The Gamma Gamma chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated bought a new and entertaining way to share Black History facts in the form of a game show, Jeopardy style.
“Brother Simon Theus thought of the idea to bring students together to compete as well as allocate their knowledge of African American history in a competitive way,” says chapter president Nicholas Powell. Johnathan Irvin, also a member of the fraternity, was the host of the event.
Somewhat similar to the popular syndicated TV show, contestants were able to choose teams (four groups of three) and select one individual in each round to answer questions regarding famous Black innovators, both past and present.
During the first two rounds, the teams were asked questions in the categories African American Inventors, Famous Athletes, African American Women, and even Grambling State University History.
All four teams worked diligently together with their teammates to answer questions, which included having knowledge that Hattie McDaniel was the first African American to win an Oscar (“Gone With the Wind”), Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s baseball record in home runs ((1974), Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman to be elected in Congress (1968), William Hubbard was the first African American to represent the United States in the Olympics (1924) and Charles R. Drew researched the field of blood transfusions (1941).
In the final round, each team was able to make a contesting wager to the question: who was the African American author of sometimes controversial novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction in his time.
The answer- Richard Wright. While one team attempted to win the round but was disqualified for cheating by using popular search engine Google from their cell phone, it was Team Oreo who answered the question correctly and were the winners of the competition.
Although Team Oreo were the victors of the night, the fraternity did not want any of the contestants to leave the event empty handed, so they presented them all with complimentary passes to Pearl Paradise, an extravagant event that will include both dinner and dancing. The date and location will be announced at a further time.