REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala.--In celebration of African-American History Month, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command (USASMDC/ARSTRAT) hosted a Black History Trivia Challenge for employees on Thursday, Feb. 18 in Building 5220.
Each year, the Department of the Army observes African-American History Month in February along with the rest of the country. For 2010, the theme as developed by the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History is "The History of Black Economic Empowerment."
Mary Peoples of the Equal Employment Opportunity Office spoke briefly about the theme before turning the event over to Maj. Steve Johnson of G3. Johnson, as the host of the day's challenge, showed a short clip taken from the documentary video that was distributed to the trivia winners before proceeding to the game.
The Black History Trivia Challenge game was set up electronically, offering participants the opportunity to pick a category and point value for each question in a manner similar to Jeopardy.
Five teams of two participated, answering questions in the categories of Inventors/Science, Leaders/People, Education, Literature/Arts/Entertainment, and Sports. Team 4, comprised of Teresa Brown of G2 and Phillis Reid of the Inspector General Office, jumped out to an early lead. Team 5, comprised of Juanita Sales Lee of Command Counsel and Jimmie Sherode of G8, quickly tied. At that point, questions worth 100 points (compared to 25 and 50 points) were asked, and the lead shifted continually based on the next few questions.
Team 1, comprised of Monica Bingham and Simone Philson of the Future Warfare Center, got 100-point questions in the categories of both Literature and Education correct, propelling them to the lead, which is where they would finish.
"This was exciting and a lot of fun," said Philson after her team was confirmed as the winner. "The Future Warfare Center is always eager to participate in command events like this, and I was happy to represent my group."
Finishing in second place was Team 2, Alisha Lee and Beltha Hinton from G8, who made their surge during the bonus questions. Lee and Sherode finished in third place.
Peoples was pleased with the outcome of the day.
"The active participation during this trivia was exceptional, and the spirit of competition made it even more interesting," she said. "It was great to see offices here rooting for their teams. Overall, I think the event was fun and educational for everyone involved."
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