AP African American Studies - Unit 4 Review Flashcards
Unit 4 Terms
Civil Rights Act of 1964: Legislation that ended segregation and prohibited discrimination based on race, color, and religion.
Freedom Rides of 1961: Black and White activists traveled on interstate buses to challenge segregated transportation practices in the U.S. South. The violence used against them generated national attention.
National Urban League: Founded in New York City in 1910; assisted African Americans migrating from the rural South during the Great Migration, helping them adjust to northern urban life and secure housing and jobs.
Montgomery Bus Boycott: A year-long boycott of the city's segregated bus system by African American residents, organized by leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and resulting in a Supreme Court ruling declaring bus segregation unconstitutional.
Négritude: A political, cultural, and literary movement (meaning "blackness" in French) of the 1930s through 1950s that started with French-speaking Caribbean and African writers protesting colonialism and the assimilation of Black people into European culture.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP): Formed in 1909 as an interracial organization that fought discrimination and racial violence primarily through legal campaigns. W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells-Barnett were among the founders.
Redlining: The discriminatory practice of withholding mortgages to African Americans and other people of color within a defined geographical area under the pretense of "hazardous" financial risk posed by those communities.
De facto segregation: Racial segregation that exists by practice and custom rather than by law, often resulting from social and economic factors such as residential patterns, economic disparities, and discriminatory practices, leading to unequal access to resources, opportunities, and services for different racial or ethnic groups within a community or society.
Negrismo: Emerged in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean at the same time as the négritude movement; was embraced by Black and mixed-race Latin Americans and celebrated African contributions to Latin American music, folklore, literature, and art.
GI Bill: Designed as a race-neutral gesture of gratitude toward American veterans returning from World War II, including 1.2 million Black veterans, by providing funds for college tuition, low-cost home mortgages, and low-interest business startup loans, but funds were mostly given to white veterans.
Voting Rights Act of 1965: Legislation (law) that outlawed discriminatory barriers in voting.
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom: A massive peaceful protest that drew over 250,000 participants. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech, calling for an end to discrimination and racism.
Sit-ins: Peaceful protests where demonstrators, often African American students, occupied segregated establishments such as restaurants and lunch counters, refusing to leave until served, to challenge racial segregation and demand equal treatment.
Brown v. Board of Education: Case in which the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional and should be stopped.
Black is Beautiful: Celebrated Afrocentric aesthetics in natural hairstyles (e.g., the afro), fashion (e.g., dashikis and African head wraps), and celebrations like Kwanzaa (established in 1966).
Black Panther Party for Self-Defense: A revolutionary Black Power organization inspired by Malcolm X's arguments. Their Ten-Point Program called for freedom from oppression and imprisonment, and access to housing, healthcare, education, and employment opportunities. Cited the Second Amendment to promote and justify the right to bear arms in self defense.
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC): A 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.
Pan-Africanism: Unity between Africans and African Americans due to similar struggles against anti-Black racism and oppression that brought attention to and strengthened both decolonization in Africa and the Black Freedom movement in the United States.
More Unit 4 Terms
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC): Founded in 1960 when Ella Baker assisted students interested in the SCLC's activism in founding their own organization after the students organized and staged the Greensboro sit-ins.
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE): A movement that calls for unity among people of African descent worldwide, aiming to fight against colonialism and racism, promote African independence and cultural pride, and work together for equality and freedom
Black Freedom Movement: A period of activism from the mid-1940s to the 1970s marked by both the civil rights movement, which annulled Jim Crow laws and practices, and the Black Power movement, which heightened Black consciousness and pride.
Decolonization: Established in 1957. Under its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., they coordinated the actions of churches and other local organizations to launch major protests, such as the Selma Voting Rights March (1965).
Black Nationalism: When African countries gained independence from European rulers, allowing them to govern themselves and shape their own futures, after years of fighting and political movements.
Diasporic solidarity: A movement that promoted self-determination, defended violence as a viable resistance strategy, and strove to transform Black consciousness by emphasizing cultural pride.
Black Arts Movement: A movement that consisted of the work of Black artists, writers, musicians, and dramatists who envisioned art as a political tool to achieve Black liberation. They were unified by the notion (idea) that Black art was distinct in its inspiration, characteristics, and purposes.
Black Power: A concept that promoted Black unity, self-determination, pride, and self-sufficiency within the Black community
Important People & Events
Ella Baker: Known as the "mother of the civil rights movement" for her major impact on the NAACP, the SCLC, and the SNCC. She focused on grassroots organizing and encouraged young people to contribute to social justice efforts that fought racism and sexism.
Bayard Rustin: A significant advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. and leader of the civil rights movement who faced discrimination for being openly gay. In addition to his work on the 1963 March on Washington, he was an organizer of the Montgomery bus boycott.
Josephine Baker: An internationally known performer and civil rights activist who, after living in France, critiqued the double standards of an American democracy that maintained segregation while promoting ideals of equality domestically and abroad.
Malcolm X: A Muslim minister and activist who championed the principles of Black autonomy and encouraged African Americans to build their own social, economic, and political institutions instead of prioritizing integration. He further urged African Americans to "defend themselves" if the government was "unwilling or unable to defend the lives and the property" of African Americans; emphasis on self-defense, sense of dignity, and solidarity influenced the political groups that emerged during the Black Power movement.
Huey Newton and Bobby Seale: Founded the Black Panther Party after the assassination of Malcolm X, the brutality experienced by nonviolent protesters, and police killings of unarmed African Americans.
Combahee River Collective: A group of Black feminists in the 1970s who spoke up about how racism, sexism, and classism affect their lives and called for unity and action to fight for the rights of all marginalized people.
Shirley Chisholm: The first Black woman in Congress in 1968. In 1971, she helped found the Congressional Black Caucus, a group of Black members of Congress that promotes the growth of Black political power by supporting Black candidates in local elections and lobbying for reforms in healthcare, employment, and social service programs.
Little Rock Nine: A group of Black students who bravely integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957, facing intense racism and hostility as they challenged segregation laws, sparking national attention and contributing to the broader Civil Rights Movement.
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Civil rights leader and Baptist minister who advocated for nonviolent resistance to combat racial segregation and discrimination in the United States during the mid-20th century. His powerful speeches, including the iconic "I Have a Dream," inspired millions and galvanized the Civil Rights Movement, leading to significant legislative victories such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
John Lewis: A key figure in the Civil Rights Movement, known for his tireless activism and leadership in the fight for racial equality, including his role in organizing the March on Washington and his lifelong dedication to nonviolent resistance and social justice, later serving as a respected congressman and advocate for voting rights until his passing in 2020
Fannie Lou Hamer: Civil rights activist known for her fearless advocacy for voting rights and racial equality, organizing voter registration drives and challenging segregation in the American South
Maya Angelou: A writer, poet, and civil rights activist whose renowned poem "Still I Rise" became an anthem of resilience and empowerment