UNIT 3: THE PRACTICE OF FREEDOM

What was the Thirteenth Amendment and its impact?

It abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime, legally ending slavery in the U.S.

What principle did the Fourteenth Amendment establish?

It granted birthright citizenship and equal protection, nullifying Black Codes and overturning the Dred Scott decision.

What right did the Fifteenth Amendment secure?

It prohibited voter discrimination based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude, granting Black men the right to vote.

How did the Fifteenth Amendment influence politics during Reconstruction?

It allowed African Americans to vote and hold office, leading to nearly 2,000 Black men serving in government positions.

Who was Hiram Revels?

He was the first African American U.S. Senator, representing Mississippi in 1870 during Reconstruction.

What was the Freedmen’s Bureau?

A federal agency created in 1865 to help formerly enslaved people with food, shelter, education, and legal aid.

How did African Americans search for lost family members after emancipation?

They placed ads in newspapers, traveled long distances, and sought help from the Freedmen’s Bureau.

Why was legal marriage important to freedpeople?

It provided family legitimacy and legal recognition, replacing the informal bonds created under slavery.

What were Black Codes?

State laws designed to limit Black freedom and force African Americans into low-wage labor after the Civil War.

How did sharecropping affect African Americans?

It trapped them in debt and economic dependence on white landowners through unfair contracts and crop liens.

What was convict leasing?

A system where Black prisoners were rented to private companies for labor, often under brutal, deadly conditions.

What ended Reconstruction?

The Compromise of 1877, which removed federal troops from the South and allowed white Democrats to regain power.

What was Plessy v. Ferguson?

A Supreme Court decision in 1896 that upheld racial segregation under the doctrine “separate but equal.”

What were Jim Crow laws?

Segregation laws that enforced racial separation in schools, transportation, public spaces, and more.

How were Black voters suppressed?

Through poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, intimidation, and violence.

What was the “nadir” of race relations?

The lowest point of U.S. race relations, from the 1890s to the early 20th century, marked by lynching and legal segregation.

Who was Ida B. Wells?

A journalist and activist who investigated and campaigned against lynching in the U.S.

What was the Red Summer of 1919?

A period of intense racial violence with riots in dozens of cities, often sparked by tensions over jobs and returning Black veterans.

What was the Tulsa Race Massacre?

A 1921 white mob attack on the prosperous Black neighborhood of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, resulting in destruction and death.

What is double consciousness?

A term coined by W.E.B. Du Bois describing the internal conflict of African Americans as both Black and American.

What does “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar express?

The emotional pain and survival strategies of African Americans hidden behind forced smiles and public performance.

What did Booker T. Washington advocate?

Vocational training, self-reliance, and accepting segregation in exchange for economic opportunity.

How did W.E.B. Du Bois differ from Washington?

Du Bois promoted higher education, civil rights, and immediate political activism.

What is the significance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing”?

Known as the Black National Anthem, it celebrates resilience, hope, and faith.

What role did Black women play in social uplift?

They led clubs, churches, and education efforts, advancing civil rights and community improvement.

Who was Madam C.J. Walker?

The first female self-made millionaire in the U.S., who built a beauty empire and supported Black causes.

Why were Black churches central to the community?

They were spiritual centers and hubs for political activism, education, and support.

What were HBCUs and why were they important?

Historically Black Colleges and Universities provided higher education to African Americans shut out of white institutions.

What was the Great Migration?

The movement of millions of African Americans from the rural South to northern cities from 1916–1970.

What opportunities and challenges came with the Great Migration?

Better jobs and escape from Southern racism, but also new forms of segregation and discrimination in the North.

What was the New Negro Movement?

A push for political activism, pride, and cultural expression during the Harlem Renaissance.

Who was Marcus Garvey?

A Jamaican-born leader who founded the UNIA and promoted Black nationalism and return to Africa.

What was the UNIA?

The Universal Negro Improvement Association, promoting Black pride, self-reliance, and Pan-African unity.

What was the Black Star Line?

A shipping company created by Garvey to support Black economic independence and emigration to Africa.

What was the Harlem Renaissance?

A cultural explosion of Black literature, art, music, and intellectual thought in 1920s Harlem, New York.

Who was Langston Hughes?

A key poet of the Harlem Renaissance known for his work on Black identity, pride, and resilience.

What was Zora Neale Hurston known for?

A folklorist and author who celebrated African American culture, especially in the rural South.

Who was Claude McKay?

A Jamaican poet and activist whose work expressed Black defiance and pride during the Harlem Renaissance.

How did jazz reflect Black freedom?

Jazz symbolized innovation, improvisation, and a break from traditional Western musical forms.

What was the importance of Black newspapers?

They informed communities, advocated for civil rights, and provided a platform for Black voices.

What was the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters?

The first Black labor union to gain a major contract, led by A. Philip Randolph.

What role did A. Philip Randolph play in labor rights?

He organized the Pullman Porters and later pressured FDR to ban discrimination in defense jobs.

What was Executive Order 8802?

Issued by FDR in 1941, it prohibited racial discrimination in defense industries and government jobs.

What was the Double V campaign?

A WWII slogan calling for victory against fascism abroad and racism at home.

What role did Black soldiers play in WWII?

Over one million served, often in segregated units, and fought for democracy while facing racism.

What were the Tuskegee Airmen?

A group of skilled Black military pilots who broke barriers and proved their abilities in WWII.

How did WWII fuel the Civil Rights Movement?

Black veterans returned with higher expectations for equality and inspired further activism.

What was Brown v. Board of Education?

The 1954 Supreme Court decision that ruled school segregation unconstitutional.

What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

A year-long protest led by Rosa Parks and MLK against segregated buses, resulting in desegregation.

Who was Rosa Parks?

A civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her bus seat sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

What was the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)?

A civil rights organization founded by MLK to coordinate nonviolent protest.

What was the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)?

A youth-led group focused on sit-ins, Freedom Rides, and grassroots organizing.

What were the Freedom Rides?

Integrated bus trips through the South in 1961 to challenge segregation in interstate travel.

What happened at the March on Washington?

Over 250,000 people gathered in 1963 where MLK delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

What did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 accomplish?

It banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in public places and jobs.

What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 achieve?

It outlawed discriminatory practices that had disenfranchised Black voters, like literacy tests.

What was Freedom Summer?

A 1964 campaign to register Black voters in Mississippi, led by civil rights groups and met with violent resistance.

What happened to the Selma marchers on Bloody Sunday?

Peaceful protesters were attacked by state troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge while demanding voting rights.

Who was Fannie Lou Hamer?

A Mississippi activist who testified about voter suppression and co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

What did the Fair Housing Act of 1968 do?

It banned racial discrimination in housing sales, rentals, and financing.

What was the significance of the Black Panther Party?

It emphasized self-defense, community programs, and resistance to police brutality during the Black Power era.

Who was Malcolm X?

A Nation of Islam minister who promoted Black pride, self-determination, and resistance to racism “by any means necessary.”

What was the Nation of Islam?

A religious and political organization that promoted Black independence and identity under leaders like Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X.

What were the goals of the Poor People's Campaign?

To fight poverty across racial lines and push for economic justice, organized by MLK before his death.

What was the Kerner Commission’s conclusion in 1968?

It warned that the U.S. was moving toward two separate and unequal societies—one Black, one white.

How did African Americans influence politics after the Voting Rights Act?

They were elected to local and national office in increasing numbers, transforming political landscapes.

What is affirmative action?

Policies that seek to address past discrimination by promoting diversity in schools and workplaces.

What was busing and why was it controversial?

Transporting students to different schools to achieve integration; it was met with resistance in many cities.

How did hip hop culture reflect Black life?

It emerged from urban Black communities in the 1970s as a form of expression, resistance, and identity.