Africana Studies Exam #1 Section #1

Race

a socially constructed concept dictated by outer appearance (skin color, hair color, etc.)

Racism

prejudice/discrimination based on race, directed against people with less social power by people with more social power 

Social Construct

an idea that is created and accepted by society

Discipline

a specialized branch of study

Black Studies

critical and systematic study of the thought/practice of African people in their current and historical unfolding (constantly developing)

Diaspora 

the dispersion/scattering of people with a common origin

Africana Studies

inclusive of all Africans dispersed throughout the world

Agency

individuals ability to act independently and have control over their thoughts, movements, and beliefs

Multiculturalism 

thought and practice organized around respect of human diversity 

Afrocentricity

placing African ideals at the center of any analysis that involves African culture and behavior (developed by Molefi Asante who funded the 1st PhD program in Black Studies at Temple)

Eurocentrism

viewed as domination and exclusion; centered on European culture and values

History

the struggle and record of humans in the process of humanizing the world, shaping it in their own image and interests

Sankofa

to return and recover it

Sankofa Bird

symbolizes the quest for knowledge returning to the source

B.C.E

Before Common Era

C.E.

Common Era

Kemet

“land of the blacks”, “black land” (ancient Egypt)

Maat

 life philosophy of ancient Egypt 

Moor

meaning black or dark people (from Modern day Morocco) (believed to have “civilized” Spain during its “Dark Ages”)

Xenophilia

curiosity/attraction to all that’s foreign 

Holocaust

an act of genocide against a specific people and humanity as a whole

Genocide

the deliberate and systematic extermination of a people

The Eugenics Movement 

the practice or advocacy of improving the human species by selectively mating people with specific desirable hereditary traits 

Goree

a “safe haven” for the Europeans who traveled there and used it as a rest stop, but also a place where they imprisoned Africans awaiting transport

Emigrationism

to go back to one’s original country

Slave Codes 

Laws placed against slaves in order to establish them further as property, restrict their rights, and prevent resistance 

Black Codes

a set of laws created to control the labor and behavior of newly freed African Americans

The Freedman’s Bureau

An agency created in 1865 to aid formerly enslaved people and poor white people in the post-Civil War South (provided food, housing, medical care, etc.)

Convict Leasing 

a system of forced, unpaid labor that emerged in the South (prisons)

Black Belt

a segregated residential area whose inhabitants can neither scatter as individuals or expand as a group

Redlining

the practice of denying financial resources to residents of specific neighborhoods based on race/ethnicity

Block Busting 

intimidation of white families who were pro-integration; led to white flight 

Greenbook

a travel guide for African Americans that show places that are safe for them to go

Eminent Domain

the power of the government to purchase and take private property for public use

Sundown Towns

towns where black people could not safely travel or even pass through after dark