AP African American Studies Practice Quiz: African Americans in Sports: Activism and Athletics
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Test your understanding with short quizzes. This quiz has 16 questions to check your progress.
Question 1 of 16
All Questions (16)
A) He founded the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes.
B) He won the inaugural Kentucky Derby.
C) He was the first Black player in Major League Baseball.
D) He won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics.
Correct Answer: B
The text explicitly states, 'For example, Oliver Lewis won the inaugural Kentucky Derby in 1875'. The other options refer to the achievements of other athletes or groups mentioned in the text.
A) A lack of public interest in integrated sports.
B) Federal legislation requiring separate athletic associations.
C) A desire to compete exclusively at an international level.
D) Racial segregation in existing sports leagues.
Correct Answer: D
The text states, 'Due to racial segregation in sports, African American athletes created their own athletic leagues. Immediately after the Civil War, African Americans founded baseball associations throughout the country known as Negro leagues...'
A) The economic prosperity available to all successful American athletes.
B) The complete acceptance of African Americans in international society.
C) The contradiction between achieving national glory abroad and facing racial discrimination at home.
D) The immediate integration of all sports in the United States following his success.
Correct Answer: C
The text highlights this paradox by stating that Jesse Owens 'won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics and returned home to racial discrimination.' This shows a clear conflict between his status as a national hero and the reality of racism in America.
A) He was offered a more lucrative boxing contract.
B) He believed the true struggle for his people was against racism within the United States.
C) He was protesting the segregation of military units.
D) He was a conscientious objector who opposed all forms of violence.
Correct Answer: B
The text states that Ali 'pointed out the continued racism at home, stating, The real enemy of my people is right here.' This directly supports the idea that he saw the fight against domestic racism as the priority.
A) The Vietnam War
B) Gender inequality in sports
C) Police brutality
D) Economic disparity between athletes
Correct Answer: C
The text explicitly states, 'Frustrated by the prevalence of police brutality, in 2016 Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players began kneeling during the playing of the national anthem.'
A) It was founded by Jackie Robinson after his baseball career.
B) It was the first professional sports league in North America.
C) It was established in the southern United States.
D) It was founded before the National Hockey League (NHL).
Correct Answer: D
The text states that the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, founded in 1895, 'predated the National Hockey League.'
A) The exclusion of African Americans from Olympic competition.
B) The system of racially segregated professional baseball leagues.
C) The dominance of Black jockeys in the Kentucky Derby.
D) The prohibition of nonviolent protests in sports.
Correct Answer: B
The text explains that Negro leagues existed 'due to racial segregation in sports' and persisted until the 1960s. Robinson becoming 'the first Black player in Major League Baseball' in 1947 was the pivotal moment that began the process of dismantling this system of segregation.
A) The anti-Vietnam War movement
B) The Black Freedom movement
C) The establishment of separate athletic leagues
D) The American Olympic Committee
Correct Answer: B
The text clearly states that Smith and Carlos 'raised the Black power fist to show solidarity with the Black Freedom movement.'
A) Horse racing was fully integrated and free of discrimination during this period.
B) African American athletes were able to achieve excellence and break barriers even during an era of widespread segregation.
C) Racial segregation in sports did not begin until the twentieth century.
D) Athletic success was the only path to social equality for African Americans after Reconstruction.
Correct Answer: B
The text states that 'Beginning in Reconstruction, African American athletes demonstrated their abilities and broke barriers in racially segregated sports'. The success of jockeys like Oliver Lewis and William Billy Walker is used as a prime example of this phenomenon.
A) Athletes boycotting international competitions to protest domestic policies.
B) Athletes using their public platform to advocate for racial equality and social justice.
C) Athletes primarily focusing their activism on securing better contracts and pay.
D) Athletes receiving unanimous support from the public for their political stances.
Correct Answer: B
Both Ali, who protested racism at home in the context of the Vietnam War, and Kaepernick, who protested police brutality, used their fame and visibility as athletes to draw national attention to issues of racial injustice. This aligns with the text's theme that athletes 'used their public platform to promote racial equality.'
A) Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists at the Olympics.
B) Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem.
C) The formation of the Negro baseball leagues.
D) Muhammad Ali refusing military enlistment.
Correct Answer: D
Muhammad Ali's protest was a direct refusal to be drafted and 'participate in the Vietnam War,' which was a major U.S. foreign policy engagement. The other protests were focused on domestic issues of racial discrimination and police brutality.
A) The integration of sports in 1947 effectively eliminated all racial barriers for African American athletes.
B) Throughout history, Black athletes have both excelled in their sports and used their visibility to challenge racial injustice.
C) African American athletes have only recently, since 2016, begun to participate in social activism.
D) The primary contribution of Black athletes to American history has been the creation of separate sports leagues.
Correct Answer: B
This option best captures the dual focus of the text, which provides examples of both athletic achievement (Lewis, Owens, Robinson) and activism against discrimination (Ali, Smith, Carlos, Kaepernick). The text's seventh point summarizes this theme directly.
A) Athlete activism has become less effective over time.
B) The struggle for racial equality in and through sports has been a continuous and evolving process.
C) Once sports were integrated, activism by athletes was no longer necessary.
D) Financial incentives replaced social justice as the primary motivation for Black athletes after the 1960s.
Correct Answer: B
The text provides examples spanning more than a century, from the creation of Negro leagues in response to segregation to Colin Kaepernick's 21st-century protest against police brutality. This demonstrates that the fight for racial justice by athletes is an ongoing struggle that has adapted its methods over time.
A) The United States
B) Great Britain
C) Canada
D) Mexico
Correct Answer: C
The text specifies the league was founded in 'Halifax, Nova Scotia,' and established teams 'throughout the Maritime provinces of Canada.'
A) Boycotting entire seasons
B) Publishing autobiographies
C) Nonviolent protest during sporting events
D) Organizing separate athletic leagues
Correct Answer: C
The text describes Smith and Carlos participating in a 'nonviolent protest' by raising their fists and Kaepernick engaging in a 'peaceful protest' by kneeling. Both actions took place during highly visible moments at sporting events.
A) Ali's protest was about international war and domestic racism, while Kaepernick's was focused solely on a domestic issue.
B) Ali's protest was supported by the U.S. government, while Kaepernick's was condemned.
C) Ali was protesting economic inequality, while Kaepernick was protesting racial segregation.
D) Ali's protest took place before sports were integrated, while Kaepernick's took place after.
Correct Answer: A
The text connects Ali's protest to his refusal to 'participate in the Vietnam War' while also pointing out 'racism at home.' Kaepernick's protest, in contrast, was specifically focused on the domestic issue of 'the prevalence of police brutality.'