Group quizzes about Black history

The buzzer rang. The pressure mounted as the 10-second time limit dwindled away.

“Who is Marcellus Neal and Francis Marshall?”

Junior Isaiah Sloss knew the answer.

He correctly named the first African-American man and woman to graduate from IU. 

A coterie of IU students gathered at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center to showcase their knowledge about African-American history during Wednesday’s Black Knowledge Bowl.

Sloss’ team, Higher Purpose, emerged victorious for the third-consecutive year.
They dominated the competition from start to finish, holding a 3,900-point lead heading into the Final Jeopardy round.

Organized in honor of Black History Month, the bowl is an academically competitive program that tests students’ knowledge of academic disciplines relevant to African-American history, according to Neal-Marshall’s website.

Presented in the “Jeopardy” television show format, the competition quizzed teams of undergraduate students in various categories such as Black Sports, Black in the Day and Fight the Power.

“The idea was to have a jeopardy game show with black history facts,” Neal-Marshall Director Stephanie Power-Carter said.

The participants were not told of the categories in the competition ahead of time, but they were given study guides to prepare.

Sloss said  his team were dedicated with their preparation for the bowl, which helped them emerge victorious.

“We put together our hard work to win this competition,” Sloss said.

Juniors Aaryn Eady, Mustapha Baryoh and Brandon McGhee, all members of Higher Purpose, said they plan to return next year for a four-year sweep.

Aside from the $300 prize, they said their friendship motivates them to compete every year.

“We’re also friends, so it makes it easy to work with these guys,” Baryoh said.
The bowl is one of many events this month to educate the IU community about African-American history.

“It’s another way to educate people about the contributions that blacks have made in the United States and globally,” Power-Carter said.

Follow reporter Javonte Anderson on Twitter @JavonteA.