AP AF AM Vocab 3

Jim Crow Laws – A system of racial segregation laws and customs in the United States, primarily in the South, from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, enforcing discrimination against Black Americans in public and private life.

Nadir – In the context of African American history, the "Nadir of Race Relations" refers to the period from the late 19th century to the early 20th century when racism, segregation, disenfranchisement, and violence against Black Americans were at their worst.

Rayford W. Logan – A historian and civil rights activist who coined the term "Nadir of Race Relations" to describe the period of extreme racial oppression following Reconstruction. He wrote extensively on African American history and the impact of racism.

Red Summer (1919) – A period of intense racial violence and race riots across the United States, particularly in cities like Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Elaine, Arkansas, where white mobs attacked Black communities.

Tulsa Race Massacre (1921) – One of the worst incidents of racial violence in U.S. history, where a white mob destroyed the prosperous Black neighborhood of Greenwood, known as "Black Wall Street," in Tulsa, Oklahoma, killing hundreds and leaving thousands homeless.

Great Migration – The movement of millions of African Americans from the rural South to urban centers in the North and West between approximately 1916 and 1970, seeking better economic opportunities and escaping racial violence.

James Weldon Johnson – A writer, civil rights activist, and leader of the NAACP. He is best known for writing "Lift Every Voice and Sing," often called the Black National Anthem, and for his literary contributions to the Harlem Renaissance.

Claude McKay – A Jamaican-American poet and writer associated with the Harlem Renaissance. His works, such as If We Must Die, addressed themes of racial pride, resistance to oppression, and the struggles of Black life in America.

Lynching – The extrajudicial killing, usually by hanging, of Black individuals by white mobs, often as a form of racial terror in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These acts were rarely prosecuted.

Veil – A concept from W.E.B. Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk referring to the metaphorical barrier that separates Black Americans from white society, shaping how they view themselves and how they are perceived.

The Souls of Black Folk – A 1903 book by W.E.B. Du Bois, which explores race, identity, and the struggles of Black Americans post-Reconstruction. It introduces key concepts like double-consciousness and the Veil.

Color Line – A term popularized by W.E.B. Du Bois describing the racial division between white and Black people, particularly regarding segregation, discrimination, and systemic inequality.

Double-Consciousness – A concept introduced by W.E.B. Du Bois describing the inner conflict Black Americans feel in trying to reconcile their African heritage with their American identity in a society that discriminates against them.

Booker T. Washington – A prominent African American leader, educator, and author in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He advocated for Black economic self-sufficiency and vocational education, emphasizing gradual progress over immediate civil rights activism.

Racial Uplift – A philosophy promoted by Black leaders like Booker T. Washington that encouraged African Americans to improve their status through education, hard work, and moral development to combat racial discrimination.