AP African American Studies Ultimate Guide

An interdisciplinary field that analyzes the history, culture, and politics of people of African descent in the U.S. and throughout the African diaspora.

The changing views of Africa, from primitive to recognizing its contributions to humanity.

Dispelling notions of Africa as undocumented or unknowable, highlighting its complex societies and global connections.

The belief that human origins can be traced back to Africa, with Homo sapiens emerging 200,000 years ago.

Black students' demand for greater opportunities to study Black history and experiences, leading to the establishment of Black Studies departments.

Africa's diverse climate zones, including the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean.

The Niger River, Congo River, Zambezi River, Orange River, and Nile River, connecting regions throughout the continent.

The movement of people, goods, and ideas facilitated by major water routes and diverse climate zones.

The migration of Bantu-speaking peoples throughout Africa, spreading their linguistic influences.

The emergence of complex, large-scale societies in Africa, including Egypt, Nubia, Aksum, and the Nok society.

Ghana, Mali, and Songhai:The rise and expansion of the Sudanic empires, known for their gold mines and strategic trade routes.

The influential rule of Mansa Musa, who established Mali as a center for trade, learning, and cultural exchange.

The largest of the Sudanic empires, which declined due to the shift in trade routes and European influence.

A cosmopolitan center of trade and Islamic learning in the Mali Empire, with a hub for Mediterranean merchants and numerous schools.

The role of research on Africa's ancient societies in supporting Africans' political claims for self-rule and independence.

The ruler of the Mali Empire who was known for his wealth and influence, as depicted in the Catalan Atlas.

A map created by a cartographer from Spain that details the wealth and influence of Mansa Musa and the Mali Empire.

An empire in West Africa that served as a center for trade and had a significant influence of Islam on its society.

An ancient empire located in present-day Mauritania and Mali, known for its wealth and trade in gold.

A group of people who lived in the Ghana Empire and were known for their ability to wage constant warfare with iron weapons.

The interaction and exchange of goods between West African societies and sub-Saharan Islamic people facilitated by the Sahara Desert.

Prestigious historians, storytellers, and musicians in West African societies who preserved and shared the community's history, traditions, and cultural practices.

The capital city of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe in Southern Africa, known for its large stone architecture and its role in long-distance trade.

The coastal region of East Africa, stretching from Somalia to Mozambique, known for its city-states and trade with Arab, Persian, Indian, and Chinese communities.

A powerful West Central African kingdom that voluntarily converted to Roman Catholicism and had a significant role in the transatlantic slave trade.

Wealth derived from salt/iron and trade with interior African states.

Many early West and Central African societies were composed of family groups held together by extended kinship ties, forming the basis for political alliances.

West African clan in which members claim descent from a single ancestor, often with a mythical personage, one per village.

Social rank and property passed through the female line, with the village chief succeeded by the sister's son.

Women played various roles in West and Central African societies, including spiritual leaders, political advisors, market traders, educators, and agriculturalists.

Sexual freedom in West Africa was greater than in Europe and Asia, allowing for close friendships between men.

Secret society that initiated girls into adulthood, providing sex education and emphasizing female virtue.

Families in West Africa could be nuclear or polygynous, with strict incest taboos and separate houses for husband and wife.

Queen of the kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba, engaged in guerilla warfare against the Portuguese to maintain sovereignty and control of her kingdom.

First iyoba (queen mother) in the Kingdom of Benin, served as a political advisor to her son, the king.

Most West Africans lived in hierarchical societies under monarchs, with nobles, warriors, bureaucrats, and peasants.

Slavery was common in hierarchical West African societies, with slaves being war captives without rights.

Slaves in West Africa had low social status but could gain employment and privileges, and slaves of peasant farmers shared a standard of living with their masters.

Trade between West African kingdoms and Portugal for gold, goods, and enslaved people grew steadily in the 15th century, increasing the presence of Europeans in West Africa and Africans in Lisbon and Seville.

African elites, including ambassadors and the children of rulers, traveled to Mediterranean port cities for diplomatic, educational, and religious reasons, serving in various roles.

Depicts Joao de Sa Panasco, an African Portuguese knight, with two African noblemen, highlighting the equality between African and European societies before the slave trade.

The Portuguese colonized the Atlantic islands of Cabo Verde and São Tomé in the mid-fifteenth century, establishing plantations using enslaved African labor.

By 1500, about 50,000 enslaved Africans had been removed from the continent to work on Portuguese-colonized Atlantic islands and in Europe, serving as a model for slave labor-based economies in the Americas.

The first Africans in the territory that came into the USA, known as Ladinos, were part of a generation known as "Atlantic Creoles" and worked as intermediaries before the predominance of chattel slavery.

Juan Garrido was a conquistador born in the Kingdom of Kongo who became the first known African to travel to North America as a free man in 1513. He served in the Spanish military forces to conquer indigenous populations.

Estevanico, an enslaved African healer from Morocco, was forced to work as an explorer and translator in Texas in 1528. He was eventually killed by Indigenous groups resisting Spanish colonialism.

The transatlantic slave trade lasted over 350 years and forcibly transported more than 12.5 million enslaved Africans to the Americas. Only about 5 percent of those who survived came directly from Africa to the US.

Nine contemporary African regions were involved in the slave trade, including Senegambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Angola, and Mozambique. Over half of the captives brought to mainland North America were from Senegambia and Angola.

The transatlantic slave trade involved a three-part journey. Africans were captured and marched from interior states to the Atlantic coast, then traveled across the Atlantic Ocean in crowded and unsanitary conditions, and finally were quarantined, resold, and transported domestically to distant locations.

Slave auctions were characterized by the power of law and white supremacy, leading to the assault on the body, mind, and spirit of enslaved individuals. African American authors wrote literature to emphasize the physical and emotional effects of being sold.

Slaves had various roles, including agricultural, domestic, and skilled labor in urban areas. They also developed cultural practices and contributed to the economy through blacksmithing, basketweaving, and the cultivation of crops like rice and indigo.

Partus Sequitur Ventrem was a law in the 17th century that determined a child's legal status based on their mother's status, impacting enslaved African Americans greatly. It ensured that enslaved African American women's children would also be considered property.

African Americans drew upon blended influences from African ancestors, community members, and local European and Indigenous cultures to express themselves. They used aesthetic influences, musical elements, and linguistic practices to create a distinct African American culture.

The ban on international slave trading in 1808 led to a decline in the percentage of African-born people in the African American population. The American Colonization Society aimed to exile the free Black population, leading African Americans to reject the term African and describe themselves through multiple ethnonyms.

The Stono Rebellion was a slave revolt in 1739 where 100 slaves set fire to plantations and marched to Spanish Florida. Fort Mose, the first free black town, offered refuge to enslaved individuals fleeing British oppression.

The Haitian Revolution resulted in the establishment of a Black republic without slavery and had global impacts. Maroons, who were Black people who escaped slavery to establish free communities, disseminated information and organized attacks for the Haitian revolution.

Enslaved individuals engaged in daily forms of resistance, such as slowing work and attempting to run away. Revolts, such as the Santo Domingo revolt in 1526 and the Charles Deslondes German Coast Uprising in 1811, were significant in the abolitionist effort.

Black communities in the North organized mutual-aid societies and funded schools, businesses, and churches. Black women activists, like Maria W. Stewart, played a significant role in fighting for abolitionism and women's rights.

Hidden communities that emerged throughout the African diaspora where self-emancipated people were free and African culture prevailed.

Wars staged by Maroons against colonial governments, advocating for freedom and sometimes making treaties to extinguish slave rebellions.

The large number of enslaved Africans who were forced to work in various industries in Brazil, such as sugar plantations, gold mines, and coffee plantations.

A martial art developed by slaves in Brazil that combines music and singing.

A celebration in Brazil that commemorates the birth of the king of Kongo.

The impact of slavery on the relationships between Maroons, Indigenous peoples, and Black communities, which often led to conflict and redefined Black communities as outsiders.

The desire for freedom and self-determination that led some abolitionists to build communities outside the US to avoid slavery and discrimination.

A network of black and white abolitionists who provided transportation, shelter, and resources to help enslaved individuals escape to freedom in the North, Canada, and Mexico.

An important figure in the Underground Railroad who made multiple trips to the South to lead enslaved individuals to freedom and later served as a spy and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War.

The use of photography by African Americans to counter stereotypes and showcase leadership, freedom, and black achievement.

Various methods used by Black women to resist sexual violence, including fighting attackers, using abortion drugs, infanticide, and running away with children.

The contributions of free and enslaved Black communities during the Civil War, with men serving as soldiers and women working as cooks, nurses, and spies.

The Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment, which secured the permanent abolition of slavery in the United States.

The celebration of the end of slavery in Texas in 1865, marked by the reading of General Order 3, which mentioned racial equality.

Abolished slavery in the United States. Passed in 1865 after the Civil War. Ended involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.

Significant military operation led by the Black feminist organization, Combahee River Collective, during the Civil Rights Movement. Conducted in 1863, it liberated over 700 enslaved individuals in South Carolina. The raid strategically targeted plantations along the Combahee River, destroying property and disrupting the Confederate economy.

A strategy used to challenge and oppose existing systems or structures through unconventional and revolutionary means. It aims to bring about significant social, political, or cultural change by questioning and challenging the status quo. It often involves direct action, civil disobedience, and grassroots organizing to challenge power dynamics and promote social justice.

A political and social movement advocating for the empowerment, unity, and self-determination of Black people. It promotes the idea that Black communities should have control over their own political, economic, and social systems. Black nationalism emphasizes the importance of cultural pride, self-reliance, and the fight against systemic racism and oppression.

Using persuasive communication and appeals to ethics to influence people's behavior or beliefs, often without the use of force or coercion.

The act of freeing a slave from bondage.

Laws passed in the United States in 1793 and 1850 that required the capture and return of escaped slaves to their owners. These acts denied escaped slaves their freedom and increased tensions between the North and the South on the issue of slavery.

Quilombo dos Palmares: Largest quilombo in colonial Brazil. A self-sustaining community of escaped African slaves and indigenous people. Fought against Portuguese oppression for over a century. Symbol of resistance and freedom. Led by Zumbi dos Palmares.

Flashcard: Great Dismal Swamp

Maria Stewart: Prominent 19th-century African American abolitionist, women's rights advocate, and public speaker. Known for her powerful speeches challenging racism and sexism, she paved the way for future activists.

Escaped enslaved Africans who formed communities in remote areas, resisting capture and slavery. They often lived in jungles, mountains, or swamps, relying on their resourcefulness to survive. Maroons developed their own social structures, economies, and sometimes even fought against slaveholders. They played a significant role in the fight against slavery in the Americas.

Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except for those convicted of a crime.

Defined birthright citizenship and overturned the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision.

Prohibited the federal government from denying citizens the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Established in 1865-1872 to assist formerly enslaved people in becoming citizens and provided assistance such as clothing, food, and education.

A labor system where landowners gave land and equipment to formerly enslaved individuals in exchange for a large share of their crops, preventing economic advancement.

State laws that enforced racial segregation and suppressed Black voting rights through methods such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses.

Racial violence by white supremacists in 1917 and 1921, contributing to hate crimes and urban race riots.

The struggle of subordinated groups in an oppressive society, examining the unequal realities of American life.

Institutions of higher education created by African Americans due to discrimination and segregation, providing access to education and promoting racial uplift.

A cultural revolution in the 1920s and 1930s that brought about a flourishing of Black literary, artistic, and intellectual life in the United States.

Provided local and national news, documented community life, and served as a vehicle for protesting discrimination.