Jeopardy! featured an important figure from the 1893 World’s Fair on their show #8766 (airing on Monday, December 19, 2022). The category of “Famous Woman” in the Double Jeopardy round included the answer:
“In 1893, activist Fannie Barrier Williams successfully fought for Black inclusion at this city’s Columbian Exposition.”
The correct question “What is Chicago?” required no knowledge of Williams and escaped all three contestants.
Fannie Barrier Williams (1855–1944) was an Black teacher, political activist for the civil rights of African Americans and women, and the first Black woman to gain membership to the Chicago Woman’s Club. The Rochester Regional Library Council describes Williams’ important contributions to the 1893 World’s Fair:
Barrier Williams achieved considerable recognition when she waged a battle for the representation of African-Americans at the Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. She succeeded in having two staff appointments designated for African-Americans and having African-American interests included in the program. She herself was appointed as Clerk in charge of Colored Interests in the Department of Publicity and Promotions. She was also invited to present two major addresses, one to the World’s Congress of Representative Women and the other to the World’s Parliament of Religions. In the first, “The Intellectual Progress of the Colored Women of the United States Since the Emancipation Proclamation,” Barrier Williams disputed the notion that slavery had rendered African-American women incapable of the same moral and intellectual levels as other women and called on all women to unite to claim their inalienable rights. This was followed by a discussion and words of praise from Frederick Douglass. The second speech, “What Can Religion Further Do to Advance the condition of the American Negro?” called upon churches, particularly those in the South, to open their doors to all people, regardless of race. She also proclaimed a continuing belief in the ability of religion and faith to correct society’s problems. Perhaps it was this belief that gave Barrier Williams the courage to challenge every day injustices.
Other recent Jeopardy! answers touched on belly dancing and promotional pickle pins at the Exposition and the Field Columbian Museum.