Middle Passage
The forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas.
Triangular Trade
A trade system between Europe, Africa, and the Americas that involved the exchange of goods, enslaved people, and raw materials.
Emancipation Proclamation
An executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 that freed slaves in rebel states.
Dred Scott v. Sandford
An 1857 Supreme Court case that ruled African Americans were not citizens and had no standing to sue.
Harriet Tubman
An escaped slave who became a leading abolitionist, known for her role in the Underground Railroad.
Juneteenth
Celebrated on June 19th, it commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas in 1865.
Civil Rights Movement
A struggle for social justice that took place mainly during the 1950s and 1960s, aimed at ending racial discrimination.
NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, founded in 1909 to fight for civil rights.
Plessy v. Ferguson
An 1896 Supreme Court decision that upheld racial segregation under the doctrine of 'separate but equal'.
Brown v. Board of Education
The 1954 Supreme Court case that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
Martin Luther King Jr.
A civil rights leader who advocated for nonviolent protest against racial segregation and discrimination.
Malcolm X
A prominent African American Muslim leader who advocated for black empowerment and was a key figure in the civil rights movement.
The Great Migration
The movement of over 6 million African Americans from the rural South to urban centers in the North and West from 1916 to 1970.
New Negro Movement
A cultural and artistic explosion that took place in the 1920s among African Americans, often associated with the Harlem Renaissance.
Harlem Renaissance
A cultural, social, and artistic movement centered in Harlem, New York, during the 1920s.
Angela Davis
An activist and scholar known for her work in civil rights and prison reform.
Affirmative Action
Policies designed to increase the representation of historically disadvantaged groups in education and employment.
Black Panther Party
A political organization formed in 1966 to advocate for the rights of African Americans and provide community services.
Rosa Parks
Civil rights activist known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Segregation
The enforced separation of racial groups in daily life, including schools, public places, and transportation.
Vote Suppression
Strategies used to discourage or prevent specific groups of people from voting.
Ghettoization
The process of poor and marginalized communities being segregated in urban areas.
School-to-Prison Pipeline
A term describing how students, particularly those from marginalized groups, are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems.
Chattel Slavery
A system in which individuals are treated as personal property to be bought and sold.
Reconstruction Era
The period after the American Civil War from 1865 to 1877 focused on rebuilding the South and integrating freed slaves.
Sharecropping
A system where landowners allowed tenants to use land in exchange for a share of the crops produced.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Legislation aimed at overcoming legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote.
Tuskegee Airmen
The first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces.
African Diaspora
The global spread of people of African descent through the transatlantic slave trade and other migrations.
Bantu Migration
The movement of the Bantu-speaking peoples across Africa, spreading languages and cultures.
Pan-Africanism
A movement that seeks to unify African people and those of African descent, advocating for solidarity among all Africans.
Freedmen’s Bureau
A government agency established after the Civil War to aid freed slaves in their transition to freedom.
Jim Crow Laws
State and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States.
Cultural assimilation
The process where minority groups adopt the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture.
Black Codes
Laws passed in the Southern states after the Civil War aimed at limiting the freedoms of African Americans.
Social Justice
The fair and just relationship between individuals and society, encompassing equal rights and opportunities.
Marcus Garvey
A Jamaican political leader who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and advocated for African American nationalism.
Invisible Man
A novel by Ralph Ellison that explores the social and intellectual issues facing African Americans in the 20th century.
Abolitionism
A movement to end slavery in the United States.
Underground Railroad
A network of secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved people to escape to freedom.
Unity
The state of being united or forming a whole, especially among marginalized communities.
Cultural heritage
The traditions, values, languages, and artifacts of a particular group or society.
Social movement
A collective effort by a large group of people to bring about social change.
West African Kingdoms
Historical African empires such as Mali and Songhay known for their wealth and cultural achievements.
Post-Colonialism
The academic study of the effects of colonialism on cultures and societies.
Colorism
Discrimination based on skin color, leading to preferential treatment for lighter skin over darker skin within the same ethnic groups.
African American Vernacular English (AAVE)
A distinct dialect spoken by many African Americans, characterized by its unique grammatical, vocabulary, and pronunciation rules.
Soul Food
Traditional African American cuisine that originated from the cooking traditions of enslaved Africans.
Cultural appropriation
The act of taking or using elements from one culture by members of another culture, often without permission.
Black Lives Matter
A movement advocating against violence and systemic racism towards Black individuals.
Afrofuturism
An artistic and cultural movement that combines elements of science fiction with African culture and history.