Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
HISTORY: 1619-2010
September 2015
Hours: On Line
COURSE DESCRIPTION
"Of all of our studies, history is best qualified to reward our research. And when you
see that you've got problems, all you have to do is examine the historic method
used all over the world by others who have problems similar to yours. Once you see
how they got theirs straight, then you know how you can get yours straight." El-Hajj
Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X)
Why study African American History? There are several reasons one should be
interested in a survey course exploring the study of African American History. First,
such a course will help refute long held myths and inaccuracies about the origins
and experiences of black people in America. Such a course will also help one
develop an understanding of the roots of current problems in racial relations.
Thirdly, the study of African American History can help fill in huge gaps in American
History or United States History. In some quarters the study of African American
History is still considered a controversial subject. Until African American History is
fully incorporated in the story of America without controversy, until it becomes a
part of the mainstream, then there will still be a critical need for this subject.
Fourthly, the study of African American History can help young black students deal
with the struggle over identity formation. There are so many mixed messages in
our culture and young people have a hard time trying to figure how just exactly who
they are and where they fit in among the chaos and confusion of American culture.
Lastly, current problems of racial relations or as some historians prefer to call it the
American Dilemma are rooted in practices and public polices structured over the
course of time. Proposed solutions to the African American dilemma run the risk of
repeating the same mistakes unless a clear view of the history of black people in
America is taken into consideration. In fact, American History is inadequate at best
and misleading at worst, if it does not include the role and impact of African
Americans in America.
The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of the main events,
controversies, themes and people structuring the history of black people in America.
The course presents a framework for classifying major periods of African American
History; examines soci-economic, political and cultural contexts of each period; and,
develops an alternative characterization of themes and debates emerging from
systematic study of this field of academic study. In short, African American History
(this course) asks the question: What are the most important controversies shaping
the evolution of black people in America and their interactions with other peoples,
from the time of slavery through the time of emancipation, to the post-civil rights
and post segregation era? The course will also briefly examine the role of African
Americans in the current period of the rise of coalition politics, interest in economic
democracy and the electoral success of Barack Hussein Obama.
US Census Bureau American Fact Finder: Demographic Analysis of the United States
[http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml]
Week II
Before Slavery
A.
B.
C.
D.
A.
Native Americans and the Coming of Europeans
B.
The North American Slave Trade
C.
Colonial America and the Caribbean
D.
Blacks, American Revolution and Constitutional Legacy of
Slavery 1776-1781
E.
The Demographics of Slavery
F.
Abolitionist Movement, the Underground Railroad and Slave
Revolts
Assignment #4: The Demographics of Slavery.
This assignment requires you to make use of the University of Virginias Historical
Census Browser. First find out the total number of slaves and free persons in 1790
and in 1860. Next compare the number of slaves in your home county in 1790
during the heyday of this institution and in 1860 toward the end of this institution.
Finally, map the location of slaves and free families in 1790 and 1860. What do
these variables tell you about the location and growth of this institution?
University of Virginia Historical Census Browser [http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/]
Email your results to me and the class. Discuss your results on the online bulletin
board.
Assignment #5: The Atlantic Slave Trade.
Watch the first 20 minutes of the online video African Slave Trade to Colonialism.
Where did most of the Africans who were taken to North America come from
originally? What is the most unique aspect of the North Atlantic Slave trade
compared with the institution of slavery throughout human history? What
happened during the middle passage? Write a one page essay on these questions
and email your essay to me and the class. You should also discuss your results on
the online bulletin board. You can find a link to the video African Slave Trade to
Colonialism below:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CzjYIdQG4&list=PLCLy3MdEaUZDEDhJ10oDvam4QXGZ8YZsx]
Assignment #6: Slavery and the Founding Fathers.
At the US Constitutional Convention of 1787 the Founding Fathers debated the
issue of slavery. Several compromises and provisions were added to the
Constitution to prevent the southern delegates and slave holders from walking out
of the convention and destroying the new nation before it had a chance to solidify.
Identify four delegates to the US Constitutional Convention who were for slavery
and four delegates who were against slavery. Identify also the key provisions in the
US Constitution of 1787 (Article and Section) which provide justification and support
for slavery in America. Write a one page essay on your findings and discuss your
findings on the online discussion board. Email your essay to me and to the class.
Assignment #7: The Abolitionist Movement.
This assignment requires you to write brief descriptions of several leaders of the
Abolitionist Movement. Identify the following and read their speeches: David Walker
and David Walkers Appeal; William Lloyd Garrison on the Death of John Brown;
Henry Highland Garnets address to the National Negro Convention of 1843;
Sojourner Truth Aint I a Woman speech; Maria Stewart s speech Why Sit Ye Here
and Die? ; and , Fredrick Douglas, The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro . One
of the key points of this exercise to clearly illustrate that blacks were intimately
involved in their own liberation from slavery. Identify additional themes of these
abolitionists. What did you find most interesting and enlightening? What insights
continue to apply to the status of racial relations today in the United States? Write
a two page essay on these issues, send your essay to me and the class and of
course discuss your findings on the online bulletin board.
Week V
Blacks and the American Civil War April 12, 1861- April 9, 1865
A.
The Mythology of Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation
Proclamation
B.
Black Sailors and Soldiers in the Civil War
C.
The Civil War Amendments and the Second American Revolution
D.
Black Reconstruction 1865-1877 and the Destruction of Reconstruction
1877-1890
[http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/ethnicity-race-and-the-military.htm]
Write a two page essay on these issues, send a copy to me and the class and of
course discuss your findings on the online bulletin board.
Assignment #10: Black Reconstruction.
In the aftermath of the American Civil War some 150 years ago it appeared for one
brief historical moment that America was about to solve its problems with racism
and the absence of racial democracy. Over 2000 blacks were appointed and
elected to public office. Identify the Congressmen elected during the
Reconstruction Era from North Carolina and the two Senators elected from
Mississippi. Also, read Nicholas Lemann, Deconstructing Reconstruction,
Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War (series in the Washington Monthly).
What were some of the major accomplishments of Black Elected and Appointed
Officials during the Reconstruction Era? What was the major tool used to bring
down or destroy Reconstruction? What echoes from reconstruction do you see in
todays racial politics? Write a two page essay on these issues, send a copy to me
and the class. Discuss your findings on the online bulletin board.
Week VI and VII
A.
The Nadir and the Negro Question: The Debate Over Black
Identity
B.
Protest, Accommodation, or Self-Determination: Dubois, Washington
and Garvey
C.
The Harlem Renaissance and the Great Depression
D.
Race Riots, Lynching and Negrophobia
E.
Race, Democracy and the American Dilemma
F.
The Great Black Migrations
impact of the black migrations? Write a one page essay on these issues, send a
copy to me and the class. Discuss your findings on the online bulletin board.
Week VIII and IX
A.
B.
C.
D.
Week X and XI
A.
The NAACP and the Supreme Court
B.
Dr. Martin L. King and Non-violent Direct Action: SCLC, SNCC and
CORE
C.
Four Freshmen Sit Down so a People Can Stand Up: The
Greensboro Sit-Ins
D.
Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and the Great Society
Programs
E.
Malcolm X, Black Power, Self Defense, Self Determination and
Urban Rebellions
F.
Larry Little and the Black Panther Party in Winston Salem, NC
G.
Missing Pages of the Civil Rights Movement or Women Hold of
Half the Sky
Assignment #15: The Modern Civil Rights Movement.
You are required to watch several segments of the video documentary Eyes on the
Prize including: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, Freedom Summer 1964, and the
Freedom March From Selma to Montgomery. After watching these videos answer
the following questions in a brief one or two page essay: What was the significance
of these events? Who were the key leaders and organizations associated with these
events? What impact did these events have on racial relations today in 2013-14?
Do you feel the sacrifice of the people participating in these events was worth the
effort? Why or why not. You can find the links to these videos listed below:
The Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-56
[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/story/02_bus.html#video]
Freedom Summer 1964
[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/story/09_summer.html#video]
The Freedom March from Selma to Montgomery, AL 1965
[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/story/10_march.html#video]
Send a copy of your essay to me and the class and discuss your finding on the
online bulletin board.
Week XII and XIII
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
points of disagreement with the speakers? Finally, what are the most important
insights you have gained about African American History from taking this class.
Discuss your findings on the online bulletin board.
Resources
Kingdoms and Empires of Western Africa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqB5LYNPes4
Wonders of the African World
http://www.pbs.org/wonders/fr_wh.htm
Images of African Kings and Queens
http://anheuser-busch.com/index.php/our-responsibility/community-ourneighborhoods/education/legends-of-the-crown-image-gallery/
BBC Documentary Racism Part I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-WPqZQ1Kcs&feature=glist&list=PLCLy3MdEaUZDEDhJ10oDvam4QXGZ8YZsx
Africas Slave Trade to Colonialism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CzjYIdQG4&list=PLCLy3MdEaUZDEDhJ10oDvam4QXGZ8YZsx
A History of Slavery in America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Jc1RbUxQv4E&list=PLCLy3MdEaUZDEDhJ10oDvam4QXGZ8YZsx&index=6
African American History: From Emancipation to the Present (An Open Yale
University Course)
http://oyc.yale.edu/african-american-studies/afam-162
University of Virginia Historical Census Browser
http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
National Geographic Timeline: From the Civil War to Civil Rights 1526-1965
http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/civil_war_series/2/sec13.htm
Robert Williams Negroes with Guns (1957 and 1961) and Deacons for Defense
(1964)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5193906
http://www.jou.ufl.edu/documentary/negroeswithguns/about.asp
http://www.africanaonline.com/orga_deacons_for_defense.htm
Eyes on the Prize PBS Documentary on the Civil Rights Movement
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize
US Census Bureau American Fact Finder: Demographic Analysis of the United States
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
Race and Ethnicity Dot Density Map of Racial Segregation in Greensboro, NC
http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/5560438680/
Race and Ethnicity Dot Density Map of Racial Segregation in Winston Salem, NC
Race and Ethnicity Dot Density Map of Racial Segregation in Knoxville, TN
http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/5560424300/
Black Agenda Report
http://www.blackagendareport.com/
Color Lines
http://www.colorlines.com/
Black Commentator (News Analysis from a Black Perspective)
http://www.blackcommentator.com
The Root (Black News and Culture)
http://www.theroot.com/