Studied by 11 people
Négritude
- Political, cultural, literary movement of 1930s - 1950s
- Started with French-speaking Caribbean and African writers protesting colonialism and assimilation of Black people into European culture
Negrismo
- Celebrated African contributions to Latin American music, folklore, literature, art
- Embraced by Black and mixed-race Latin Americans
- Emerged in Spanish-speaking Caribbean at same time as négritude
Négritude and Negrismo Movements Similarities
- Early to mid-20th century
- Emphasized cultural pride and political liberation of Black people
- First manifested among educated elites
- Reinforced each other
- Influenced by the New Negro renaissance in U.S.
Langston Hughes
Translated works from French and Spanish to English and from English to French and Spanish
-> connected New Negro, négritude, and negrismo movements
Proponents of Négritude and Negrismo
- Aimé Césaire (Martinique), Frantz Fanon (Martinique), and Léopold Senghor (Senegal)
- Rejected notion that European colonialism civilized colonized subjects
- Argued that racial ideologies underpinned colonial exploitation, violent intervention, and systems of coerced labor
Anti Colonial Movement
Black activists in Africa, Europe, and the Americas asserted that racism and colonialism were means of dehumanizing people of African descent.
Where did négritude emerge?
- Paris --> a diasporic hub for African American jazz performers, artists, and veterans and intellectuals from Africa and the Caribbean
Afro-descendants Who Spent Significant Time in Paris During the Négritude Movement
- Josephine Baker
- Claude McKay
- Anna Julia Cooper
- Augusta Savage
- Countee Cullen
- Alain Locke
- Langston Hughes
- Nella Larsen
Wilfredo Lam
- Afro-Cuban artists with Chinese heritage
- Leading artists of negrismo period
"The Jungle" by Wilfredo Lam
- 1943
- Reflects on legacies of slavery and colonialism in Cuba with faces that reference West and Central art motifs (masks) set in a sugarcane field
Loïs Mailou Jones
- Harlem Renaissance artist
- Worked as illustrator for some of first Black history magazines published by W.E.B. Du Bois and Carter G. Woodson
"Les Fétiches" by Loïs Mailou Jones
- Jones inspired by négritude movement while in Paris
- Conveys strength, beauty, and protection in African ancestral heritage
- Features 5 overlapping masks from different communities in Africa and a red religious fetish figure (figure believed to have magical powers or received devotion)
Discrimination Against African Americans Through Mid-20th Century
- In North + South
- Racial discrimination + violence
- Segregation in education, housing, transportation, and voting
Emergence of Civil Rights Movement
Emerged from need to eradicate segregation and ensure federal protection of rights promised by Reconstruction Amendments and Civil Rights Act of 1875 (outlawed racial discrimination in public places).
Brown v. Board of Education
- 1954
- SCOTUS ruled racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional
De facto segregation
Racial segregation that occurs not as a result of the law, but as a result of unwritten custom or tradition
Response to Brown v. Board of Education
- De facto segregation in public schools persisted
- Some states cut funding for integrated schools & funded those that stayed predominantly White
How did White peoples' reactions to Brown v. BOE further the economic divide between races?
- Middle-class White families fled to suburbs and private schools, shifting their investment into schools and neighborhoods that few African Americans could access
(African Americans who integrated into well-resourced neighborhoods became targets of mob violence)
Segregation in Transportation
- Racially segregated transportation remained unequal
- Predominantly Black areas lacked sufficient infrastructure for public transportation
- African Americans responded by operating jitneys (small buses that provided taxi services) and starting their own bus companies
Redlining
- Throughout mid-20th century
- Mortgages withheld from African Americans and other POC in areas falsely labeled as posing "hazardous" financial risk
G.I. Bill of 1944
- "Race-neutral" gesture of gratitude toward American veterans returning from World War II (1.2 million Black veterans)
- Provided funds for college tuition, low-cost home mortgages, and low-interest business startup loans
- Funds administered locally
--> disproportionately disbursed to White veterans due to Jim Crow discriminatory practices
Federal Housing Administration's Underwriting Manual
- 1938
- Made housing segregation legal
- Restrictions made it illegal for African Americans to live in many communities
- NAACP fought housing discrimination from 1914 through the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968
How did housing discrimination intensify pre existing disparities between African Americans and White people?
African American communities had limited access to:
- public transportation
- clean water + air
- recreational spaces
- healthy food
- healthcare services
--> exacerbated health disparities along racial lines
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
- Formed 1909
- Fought discrimination and racial violence primarily through legal campaigns
- W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells-Barnett among founders
- Rosa Parks (local NAACP secretary) helped launch Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955)
National Urban League (NUL)
- Formed 1910 in NYC
- Helped African Americans from South during Great Migration acclimate to urban life and secure housing + jobs
- Supported A. Philip Randolph's (threatened) 1941 March on Washington and worked w/ the Southern Christian Leadership Committee (SCLC) during civil rights movement
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
- Civil rights organization established by Black and White students in Chicago in 1942
- Collaborated with other organizations to organize sit-ins, voter registration drives, and the Freedom Rides of 1961
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
- Established by MLK Jr.
- Coordinated actions of churches and other organizations to launch major protests [i.e., Selma Voting Rights March (1965)]
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
- Founded in 1960 by Ella Baker
- Baker assisted students interested in SCLC's activism in founding their own organization after students staged the Greensboro sit-ins
Main Leaders of Civil Rights Movements ("The Big Six")
- Martin Luther King Jr.: Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC)
- John Lewis:
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
- A. Philip Randolph: Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
- Roy Wilkins: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
- James Farmer: Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
- Whitney Young: National Urban League (NUL)
"Nonviolence and Racial Justice" by Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1957
- Explained purpose and major characteristics of strategy of nonviolent direct resistance as inspired by Christian principles and example of Gandhi
Strategies of Major Civil Rights Organizations
- Nonviolence, direct action, racially inclusive protest
- Relied on marches, sit-ins, litigations, other forms of nonviolent civil disobedience, use of mass media
How did CORE and SNCC evolve?
After assassination of MLK and members of CORE, some CORE and SNCC members + leaders transitioned toward separatist, Black nationalist principles
Freedom Riders
- Black and White people traveled on same interstate buses to challenge segregated transportation in South
- Violence against Freedom Riders drew national attention
March on Washingston
- 1963
- Organized by Bayard Rustin and Big Six leaders and an alliance with 4 White leaders from religious + political orgs.
- Peaceful Protest (25k+ participants)
- MLK delivered "I Have a Dream" speech, calling for end to discrimination and racism
Bayard Rustin
- Openly gay, advisor to MLK, leader of civil rights movement
- Organizer of March on Washington and Montgomery bus boycott
Pauli Murray
- Pioneering lawyer
- Denied admission to Harvard Law for being woman
- Developed guidelines for desegregation that are regarded as critical to Brown v. BOE and other decisions
Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Ended segregation and prohibited discrimination on basis of race, color, and religion
- Resulted from efforts of civil rights movement
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Outlawed discriminatory barriers in voting
"The Revolution Is at Hand" by John Lewis
- 1963
- Delivered at March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
- Called for greater attention to urgency of civil rights and African Americans' need for protection from racial violence
Black Women's Roles in Civil Rights Movement
- Black women central leaders in fight for civil rights but often faced gender discrimination within those organizations
- Had limited roles as leaders and decision makers
Ella Baker and Fannie Lou Hamer Work as Female Civil Rights Leaders
Stressed importance of addressing racial AND gender discrimination during Black Freedom movement
Ella Baker
- "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement"
- Major impact on NAACP, SCLC, & SNCC
- Focused on grassroots organizing
- Emphasized need for group-centered leadership over leader- centered groups
- Argued lunch counter sit-ins demonstrated need for the full inclusion of African Americans in all aspects of American life
Dorothy Height
- Led National Council of Negro Women for 40 years
- Routinely worked on civil rights projects with Big Six leaders (i.e., March on Washington)
Black Freedom Movement
- Period of activism from mid-1940s to 1970s
- Marked by civil rights movement, which annulled Jim Crow laws and practices, and the Black Power movement, which heightened Black consciousness and pride
- Diasporic solidarity contributed to global reach of Black Freedom movement
How did Black artists contribute to the Black Freedom Movement?
- Contributed to fight for racial equality through various forms of expression
- Brought African Americans' resistance efforts to global audiences + strengthened similar efforts by Afro-descendants beyond U.S.
Josephine Baker
- Performer and civil rights activist
- Critiqued double standards of American democracy that maintained segregation while promoting ideals of equality
Nicolás Guillén
- Prominent negrismo Cuban poet of African descent
- Examined connections between anti-Black racism in US and Latin America
Negrismo Poets
- Emphasized biological and cultural connection of Afro Caribbean people, centering on performative aspects of poetry (Afro Cuban dancers, singers, percussionists)
- Denounced segregation and racial violence and brought national attention to Black-freedom struggles in U.S.
Little Rock Crisis
- 1957
- Governor Faubus used the Arkansas National Guard to prevent 9 black students from entering Little Rock Central High School
- President Eisenhower sent federal troops to ensure the black students could attend class
Musicians
- Composed protest songs using African American musical traditions (i.e., call and response)
- Drew global attention to White supremacist responses to racial integration in U.S. (i.e., the Little Rock Crisis, 1957)
Charles Mingus
- Jazz bassist
- Composed "Fable of Faubus" as protest song in response to Little Rock Crisis
- Originally record label didn't allow him to include lyrics --> re-released as "Original Faubus Fables" (1960) with lyrics that used call and response to mock foolishness of racial segregation through allusions to Governor Orval M. Faubus
Faith and Music
Important elements of inspiration and community mobilization during civil rights movement of 1950s and 1960s
Freedom Songs
- Emerged through adaptation of hymns, spirituals, gospel songs, and labor union songs in Black churches
- Black churches created space for organizing & adapting this broad range of musical genres
- Freedom songs unified and renewed activists' spirits, gave direction through lyrics, communicated hopes of a more just, inclusive future
"We Shall Overcome"
- An anthem of civil rights movement
- Activists sang it while marching, protesting, when arrested, and while in jail
- Served as muse for MLK's 1966 speech of same name
- First appeared as protest song during a 1945 - 1946 labor strike again American Tobacco in Charleston, SC
Pan-Africanism
- Movement that stressed unity among all Africans
- W.E.B Du Bois --> "father of modern pan-Africanism"
- Early advocates of pan-Africanism: 19th century African American and Caribbean writers such as Martin Delany, Alexander Crummell, Edward Blyden
Pan-African Flag
- By Marcus Garvey (1920)
- Served as unifying symbol to connect people of African descent
African Decolonization
- 1950s and 1960s --> African American writers, leaders, activists visited Africa to express solidarity and support for Africa's decolonization
- Some embraced pan-Africanism and advocated for political and cultural unity of all people of African descent
The Republic of Ghana's Independence from British Colonial Rule
- 1957
- Inspired visits from African American activists such as MLK, Malcolm X, writer Maya Angelou, lawyer Pauli Murray, and historian + sociologist W.E.B Du Bois
- (Ghana called The Gold Coast under British Rule)
"Year of Africa"
- 1960
- 17 African nations declared their independence from European colonialism
Black Consciousness
- As defined by Steve Biko (anti-apartheid activist and creator of a national Black consciousness movement): the awakening of self-worth in Black populations.
- Aimed to redefine "Black," acknowledging the term as a positive, unifying identity
Diasporic Solidarity Today
2019 --> Ghana's gov't celebrated the Year of Return, an initiative to reunite African descendants in the diaspora to the continent
African Americans' Views on Civil Rights Movements in Mid-1960s
- Many of them believed the movement's focus on integration and nonviolent strategies didn't address their disempowerment and lack of safety
--> Embraced Black Power, a movement that promoted self-determination, defended violence as acceptable strategy, and aimed to transform Black consciousness by emphasizing cultural pride
Malcolm X
- Muslim minister & activist
- Championed principles of Black Autonomy & encouraged African Americans to build their own social, economic, and political institutions instead of integrating
What did Malcolm X Emphasize?
- Encouraged African Americans to exercise right to vote and Second Amendment's right to bear arms
- His emphasis on self-defense, sense of dignity, and solidarity influenced groups that emerged during Black Power movement
How did Malcolm X's ideas evolve over time?
Toward end of his life, left Nation of Islam to pursue an egalitarian (equal) and inclusive political agenda that promoted human human rights and protested injustices internationally
The Black Panther Party
- Formed by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in Oakland, California after assassination of Malcolm X
- Functioned 1966 - 1980s
- Cited the Second Amendment to promote African Americans' right to bear arms in self defense
- FBI waged campaign again BPP as a threat to national security
- Local Black Panther offices frequently led by women
Black Panther Party's Ten-Point Program
- Called for freedom from oppression and imprisonment, and access to housing, healthcare, education, and employment opportunities
- To provide help for low-income communities, BPP implemented "survival programs":
-> Free Breakfast for School Children Program
-> Legal aid offices, and...
-> Relief programs that offered free medical care and clothing
What did Malcolm X advocate for regarding names?
- Encouraged African Americans to relinquish names associated with slavery and its end (i.e., Negro, colored)
- Encouraged them to embrace ethnonyms such as Black of African American with a sense of pride
The Black is Beautiful and Black Art Movements Similarities
- Emerged in 1960s
- Embraced Black beauty and well-being and encouraged African Americans to strengthen connections to Africa
- Rejected notions of inferiority and conformity to beauty standards
Black is Beautiful Movement
- Celebrated Afrocentric aesthetics in natural hairstyles (afros), fashion (dashikis and African head wraps), & celebrations like Kwanzaa (established 1966)
- Its rejection of cultural assimilation laid foundation for later multicultural and ethnic studies movements
The Black Arts Movement
- 1965 - 1975
- Inspired work of Black artists, writer, musicians, and dramatists who envisioned art as political tool to achieve Black liberation
- Inspired creation of Black magazines, publishing houses, art houses, scholarly journals, and some of earliest African American studies programs in universities
- Flourishing of Black cultural forms during movement helped establish AFAM studies as interdisciplinary field
How was the Black Arts movement similar to the Harlem Renaissance?
- Harlem Renaissance (1920s) proclaimed a new mentality for the "new negro"
- Black Arts movement created new political foundation for Black art
--> connected contemporary writers and artists to their forerunners, emphasizing long tradition of Black cultural production
Elizabeth Catlett
- African American artists
- Created paintings, sculptures, and prints that explored race, gender, class, history
- Moved to Mexico (1940s)
--> her art reflects influences of African, African American, and Mexican modernist traditions
Negro es Bello II by Elizabeth Catlett
- 1969
- Features 2 faces in style of African masks and images of black panthers encircled with the phrase, "Black Is Beautiful."
- Highlights international and diasporic reach of Black is Beautiful and Black Power movements, contributing to their global circulation
Kathleen Cleaver
- Legal scholar and activist of Black Panther Party and Black Power movement
- Encouraged Black People to be comfortable in and take pride in their natural beauty
Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act
- 2019
- Passed by California legislature, prohibiting discrimination based on hairstyle and hair texture
How did Black Women during civil rights movement respond to their exclusion in civil rights organizations?
- Drew on earlier traditions of Black female leadership
- Women's movements such as the Combahee River Collective developed alternative approaches and advocated for greater inclusion in society
Gwendolyn Brooks and Mari Evans Similarities
- Writers
- Explored lived experience of Black women and men and showed how their race, gender, and social class affected how they were perceived, their roles, and their economic opportunities
Mari Evans
- Poet/writer
- Key figure of Black Arts Movement
- Her poetry centers on race and identity and Black Power themes of freedom and self- determination
- Alludes to landmark moments in Black history to convey distinctive perspective of being a Black woman
Gwendolyn Brooks
- Her poems document richness of Black urban life
- First African American to win the Pulitzer Prize (1950)
"Maud Martha" by Gwendolyn Brooks
- 1953
- Depicts how African Americans negotiate the multiple dimensions of their identity and social class as they navigate spaces within and beyond their communities
How do Black women leaders during the Civil Rights movement connect to women leaders from past?
- Across U.S. history, Black women played central roles in struggle for freedom and equality
- 18th and 19th centuries: activists such as Jarena Lee (first black female preacher in the AME church)
- Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman resisted injustice and oppression as enslaved and free people
Current Day Wealth Disparities Along Racial Lines
- 2016 --> median wealth for Black families $17,150 and $171,000 for White families
- Due to racial discrimination in housing and employment in early 20th century --> Limited Black communities' accumulation of generational wealth in second half of 20th century
Growth in Education Among Black Communities
- Desegregation in 1950s and 1960s expanded educational opportunities
--> Gradually increased number of Black college graduates
- 2019: 23% of African American adults had earned a bachelor's degree or higher
Urbanization opportunities for...
employment and the growth of Black businesses.
Black Entrepreneurs and Black-owned Businesses
- Black entrepreneurs have long contributed to American society and economy
- Black-owned businesses established to serve Black communities
--> (took advantage of discrimination that denied access to many services)
Advancements in Black Community in Late 20th Century
- Growth of Black voting power and political representation occurred alongside expansion of the Black middle class
- Many African Americans achieved influential positions as members of Congress, local legislators, judges, and high-ranking officials in presidential administrations
Growth of Black Elected Officials
- Between 1970 and 2006, number of Black elected officials in U.S. grew from
~ 1,500 to 9,000 (6X)
- Largest annual increase in 1971, reflecting influence of Black Freedom movement
Shirley Chisholm
- First Black woman in Congress (1968)
- 1971 -> helped found the Congressional Black Caucus, a group of Black members of Congress that promoted growth of Black political power by supporting Black candidates in local elections and lobbying for reforms in healthcare, employment, and social service programs
Colin Powell
- First Black Secretary of State under Pres. GW. Bush (2001)
- Founded the America's Promise Alliance, a cross-sector partnership of nonprofits that creates opportunities for America's youth
- First Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-1993)
- Succeeded as Secretary of State by Condoleezza Rice— first Black woman to hold the position
Historic Precedents in Black Executive Branch Political Leadership (Early 21st Century)
Elections of Barack Obama as president (2008), and Kamala Harris as vice president (2020).
Black Immigration in U.S.
- Number of Black immigrants in U.S. has nearly doubled since 2000, (primarily immigrants from Africa and Caribbean)
- As Black population grows, number of its members who identify as Black and Hispanic or otherwise multiracial also increased
Black communities in the U.S.
*(unifying term "Black" indicates community's shared African heritage experiences)
Black communities in U.S. are diverse:
- Descendants of those enslaved in U.S.
- Recently arrived immigrants (who may identify by their race and nationality (e.g., Afro-Colombian), and...
- People who identify as multiracial
Religion in African American Community
- In early 21st century, two-thirds of African American adults identify as Protestant, 20% don't affiliate with any religion
- Black religious leaders and faith communities played substantial roles in Black civil rights and social justice advocacy by mobilizing their congregations to act on political and social issues
African American Music
- A form of expression that blends African + European musical and performative elements
- African American musical tradition influenced + revolutionized international & American musical genres such as blues, jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues (R&B), and hip-hop
African-based Musical Elements
- Improvisation, call and response, syncopation (a variety of rhythms played together), and the fusion of music with dance
- Shape sounds, performances, and interpretations of African American music
- These and other cultural elements unite various musical genres throughout African diaspora
Social Influences in Hip-hop and R&B
- African Americans' changing social conditions, environments, and lived realities influence evolution and innovations in Black music and performance styles
- Hip-hop and R&B reflect the cultural, political, and economic developments within Black communities, just as earlier genres did
Soul Train
- Popular African American dance program modeled on American Bandstand
- Created by Don Cornelius (1971)
- The Soul Train Hall of Fame album features tracks from some luminaries of Black soul, including Clarence Carter, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Delfonics, Joe Simon, and Sly and the Family Stone
How have African Americans contributed to the American healthcare system?
- Provided free community-based care that encourages early diagnosis of illness
- Collaborated with local gov'ts to establish America's first non segregated hospitals during Black hospital movement in mid-20th century
- Supported training for Black medical professionals by establishing medical schools) and the...
National Medical Association (Black medical professionals initially barred from entry into American Medical Association).
Onesimus
- 1706
- Enslaved man who brought awareness of variolation (vaccines) to British American colonies, which helped curtail smallpox
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Flashcard (72)