Bar. Active in the NAACP, she assisted Thurgood Marshall on cases which ultimately overturned the legality of segregated public facilities in the South.
5. Born in Sumter, this woman led the Civil Rights effort from the west coast, where she published a newspaper in California. In 1952 she was the first African-American woman to run for national office as the Progressive Party’s candidate for vice president.
Sports
6. This golfer from Charleston won the LPGA rookie of the year and player of the year in 1979 and player of the year awards three times in the next 15 years.
7. This wrestler who lived in Columbia held a world title from 1956 through 1987, the longest such tenure of any professional wrestler, male or female.
8. This tennis player born in Clarendon County broke racial barriers in the 1950s and won five grand slam tennis tournaments.
9. She won six medals at the 1922 World Track Meet, the equivalent at that time to the Olympics for female athletes, before a long career in education at Columbia College.
10. This Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame member scored 4,061 points in four seasons at Francis Marion University.
11. This Ridgeway native who loved baseball made it to the pitching roster of the Indianapolis Clowns in the Negro League after being denied in similar women’s leagues. She pitched for three seasons in the 1950s.
Business
12. This Anderson native became the state’s first licensed female denist in South Carolina. She was only one of three women graduating from her class in Atlanta in 1919.
13. This Bennettsville native became the first female African-American to be admitted to the Mississippi bar. She went on to head the Children’s Defense Fund.
Arts and entertainment
14. She was the 1994 Miss America.
15. This actress born in St. Matthews is the star of ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder.”
16. This singer born in North is known best for her 1953 recording of “Santa Baby” and her role as Catwoman on TV’s classic “Batman” series.
Women in wartime
17. Her “Dairy in Dixie” was one of the unique accounts of the Civil War, from this woman who lived near Camden.
18. This native of Swansea served in the Philippines as an Army nurse and was awarded a Purple Heart. Her account of the time was made into a book and a 1943 movie, “So Proudly We Hail.”
19. This woman born into a wealthy Charleston family had an unwelcome guest – British royal Sir Henry Clinton – at her home during the occupation in the Revolutionary War. She left the home, and later gave rebels, includig Gen. Francis Marion, permission to torch the home that became a headquarters for the British.
ANSWERS
1. Mary McLeod Bethune 2. Septima Poinsette Clark 3. Modjeska Monteith Simkins 4. Cassandra Maxwell 5. Charlotta Bass 6. Beth Daniel 7. Lillian Ellison, “Fabulous Moolah” 8. Althea Gibson 9. Lucile Ellerbe Godbold 10. Pearl Moore 11. Mamie “Peanut” Johnson 12. Leda Bruce Hurst 13. Marian Wright Edelman 14. Kimberly Clarice Aiken 15. Viola Davis 16. Eartha Kitt 17. Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut 18. Juanita Redmond Hipps 19. Rebecca Brewton Motte
This story was originally published March 1, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "South Carolina women’s history quiz."