AP African American Studies Ultimate Guide (copy)

African American studies

An interdisciplinary field that combines scholarly inquiry with a community-centered approach to analyze the history, culture, and politics of people of African descent.

Paleoanthropologists

Scientists who study ancient human origins, believing that human origins come from the African savanna.

Black Campus movement (1965-1972)

A period when Black students and collaborators protested for culturally relevant learning opportunities and greater support in colleges.

Climate Zones of Africa

Five primary climate zones include Desert, Semiarid, Savanna, Rainforest, and Mediterranean.

Bantu expansion

The migration of Bantu-speaking peoples across Africa from 1500 BCE to 500 CE, influencing language and culture.

Nubia/Kush

Region south of Egypt known for its significant role in ancient trade and interactions with Egypt.

Aksumite Empire

An early Christian civilization that emerged in eastern Africa, known for its trade networks and unique currency.

Black Codes

State laws that restricted the rights of newly freed African Americans during the Reconstruction era.

Sharecropping

A system where landowners allowed tenants to farm land in exchange for a share of the crops, often leading to economic dependency.

Jim Crow Laws

Laws enacted to enforce racial segregation and disenfranchise Black Americans after the Reconstruction era.

Great Migration

The movement of African Americans from the rural South to urban areas in the North, Midwest, and West from 1910 to 1970.

Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)

Founded by Marcus Garvey, aimed at uniting Black people and promoting back-to-Africa movements.

Harlem Renaissance

A cultural, social, and artistic explosion centered in Harlem in the 1920s, highlighting Black intellectual and artistic achievements.

Double Consciousness

A term coined by W.E.B. Du Bois to describe an internal conflict experienced by subordinated or colonized groups in an oppressive society.

Thirteenth Amendment

The amendment that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.

Fourteenth Amendment

The amendment that grants citizenship and equal protection under the law to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S.

Fifteenth Amendment

The amendment prohibiting the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Juneteenth

Commemoration of the end of slavery in the U.S., marked on June 19, 1865.