African American History Terms Quiz #1

Carter G. Woodson

Known as the "Father of African American History," he founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) and played a key role in legitimizing the study of Black history. He established Negro History Week (which later became Black History Month) and published research through his own journal.

Double Consciousness

A concept introduced by W.E.B. Du Bois describing the internal conflict Black Americans experience by seeing themselves through both their own perspective and the lens of a racially prejudiced society. It reflects a "sense of twoness" in identity.

Pan-Africanism

A global movement that promotes unity among African communities and people of African descent. It emphasizes shared cultural identity and political cooperation, linking struggles at home with those abroad.

Anna Julia Cooper

A key figure in Pan-Africanism, she was a co-founder of the Women’s Club Movement and the YWCA Movement, advocating for job opportunities and housing for African Americans. As a high school principal in Washington, D.C., she uplifted Black education. She was the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in history and wrote influential works on race and gender.

Womanism

A Black feminist ideology that prioritizes the well-being of the entire community, particularly women, while maintaining cultural distinctiveness. It differs from mainstream feminism by centering Black women’s experiences and advocating for collective survival.

Lynching

The legal evidence that a person was killed, killed illegally without a trial, and a group of 3 or more people participate, the group must have acted under the pretext of service to justice, race, or tradition. Journalist Ida B. Wells exposed the false accusations and racial motives behind lynchings, documenting them in works like Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases (1892) and A Red Record (1895).

Black Radicalism

A political stance rejecting American patriotism and advocating for a separate Black identity and reality. Groups like the Black Panthers, Nation of Islam, and Marcus Garvey’s UNIA pushed for economic, social, and political self-determination. The red, black, and green Pan-African flag symbolizes this movement.

La Amistad

A Spanish slave ship where enslaved Africans, led by Cinqué, revolted and took control. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately granted them freedom, ruling they had been illegally enslaved. The case became a landmark moment in the fight against slavery.

Freedom Struggles

The ongoing historical efforts of African Americans to resist racial oppression and fight for civil rights, justice, and equality.

Respectability

The idea that African Americans could combat racism by conforming to white societal norms of dress, speech, and behavior. Historically associated with HBCUs (e.g., Paul Quinn College in Dallas), it was used as a survival strategy but was also criticized for reinforcing assimilationist expectations.

The Great Migration

Between 1914 and 1930, nearly half a million African Americans moved from the rural South to industrial centers in the North and Midwest to escape Jim Crow laws and seek economic opportunities. This migration reshaped Black communities and culture in cities like Chicago and Detroit.

Race Records

A term used in the 1920s for music marketed to Black audiences, emerging from blues and vaudeville traditions. These records, popularized by artists like Blind Lemon Jefferson, captured the struggles and hopes of African Americans, though they sometimes reinforced stereotypes. Increased police surveillance and club raids led to restrictions on Black artists.

Repatriation

The movement advocating for African Americans to return to Africa, particularly Liberia. Some slaveowners supported repatriation to prevent revolts.

Martin Delany

A physician and writer considered the "Father of Black Nationalism." After being dismissed from Harvard Medical School due to racism, he became a leading advocate for African American emigration to Liberia. He fought for U.S. government funding and land deals for Black settlers but faced US opposition that led to conflicts with local Liberians.

Americo-Liberians

African Americans in Liberia adopted aspects of American culture and established a ruling class, often oppressing indigenous Liberians and recreating systems of hierarchy similar to those they had escaped.