Unit 4: Movements and Debates
4.1: The Negritude & Negrismo Movements
The emergence of the Negritude and Negrismo movements in the early to mid-20th century affirmed the influence of African heritage and cultural aesthetics on Afro-descendants throughout the African diaspora.
These movements reinforced each other, and both movements were influenced by the New Negro Renaissance in the U.S.
Negritude (“blackness” in French) was a political, cultural, and literary movement from the 1930s–1950s.
Started with French-speaking Caribbean and African writers protesting colonialism and the assimilation of Black people into European culture.
The New Negro, Negritude, and Negrismo movements shared an emphasis on cultural pride and the political liberation of Black people.
They did not always envision Blackness or relationships to Africa the same way, and not every Afro-descendant subscribed to these movements.
Negrismo emerged in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean at the same time as the Negritude movement.
Negrismo was embraced by Black and mixed-race Latin Americans and celebrated African contributions to Latin American music, folklore, and art.
Langston Hughes played a pivotal role in connecting the New Negro, Negritude, and Negrismo movements by translating works from French and Spanish into English.
Proponents of Negritude and Negrismo, such as Aimé Césaire (Martinique), Frantz Fanon (Martinique), and Léopold Senghor (Senegal), rejected the notion that European colonialism civilized colonized subjects.
They argued that racial ideologies underpinned colonial exploitation, violent intervention, and systems of coerced labor.
During anticolonial movements, Black activists in Africa, Europe, and the Americas condemned racism and colonialism as interrelated means of dehumanizing people of African descent.
4.2: Anticolonialism & Black Political Thought
The Black freedom movement encompasses a period of transnational activism from the mid-1940s to the 1970s.
Marked by the Civil Rights Movement, which annulled Jim Crow laws and practices
And the Black Power Movement, which heightened Black consciousness and racial pride.
In the 1950s and 1960s, African American writers, leaders, and activists visited Africa to express diasporic solidarity and support Africa’s decolonization.
Some embraced Pan-Africanism and advocated for the political and cultural unity of all people of African descent.
The Republic of Ghana’s independence from British colonial rule in 1957 inspired visits from African American activists such as:
MLK
Malcolm X
Maya Angelou
Lawyer Pauli Murray
W.E.B. Du Bois
Kwame Nkrumah – first president of the Republic of Ghana.
In 1960, renowned boxer Joe Louis traveled with a predominantly African American delegation to Cuba
The mission was to discuss plans to promote Cuba as a tourist destination for African Americans.
The initiative aimed to offer an escape from the prevalence of Jim Crow discrimination and segregation in the U.S.
Diasporic solidarity fostered the global reach of the Black freedom movement, bringing international attention to Africa’s decolonization.
This solidarity continues to the present day, impacting Black politics globally.
4.3: African Americans and the Second World War: The Double V Campaign and the G.I. Bill
The United States Armed Forces remained segregated at the outset of the Second World War.
Despite segregation, over two million African Americans registered for the draft or voluntarily enlisted and served in every branch of the U.S. military.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American pilots in the United States military.
They served in the United States Army Air Corps (the precursor to the U.S. Air Force)
These pilots contributed to the fight against fascism in Europe and North Africa during World War II.
During World War II, African Americans criticized the unequal treatment they experienced as U.S. citizens while the nation fought against fascism abroad.
In 1942, veteran and journalist James G. Thompson helped inspire the Double V Campaign through a letter written to the African American newspaper Pittsburgh Courier.
The letter urged readers to pursue a “double victory.”
This meant victory against fascism abroad and victory against Jim Crow segregation at home.
The G.I. Bill of 1944 was designed as a race-neutral policy to support American veterans returning from World War II, including about 1.2 million Black veterans.
It provided funds for college tuition, low-cost home mortgages, and low-interest business loans, which were meant to promote economic stability and mobility.
However, G.I. Bill benefits were administered locally and were therefore influenced by Jim Crow discrimination.
As a result, benefits were often disproportionately distributed to white veterans, limiting access for many Black veterans.
For example, many banks refused to approve home loans for Black veterans, and in some suburbs fewer than 100 of 67,000 mortgages went to non-white borrowers.
4.4: discrimination, segregation, and the origins of the civil rights movement
through the mid - 20th C. AfAm in the North & South continued to face racial discrimination, violence, and segregation in education, housing, transportation, and voting  Â
CR movement emerged from the need to eradicate segregation and insure federal protection of the rights guaranteed by the Reconstruction Amendments and Civil Rights Act of 1875 (outlawed racial discrimination in public places)
In 1954 SCOTUS ruled racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional in the Brown v. Board decision
SCOTUS cited the “doll test” conducted by psychologists mamie and kenneth clark in the 1940 as a key factor in its decision: demonstrated the impact of racial segregation on children’s self-esteem
de facto segregation in public schools persisted despite the ruling in Brown v. Board
some states cut funding for integrated schools
many middle class white families fled to the suburbs and private schools, shifting their investment into schools and neighborhoods that few AfAms could access
in some places, local and federal police were used to prevent integration
some schools chose to shutdown rather than integrate
following ruling in Brown v. Board
students at all age levels such as the little rock nine (central hs, little rock, AR) attempted to integrate schools throughout the south despite continued resistance
racially segregated transportation remained unequal. predominantly Black areas often lacked sufficient infrastructure for public transportation
AfAms responded by organizing jitneys (small buses that provided taxi services) and starting their own bus companies
4.5: Redlining and Housing Discrimination
In the 20th century, African Americans faced restrictions on their access to home ownership that in turn limited their ability to pass on wealth to their descendants.
Housing segregation was codified (made legal) in the Federal Housing Administration’s Underwriting Manual (1938).
Restrictions made it illegal for African Americans to live in many communities in the United States
The NAACP fought housing discrimination from 1914 through the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968.
Throughout the mid-20th century, mortgage lenders practiced 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.
African Americans who integrated into well-resourced neighborhoods across the country sometimes became targets of mob violence
Housing discrimination intensified preexisting disparities between African Americans and Whites
Many African American communities had limited access to public transportation, clean water and air, recreational spaces, healthy food, and healthcare services, exacerbating health disparities along racial lines
Racially segregated transportation remained unequal. Predominantly Black areas often lacked sufficient infrastructure for public transportation.
African Americans responded by operating jitneys (small buses that provided taxi services) and starting their own bus companies.
4.6: Major Civil Rights Organizations
1909 NAACP founded as an interracial organization against discrimination & racial violence
Built legal campaigns
W.E.B. Du Bois & Ida B. Wells were key figures
Focus: Supreme Court challenges (ex: ending segregation in schools, buses)
National Urban League (est. 1910)
Aimed to help Black people in urban areas secure jobs, housing
Worked with white philanthropists & business leaders
Focused on economic opportunity
CORE (Congress of Racial Equality, 1942)
Founded by Black & white students
Organized:
sit-ins
Freedom Rides
Goal: desegregate public spaces
SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)
Led by clergy (ex: MLK)
Coordinated church-based activism
Used nonviolent protest
Organized major campaigns (ex: Birmingham, Selma)
SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, 1960)
Formed after Greensboro sit-ins
Led by students
Leaders included:
Diane Nash
James Forman
John Lewis
Organized sit-ins, Freedom Rides, voter registration drives
The Mississippi freedom summer project 1964 highlighted the racial evidence AfAms faced while trying to assert their constitutional right to vote
 94 freedom schools were est. by the Big 6 CR orgs.
civic activism helping AfAms register to vote.
education enrichment classes for students to catch up to their White counterparts also included celebrations of Black history
SNCC, CORE, NAACP, SCLC helped to register voters in 1964.
the murder of 3 CR workers galvanized the movement and information the Mississippi freedom Democratic party MFDP.
sought to attend the DNC representing us but were not recognized
coordinated efforts of the CR movement resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation, prohibited discrimination on basis of race, color, religion
Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed discriminatory barriers in voting.
4.7: Black women’s leadership in the CR movement
Black Women were central leaders in the work of GR though they often faced sex discrimination within those orgs.
leaders such as Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer stressed the importance of addressing both racial and gender discrimination during the Black freedom movement, building on a long tradition of Black women activists.
Ella Baker became known as the mother of the CR Movement for her major impact on the NAACP, SCLC, and SNCC.
she focused on grassroots organizing, encouraged young activists to contribute to social justice efforts that fought racism and sexism.
In her speech at SNCC’s founding in 1960, Baker emphasized the need for groups centered leadership over leader centered groups in the CR movement.
She also argued that peaceful sit-ins at lunch counters were about more than access to goods/services; they demonstrated the need for the full inclusion of AfAms in every aspect of Am. life.
Dorothy Height led the Nat. Council of Negro women for 40 yrs, routinely worked on CR projects w/ the Big 6 leaders including the March on Washington.
In mid-1960s the coordinating council of community schools was est. to protest school segregation in Chicago.
before disbanding, it turned its attention to other issues plaguing Black Chicagoans.
employment.
housing discrimination.
In 1964, 464,000 students in NYC’s Student body boycotted school to protest racial segregation in schools.
the NYC school boycott of 1964 was the largest single day CR protest in U.S. history.
4.8: The Arts, Music, and the Politics of Freedom
During Black Freedom movement of the 20th cent, Black artists contrib. to struggle for equality thru various mediums.
Their works brought AfAm resistance to ineq. to global aud. & strengthened similar efforts by Afro-descend beyond the US.
Those like Josephine Baker, known civil rights activist & performer, crit. double standards of Ame. that maintained seg. while promoting ideals of equality domest. & abroad.
Poets like Nicolás Guillén, prominent negrismo Cuban poet of Afr. descent, examined connections b/w anti-Black racism in Lat Ame. & US.
Negrismo poets emphasized bio & cult. connection of Afro-Caribb, centered on perform. aspects of poetry, like dancers, singers, percussionists.
Denounced seg. & racial violence and brought Black freedom struggles to attention of audiences beyond US.
Musicians like jazz bassist Charles Mingus, composed protest songs reliant on AfAm trad. like call & resp.
Drew global attention to white supremacist resp. to racial inte. in US (Little Rock Crisis, 1957).
F&M important elements of inspiration & commu. mobilization during C.R. movement during the 50's & 60's.
Freedom songs emerged mostly via adapt. of hymns, spirituals, gospel songs, labor union songs in churches (space for adapt. broad range of musical genres).
Freedom songs insp. many AfAm, risked lives for equal.
Unified/renewed activists spirits, gave direction thru lyrics.
'We shall overcome' as unaffi. anthem of C.R.
served as muse for MLK's 1966 speech of same name.
4.9: Black Religious Nationalism and the Black Power Movement
NOI was found. in Detroit (1930), blended basic beliefs & practices of Islam w/ myths Black Nat ideology.
Shahada (Faith in God, His messenger)
Salah (Prayer 5 times a day - facing east)
Zakat (Almsgiving - give $ to poor)
Sawn (Fasting during Ramadan)
Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca)
Elijah Muhammad from 1934 led NOI from Chicago HQ, enc. followers to choose Muslim surnames.
Many adopted 'X' to rep. abandoning names of enslavers until devout members got new identities.
During mid-'60s, some AfAm believed C.R's focus on equal rights, integration, nonviolence didn't really address widespread disenfranchisement and danger faced in daily life.
Many took to Black Power: promoted self-determ, violence was viable, transforming Black thought by enc. cultural pride.
Malcolm X, Muslim minister & activist, championed Black autonomy and enc. AfAm to build own social, econ, poli. instead of promoting integration.
X enc. AfAm to exercise right to vote & 2nd amend.
Urged AfAm to "defend themselves" if gov. was "unwilling or unable" to for AfAm.
Emphasis on self-defense, dignity, solidarity influe. B.P movement.
poli. groups that emerged during.
His ideas evolved over time. Toward life end, X left NOI to pursue egalitarian & inclusive poli. agenda promoting human rights and protested injustice internationally.
Afrocentricity - approach highlighting experi, PoV, aesthetics of Black ppl by:
placing Afr & achievements of Black descent at center of history.
Approach emerged in '60s & estb. field of AfAm studies to celebrate pride in heritage.
Black Power & Black Pride
In the 1950s and 1960s AfAm writers, leaders, activists visited Africa to express solidarity.
Support for A’s decolonization.
some embraced pan-Africanism, advocated for the political/cultural unity of all ppl of African descent.
Republic of Ghana’s independence from Brit. Colonial rule in 1957 inspired visits from AfAm activists such as MCK, Malcolm X, Maya Angelou, Pauli Murray, Du Bois.
Ghana was called the Gold Coast while under Brit. rule.
A’s, AfAms endured similar struggles against anti-Black racism, oppression.
the solidarity bw Africans AfAms brought international attention to A’s decolonization.
in 1960 also known as Year of Africa, 17 African nations declared their independence from European colonialism.
diasporic solidarity boosted the global reach of the Black freedom movement, a period of activism from the mid 1940s-1970s marked both by the CR movement, which annulled Jim Crow laws/practices, and the Black power movement, which heightened Black consciousness, pride.
Diasporic solidarity continues to the present day.
in 2019, Ghana’s govt. celebrated the Year of Return, an initiative to reunite Af. descendants in the diaspora to the continent.
4.10: The Black Arts Movement
The Black Arts movement BAM 1965-1975 galvanized this work of Black artists, writers, musicians, and dramatists who envisioned art as a political tool to achieve Black liberation and did not espouse a monolithic vision of what Black art should be, though they were unified by the notion that Black art was distinct in its inspiration, characteristics, purposes.
like the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, which proclaimed a new mentality for the New Negro, the BAM created a new political foundation for Black art.
it emphasized a long tradition of Black cultural production by connecting contemp. writers, artists to their forerunners.
Pride in Black heritage manifested in music, James Brown’s “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud,” TV Alex Haley’s Roots, the embrace of Akan adinkra symbols like the Sankofa bird.
“it reminds us we must continue to move forward by remembering our past, plant seeds for future gens.”
BAM is p. the creation of Black magazines, publishing houses, art houses, scholarly journals, some of the earliest African Am. Studies programs in universities.
a flourishing of Black cultural forms during this movement helped to establish AfAm studies as an interdisciplinary field.
4.11: The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense
The BOPFSD was a revolutionary Black power org. insp. by Malcolm X’s arguments.
the party’s 10 p. program called for freedom from oppression, imprisonment, and access to housing, healthcare, education, employment opps.
The Black Panthers Platform cited the 2nd Amendment to promote/justify the right to bear arms in self-defense.
the party’s calls for violent resistance to oppression resulted in armed conflicts.
in turn, the FBI waged a campaign against the BPs as a threat to national security.
Local Black Panther offices were frequently led by women, whom made up about half of the party’s membership.
the org. quickly expanded, w/ chapters in dozens of U.S. cities, to advocate for other social reform.
to provide help for low-income communities, the BPP implemented what they termed survival programs.
free breakfast for school children program.
legal aid offices.
relief programs that offered free medical care, clothes.
Topic 4.12: Black is Beautiful Afrocentricity
The Black is beautiful and afrocentricity movements emerged in the 1960s and 1970s respectively as both movements emerged as AfAms embraced Black beauty well-being and encouraged AfAms to strengthen their connections to Africa.
rejected notions of inferiority, conformity to perceived standard of beauty.
The Black is Beautiful movement celebrated Afrocentric aesthetics in natural hairstyles, afro, cornrows.
fashion, dashikis, African head wraps.
African Islam is naming practises.
celebrations like Kwanzaa est. 1966.
Afrocentricity is an approach that highlights the experiences, perspectives, and aesthetics of Black people by placing the achievements of people of African descent at the center of history.
this approach emerged in the 1960s to est. the field of AfAm studies to celebrate pride in Af. Heritage.
The Black is Beautiful movement’s rejection of cultural assimilation laid a foundation for later multicultural ethnic studies movement.
Although Afrocentricity celebrates Af- elevates it to a central position in the identifies histories of people of Af. descent, it blurs distinction across ethnicities within the Af diaspora.
criticisms emphasize the problems of such an approach, including that Afrocentricity can be a substitute for, other than a challenge to, Eurocentricism.
 4.13: The Black feminist movement, womanism, intersectionality
throughout U.S. History, Black women played significant roles in the struggle for freedom, racial gender equality.
activists such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth resisted injustice/oppression as enslaved/free people.
In the 1970s the Black feminist movement drew inspiration from these Black women activists, others who highlighted Black women’s unique experiences of racism, sexism.
Drawing on earlier traditions of Black female leadership, women’s movements such as the Combahee River Collective developed alt. approaches advocated for greater inclusion in society.
Boston based, Black feminist lesbian org.
collective statement 1977.
Black women’s liberation would free all members of society.
it would require the destruction of all systems of oppression: racism, sexism, classism, homophobia.
Writer Alice Walker coined the term womanist in the 1980s.
builds upon earlier forms of activism, opposition to racism, sexism in the feminist and Black communities.
Scholar Kimberle Crenshaw introduced the term intersectionality in the 1990s, a framework to understand distinct experiences of Black women thru interaction of political, economic, social identities.
connected Black feminist scholarship w/ earlier activism.
 4.14: Interlocking systems of oppression
the concept of interlocking systems of oppression describes how social categories, race, gender, class, ability, are interconnected.
considers how their interaction w/ social system creates unequal outcomes for individuals.
the concept examines interrelated contexts, systems, and institutions that facilitate oppression or privilege in many areas of society: education, health, housing, incarceration, wealth gaps.
writers like Gwendolyn Brooks and Audre Lorde explore the lived experience of Black women and men and show how their race, gender, and social class can affect how they are perceived, their roles, and their economic opportunities.
In literature like Maud Martha, writers like Gwendolyn Brooks depict how AfAms negotiate the multiple dimensions of their identity as social class as they navigate spaces within and beyond their communities.
Writers such as Audre Lorde, Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet used her life and creative talent to address injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia.
4.15: Economic Growth Black political representation
despite the growth of the Black Middle class, substantial disparities in wealth along racial lines remain.
discrimination, racial disparities in housing, employment stemming from the early 20th c. limited Black communities accumulation of generational wealth in the second half of the 20th.
In 2016 the median wealth for Black families was 17,150 compared to 171,000 for white.
desegregation in the 1950s and 60s expanded educational opportunities, gradually increased the number of Black college graduates.
by 2019, 23% of AfAm adults had earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Urbanization increased opportunities for employment, the growth of Black businesses.
Black entrepreneurs have long contributed to American society/economy.
Black-owned businesses such as restaurants, banks, publishing houses, were est. to serve Black communities, took advantage of discrimination that denied access to many services.
The Voting Rights Act prohibits govts. from exacting laws/procedures that create racial discrimination in voting.
As a result, in the late 20th c., the growth of Black voting power/political representation occurred alongside the expansion of the Black Middle class.
Many AfAms achieved influential positions as members of congress, local legislators, judges, high-ranking officials in presidential administration.
Dn 1970 and 2006, the number of Black elected officials in the U.S. grew from 1,500 to 9,000, a 6-fold increase, as the largest annual increase occurred in 1971, reflecting the impact of the Black freedom movement on Black political representation.
Shirley Chisholm became the 1st Black woman in congress in 1968.
in 1971, she helped found the congressional Black caucus, a group of Black members of congress that promoted the growth of Black political power by supporting Black candidates in local elections, lobbying for reforms in healthcare, employment, and social service programs.
In 2001, Colin Powell became the 1st Black Secretary of State, serving under Pres. George W. Bush.
founded the Americas Promise Alliance, a cross-sector partnership of nonprofits that creates opportunities for America’s youth.
Powell was also the 1st Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 1989-93.
he was succeeded as Secretary of State by Condoleezza Rice, the 1st Black woman to hold the position.
The early 21st c. saw historic precedents in Black executive branch political leadership.
the elections of Obama as pres. 2008 and Harris as VP 2020.
they are the 1st AfAms to hold those positions in the U.S.
4.16: Demographic Religious Diversity in contemporary Black communities
Since 2000, the number of Black college degree holders has more than doubled.
The number of Black immigrants in the U.S. has nearly doubled since 2000 driven primarily by immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean.
as the Black population grows, the number of its members who identify as Black and Hispanic or otherwise multiracial has also grown.
During 2000-2019 the Black identifying population in the U.S. grew by 30% to approx. 47 mil. ppl, nearly 14% of U.S. pop.
The unifying term Black indicates a community’s shared Af. heritage, shared experiences.
Black communities in the U.S. include politically diverse ancestries, histories, and cultures.
descendants of those enslaved in U.S. may use ethnicity, AfAm.
recently arrived immigrants may identify by race/nationality like Afro-Colombians.
people who identify as multiracial.
In the early 21st c. 23% of AfAm adults identify as Protestant, while 20% do not affiliate w/ any religion.
Black religious leaders/faith communities have played substantial roles in Black Civil Rights and social justice advocacy by mobilizing their congregations to act on political and social issues, including those beyond Black communities.
The Black Church has served as an institutional home for developing, debating core values within Black communities related to education, community improvement, race relations, cultural practices, vernacular, the broader African diaspora.
4.17: The evolution of AfAm Music from spirituals to Hip-Hop
AfAm music is a form of expression that blends African and European musical/performative elements.
Africa-based musical elements, such as improv, call and response, syncopation, variety of rhythms played together, the fusion of music with dance, shape the sounds, performances, and interpretations of AfAm music as these elements unite various genres throughout the diaspora.
The AfAm musical tradition has influenced and, in some cases, revolutionized international jazz and American musical genres such as spirituals, blues, jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, R&B, hip-hop.
performers such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Bo Diddley, and Little Richard, laid the foundation for rock n roll by modifying gospels, blues with new rhythms and electric instruments.
AfAms’ changing social conditions, environments, lived realities influence the evolution/innovation in Black music performance styles.
contemporary genres, such as hip-hop and R&B, reflect the cultural, political, economic developments within Black communities, just as earlier genres did.
Hip-hop refers to a culture born out of collaboration, artistic creativity among young Black and Latin community members in the 1970s, rooted in the Bronx, has developed into a global phenomenon.
music is the most enduring component of hip-hop.
James Brown influenced DJs, the music they shared at community events in the 70s.
Grandmaster Flash, DJ added improv vocal rhymes, experimented w/ turntable techniques, mixing, scratching, which became the origin of modern rap.
DJs developed new techniques such as extending the point in a song referred to as the break.
the break provided dancers w/ extended opps. to showcase new moves and routines.
breakdancing was performed independently by b-boys and b-girls in groups crews.
Graffiti art predates the facets of music, dance, but became another vital form of artistic expression in the emerging youth culture of hip-hop.
writers emblazoned walls, bridges, and subway cars art that brought acclaim to artists like Basquiat.
hip-hop emerged out of Black freedom movements and Black Arts Movement of the 60s/70s.
it blended elements such as Black Panthers Afrocentric fashion, Black Nationalism.
jazz/poetry... to articulate uniquely AfAm experiences/identities
after the decline of the Black power movement, hip-hop vocalized AfAms ongoing political struggle.
it reflected on the state of Black America in the past, present, and future.
A wide range of hip-hop artists from Queen Latifah to Kendrick Lamar increase awareness of AfAm political issues in music that reaches a global audience.
4.18: Black Life in Theater, TV, and Film
To combat racist depictions of AfAms in cinema, filmmakers like Oscar Micheaux presented Black life and characters as realistic and complex.
produced nearly 50 films btwn 1920s & 1940s.
he created opps for all-Black casts to perform in a range of roles that challenged negative stereotypes.
pared the way for future Black directors/producers in TV and film.
Soul Train was a popular AfAm dance program modeled on American Bandstand.
created in 1971 by producer Don Cornelius.
Black Theater blossomed w/ companies emerging in urban centers where migrants settled during the Great Migration.
pro and community theaters produced plays tackling political and social issues pertinent to Black Life as well as offering depictions of Black joy in both dramatic and musical forms.
Since the 1970s AfAm life has been depicted in ways that attempt to capture the diversity within the culture.
The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, Good Times, The Cosby Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, In Living Color, Black-ish.
4.19: AfAms and Sports
During Reconstruction, AfAm athletes demonstrated their abilities and broke barriers in racially segregated sports.
Oliver Lewis won the inaugural Kentucky Derby in 1875 and Billy Walker won in 1877.
Lewis & Walker set a precedent that most winners of the Derby would be AfAm until the early 20th c.
Black athletes created the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1895 (to 1930s).
this predated the NHL, est. teams throughout the Maritime provinces of Canada.
AfAm athletes created their own leagues. After the Civil War, baseball associations known as "Negro Leagues" persisted until the 1960s.
Jackie Robinson broke the "color barrier" in 1947.
AfAm Olympians have earned many gold medals for the U.S.
Jesse Owens, son of Alabama sharecroppers, won 4 gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, w/ Hitler's Aryan ideals on full display, and returned home to racial discrimination.
Through their achievement in many different sports, athletes have broken and continue to break racial barriers in sports and used their public platforms to promote racial equality.
In 1967, boxer Muhammad Ali refused to enlist in the U.S. Army & participate in the Vietnam War.
cited religious reasons for his refusal, but pointed out the continued racism at home.
"The real enemy of my people is right here."
In the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos participated in a nonviolent protest against racial discrimination when they raised the Black power fist to show solidarity w/ the Black freedom movement.
Frustrated by the prevalence of police brutality across the nation, in 2016 Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players began kneeling during the playing of the nat'l anthem.
the peaceful protest inspired athletes in other sports to do the same, bringing the problem of police brutality into the national spotlight.
4.20: Science, Medicine, and Technology in Black Communities
AfAm inventions and scientific discoveries have had a global impact, w/ significant contributions in the fields of agriculture, technology, medicine, science, engineering.
George Washington Carver, born enslaved, became a botanist professor.
developed methods for preventing soil depletion.
served as a counselor on agriculture to Teddy Roosevelt.
AfAm women like Katherine Johnson & Mae Jemison played instrumental roles in the U.S. aeronautics & space programs.
Johnson, a NASA Mathematician, successfully calculated space travel to launch astronauts to the moon and back.
Jemison, physician, engineer & NASA astronaut, was the 1st AfAm woman to travel to space in 1992.
AfAm have contributed in key ways to the Am. healthcare system, from:
providing free community-based care that encourages early diagnosis of illness.
collaborating w/ local orgs to establish Am's 1st nonsegregated hospitals during the Black Hospital Movement in the mid 20th c.
AfAms supported training for Black medical pros. by est. medical schools (e.g. at Meharry College, Howard Uni, Morehouse, and other HBCUs) and the:
National Medical Association (Black medical pros. were initially barred from entry to the American Medical Association).
AfAms have long contributed to adv. in medicine. Among many examples, contributions include the work of:
Onesimus (1706), an enslaved man who brought awareness of variolation (vaccines) to the Brit. Am. Colonies which helped curtail smallpox.
Daniel Hale Williams who founded the 1st Black-owned hospital in the U.S., performed 1st successful heart surgery in 1893.
Kizzmekia Corbett who was central to the development of the modern Covid mRNA vaccine.
During the early 20th c. the rise of eugenics (false science) heightened the stigmatization of persons considered inferior based on race and ability. As a result:
those w/ disabilities encountered systemic oppression, harassment, institutionalization, infringement of rights such as forced sterilization.
In 1990, The Americans w/ Disabilities Act (ADA) built upon the Civil Rights legislative achievements that outlawed Jim Crow by prohibiting discrimination for those w/ disabilities in the areas of:
housing, employment, etc.
4.21: Black Studies, Black Futures, and Afrofuturism
AfAm studies emerged from Black artistic, intellectual, and political endeavors that predate its formalization as a field of study.
it continues to offer a lens for understanding contemp. Black freedom struggles within and beyond the academy.
AfAm studies remains a primary means to examine the global influence of Black expressions and racial inequities.
The field establishes frameworks for analyses of Black history, literature, politics, and other subjects not previously included in more traditional disciplines.
Afrofuturism is a cultural, aesthetic, & political movement that blends Black experiences from the past w/ Afrocentric visions of a technologically advanced future that includes data science, forecasting, and AI.
Afrofuturism is a future-facing, boundless exploration of Black life thru the lenses of Black people.
it imagines new possibilities for Black people thru the intersections of art, music, film, fashion, literature.
spans areas of econ, law, and policy development/implementation.
Afrofuturist works date as far back as the early 1900s, though the movement's characteristic works emerged from the 1970s onward, including:
music of Sun-Ra & George Clinton.
novels by Octavia Butler & Samuel R. Delany.
films like Black Panther.