Intro African American Studies Midterm

What is African American Studies?

An area that systematically examines the past and present experiences, characteristics, achievements, issues, and problems of the African-descended residents of the United States.

National Council for Black Studies

a professional organization established in 1975 to promote academic excellence, social responsibility, and the development of Africana/Black Studies in higher education.

Slave Codes

laws enacted to define the status of enslaved Africans and their rights, primarily in the Southern United States.

American Paradox

the contradiction between the United States' ideals of liberty and equality and the reality of racial inequality and oppression faced by African Americans.

Pan-African Movement

a global initiative advocating for the unity and empowerment of African people and the diaspora. It seeks to address issues of colonialism, racism, and economic inequality affecting African nations and communities.

Slave Patrols

law enforcement groups established to control and discipline enslaved individuals, often through violent means, in the Southern United States.

Middle Passage

The phase of the slave trade where slaves would be packed into ships for the voyage to the New World.The transport of African slaves across the Atlantic.

Amistad Slave Rebellion

A revolt that took place in 1839, where enslaved Africans took control of the vessel and fought for their freedom.

Holocaust

A morally monstrous act that is not only against the targeted people themselves but also a crime against humanity.

Genocide

the killing of a whole or part of a people (cultural/physical)

Black Codes

Laws passed to restrict the freedom of blacks, attempted to subordinate to a subordinate status

Reconstruction

The transformative post-Civil War era in U.S. history focused on reintegrating former Confederate states into the Union and defining the legal, social, and political rights of 4 million newly freed African Americans.

Klu Klux Klan - Klan Manifesto

A statement of beliefs and goals written by members of the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist organization founded after the Civil War. The manifesto outlined the Klan’s commitment to maintaining white dominance, opposing Black civil rights, and using intimidation and violence to control social and political power in the United States.

Lynching

The unlawful killing of a person by a mob, without a legal trial, often used as a form of racial terror—especially against Black Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries—to enforce white supremacy and intimidate communities.

Talented Tenth

term coined in 1903 by W.E.B. Du Bois, the top 10% of Black Americans who, through classical higher education and intellectual training, would become leaders, uplift the "lower classes," and secure racial equality.

Emancipation Proclamation

An order issued by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 during the American Civil War that declared enslaved people in Confederate states to be free.

Nat Turner’s Revolt

An 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner in Virginia that resulted in the deaths of many white slaveholders and led to harsher laws against enslaved people.

John Brown’s Raid

An 1859 attack on a federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry led by John Brown to start a slave rebellion; it failed but increased tensions before the Civil War.

Dred Scott Decision

An 1857 Supreme Court ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford that said Black people were not citizens and Congress couldn’t ban slavery in territories.

Pennsylvania Abolition Society

One of the first anti-slavery organizations in the U.S., founded in 1775, working to end slavery and promote racial equality.

13th, 14th & 15th Amendments

Reconstruction Amendments that ended slavery, granted citizenship and equal protection, and gave Black men the right to vote.

Underground Railroad

A secret network of routes and safe houses that helped enslaved people escape to freedom, often led by figures like Harriet Tubman.

Civil War

The American War (1861–1865) fought between the North and South over slavery and states’ rights.

David Walker

an abolitionist who wrote a powerful call for enslaved people to resist slavery.

Sojourner Truth

a formerly enslaved woman who spoke out for abolition and women’s rights.

Frederick Douglass

a formerly enslaved man who became a leading voice against slavery through speeches and writing.

W.E.B. Du Bois

a scholar and activist who promoted higher education and civil rights for Black Americans.

Carter Woodson

a historian who founded Black History Month and studied African American history.

Dr. Nathan Hare

helped establish the first Black Studies program in the U.S.

Zora Neale Hurston

an author and anthropologist known for writing about Black life in the South.

African Kings & Queens

Leaders of powerful African civilizations (like Mali, Ghana, and Egypt) who ruled before and during European contact.

Benjamin Banneker

a free Black man known for his work in astronomy and helping design Washington, D.C.

San Francisco State University

where the first Black Studies department was established after student protests.

Molefi Asante

developed Afrocentric theory, focusing on African perspectives in history and culture.

Ida B. Wells

a journalist who exposed and fought against lynching.

Abraham Lincoln

led the U.S. during the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Harriet Tubman

escaped slavery and helped others gain freedom.

Gabriel Prosser

planned a large slave rebellion in 1800 that was stopped before it began.

Booker T. Washington

promoted education and economic progress for Black Americans.

Marcus Garvey

promoted Black pride, economic independence, and a return to Africa movement.

Crispus Attucks

the first person killed in the Boston Massacre.

Journal of Negro History

A scholarly journal founded by Carter G. Woodson to study Black history.

David Walker’s Appeal

called for the immediate end of slavery and resistance to oppression.

Forced into Glory

criticizes Abraham Lincoln’s role in ending slavery.

Slavery by Another Name

shows how forced labor continued after slavery ended.

The Liberator

An abolitionist newspaper founded by William Lloyd Garrison.

Freedom’s Journal

The first African American-owned newspaper in the U.S., founded in 1827.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

a novel about a Black woman’s journey to independence and self-discovery.

Interdisciplinary

Combines multiple subjects (history, sociology, literature, politics) to study Black life and experiences.

Pan-African Movement

A global movement to unite people of African descent and promote Black pride and liberation. Influenced by W. E. B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey.

Father of the Liberation Movement

Marcus Garvey, the leader promoting Black pride and independence

Negro History Week founder

Carter G. Woodson

First HBCU with Black Studies Program

Howard University

Identify 4 social movements that aided the emergence of African American (Black Studies) Programs

• Civil Rights Movement

• Black Power Movement

• Student Movements

• Anti-Vietnam War Movement

Goals of African American Studies

• Promote Black history and culture

• Empower Black communities

• Challenge racism

What are the major core fields of African American (Black Studies) Programs?

History, sociology, political science, literature, economics.

Describe the social and political climate that promoted the rise of Black Studies Programs at predominantly white universities.

1960s activism, protests, and demands for inclusion at colleges.

What PWI was the first to implement a Black Studies Program?

San Francisco State University

Black scholars in traditional disciplines and Black Nationalist groups differed regarding a separate Black Studies Program. Explain the difference in philosophies.

• Traditional scholars: include Black studies in existing fields

• Black nationalists: create independent Black Studies programs

What does it mean to say that Africa is the Cradle of Civilization

Africa is where early human life and major civilizations began.

Who were some of the Kings & Queens of Africa

Mansa Musa, Sundiata Keita, Queen Nzinga.

Africa Facts:

54 countries; over 1 billion people; diverse cultures.

What are the three groups most likely to be taken into African slavery?

• Prisoners of war

• Criminals

• People kidnapped

Three Great African Empires

• Ghana

• Mali

• Songhai

Which African Empire was known for resurrecting Black learning & education?

Mali

What was the University of Sankore & where was it located?

A major African university, famous center for learning in TImbuktu (Mali)

Slave Raids

Violent captures of Africans for enslavement.

Middle Passage

The brutal journey across the Atlantic where enslaved Africans were transported.

Nat Turner’s Revolt

Slave rebellion used by whites to justify stricter control over enslaved people.

Slave Codes

Laws restricting the rights of enslaved people.

Virginia

First colony to legalize slavery

Blacks involvement in the Revolutionary War

Fought for both British and Americans hoping for freedom.

After the Revolutionary War

Slavery continued and expanded despite ideals of freedom.

Antislavery Movement

a 18th-to-19th-century international campaign aimed at ending the Atlantic slave trade and liberating enslaved people

“Quasi-free Negro” (John Hope Franklin)

Black people who were legally free but still restricted.

Three-fifths doctrine

Enslaved people counted as 3/5 of a person for representation.

How was the three –fifths doctrine applied in the Dred Scott Decision?

to solidify that people of African descent, whether enslaved or free, were not citizens of the United States

Pennsylvania

First state to abolish slavery

cultural resistance

Maintaining African traditions, religion, and identity.

Abolitionism

Movement to end slavery.

Civil War

War between North and South over slavery.

Challenges after Civil War

Racism, poverty, lack of rights, violence (like KKK).

African Traditional Religions

Yoruba/Ifa, Dogon, Kemetic/Egyptian, Zulu

African Diasporic Religions

Santeria, Brazilian Candomble

Christianity & Islam

Major religions practiced in Africa and by African Americans.

Ancestors & death

Ancestors are respected and believed to guide the living.

Rites of passage

Ceremonies marking life stages (birth, adulthood, death).