“Black People Know Things” is a Black culture-focused trivia event that began online in Denver in 2020, to curb cabin fever during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. It has since evolved into a popular in-person event held monthly at Colorado breweries.
“Our goal is to celebrate blackness in all shapes and forms from the serious to the hilarious and making Black culture and Black history fun and approachable for all people,’ explained founder and original host Darian Wilson.
He got the idea after attending a virtual trivia night with his wife and her former roommate in the summer of 2020. Wilson said he had fun, but noticed that the competition wasn’t very inclusive in terms of the facts included in the game.
“I've done trivia nights before and very rarely – minus some musicians or maybe some athletes do they ever talk about Black culture. I was just sitting there, like, ‘Oh man, we did two hours of trivia and the last round was the only time where anyone Black was mentioned,’” said Wilson.
Wilson, who’d recently relocated to Denver with his family, decided to create a Black-themed virtual trivia game night with his friends from across the country. It was a big hit but fizzled out as the pandemic restrictions were lifted and people were able to get back to many of their pre-pandemic activities.
He later revived it as an in-person event at a Black-owned brewery in Denver until it closed down. Black People Know Things is now held monthly at Spangalang Brewery, a Black-owned venue in Denver’s historic Five Points community, and occasionally other locations too.
“I like to joke that we celebrate ratchet stuff, we celebrate great stuff and we celebrate everything in between. We can talk about reality TV at the same trivia night where we talk about someone who was the first Black NASA engineer. We run the gamut because everything about our culture is worthy of being celebrated, discussed, or at least used as a trivia question,” said Wilson.
Colorado Matters Co-Host Chandra Thomas Whitfield with special Black People Know Things guest host Leonard "Grafitti" Johnson, a local podcaster, Feb. 18, 2024. 
First-time Black People Know Things trivia game contestant Holli Rene reviews her team's answers, on Feb. 18, 2024.
In honor of Black History Month 2024, “Colorado Matters” co-host Chandra Thomas Whitfield recently sat in on a special Colorado Black History edition of the monthly event.
Now it’s time for you to put yourself to the test. Check out these Colorado Black history trivia questions, broken down into four categories: History, TV and Film, Music, and Majority Wins. Once you write down your answers, click on the “listen now" orange button (above top right) to hear the correct answers. Good luck!
History
- What is the name of the historical Black neighborhood in Denver?
- This campground in Colorado opened in 1928 and was the only summer camp facility catering to Black people west of the Mississippi River; some famous visitors included Lena Horne, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston.
- The Black American West Museum is based in the home of this woman who was the first licensed Black woman physician in Colorado.
- This now-abandoned town in Weld County was the first all-Black town in Colorado from 1910 to 1948. It was lived in and operated by Black farmers.
- This iconic Black businesswoman, philanthropist, and beauty entrepreneur started her million-dollar business while living in Denver in 1907.
TV and Film
- Having attended Denver East High and Metro State, this woman known for her incredible roles during the “Blaxploitation era” in American film and television still lives just outside of Denver.
- Filmmaker Spike Lee directed this true story of a Black Colorado Springs police officer’s attempt to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan.
- This actor, famous for his roles in “Hotel Rwanda,” “House of Lies” and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, graduated from Denver’s East High School.
- James Samuel wrote and produced this Netflix film with many ties to Colorado, including portrayals of James Beckworth, a founder of a town in Pueblo, Nat Love, who helped the railroad industry in Denver, and Kathy Williams, a Buffalo Soldier who lived in Trinidad, Colorado.
- Growing up in Fort Collins and Denver, this woman was the first Black person to ever win an Oscar.
Music
- This multi-platinum, multi-Grammy-winning supergroup that began with members meeting in the halls of Denver’s East High School was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
- This Denver-based rapper emerged as a fan favorite on a popular hit Netflix series featuring judges Cardi B, Chance the Rapper, and TI.
- This hip-hop duo met at Denver’s Manual High School and went on to create this full-time platinum single in 1993, which is a 90s party staple and was recently used in a Geico insurance commercial (two-part answer).
- This Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter graduated from Rangeview High School in Aurora and has a dad who is a former Denver Nugget.
- This Bluegrass artist from Denver is considered one of the best living banjo players alive. His 2000 breakthrough album told tales of race, class, and politics
Majority Wins
Answer what you think was the consensus among the BPKT attendees
1. Which neighborhood do you most want to save from gentrification in Colorado?
A. Five Points
B. Park Hill
C. Northside
D. Far Northeast Denver
2. Who is the best athlete to come out of Colorado?
A. Chauncey Billups
B. Vincent, Jackson
C. Philip Lindsey
D. Mallory Swanson
3. What is your favorite Black-owned business in Colorado?
A. Be A Good Person Clothing
B. Welton Street Cafe
C. Cleo Parker Robinson Dance
D. Spangalang Brewery
4. When you think of Black Colorado, what do you think of first?
A. Air Force
B. Cowboys/The American West
C. Sports
D. Jazz/Harlem of the West.
5. What is one Black thing you wish Colorado had more of?
A. Activities
B. Nightlife
C. Soul food
D. People
