Glossary
Black Press
Newspapers and periodicals owned and operated by African Americans, which served as vital platforms for Black voices, news, and resistance during the Jim Crow era, often ignored or misrepresented by mainstream media.
Example:
Newspapers like the Chicago Defender and the Pittsburgh Courier were crucial components of the Black Press, providing information and fostering a sense of community and resistance among African Americans.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
A landmark Supreme Court case that declared state-sponsored segregation in public schools unconstitutional, overturning the 'separate but equal' doctrine established by Plessy v. Ferguson.
Example:
The decision in Brown v. Board of Education sparked widespread resistance in the South but laid the legal groundwork for the desegregation of American schools.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Comprehensive federal legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, effectively ending legal segregation in public accommodations and employment.
Example:
After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, businesses could no longer legally refuse service to individuals based on their race.
Grandfather clauses
Provisions enacted in the Jim Crow South that exempted individuals from literacy tests and poll taxes if their ancestors had been eligible to vote before 1866 or 1867, effectively allowing most white men to vote while disenfranchising Black men.
Example:
A white man whose grandfather voted before the Civil War could bypass the voting restrictions due to a grandfather clause, while his Black neighbor, whose ancestors were enslaved, could not.
Ida B. Wells-Barnett
A prominent African American journalist, activist, and researcher who led an anti-lynching crusade in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, exposing the true motivations behind racial violence.
Example:
Ida B. Wells-Barnett bravely investigated and published detailed accounts of lynchings, challenging the false narratives that justified these brutal acts.
Jim Crow Era
A period primarily in the Southern United States, lasting from the late 19th century into the mid-20th century, characterized by state and local laws that enforced racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans.
Example:
During the Jim Crow Era, separate facilities like restrooms and water fountains were common, symbolizing the deep-seated racial inequality.
Literacy tests
Discriminatory tests administered to prospective voters, primarily in the Jim Crow South, designed to disenfranchise African Americans by requiring them to read and interpret complex texts.
Example:
An elderly Black woman, despite being a landowner, might be failed on a literacy test for misinterpreting a convoluted legal passage, effectively denying her the right to vote.
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, founded in 1909, is a civil rights organization dedicated to fighting for racial justice through legal challenges, political advocacy, and public education.
Example:
The NAACP played a pivotal role in challenging segregation laws in court, leading to landmark victories like Brown v. Board of Education.
Nadir of Race Relations
A historical period in the United States, roughly from the end of Reconstruction (1877) to the early 20th century, characterized by a severe decline in race relations, marked by widespread racial violence, lynching, and the entrenchment of Jim Crow laws.
Example:
During the Nadir of Race Relations, racial terrorism, including public lynchings, was used as a tool to maintain white supremacy and suppress Black advancement.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
A landmark Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine, providing legal justification for Jim Crow laws.
Example:
The ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson meant that states could legally enforce segregation in public spaces, even though facilities for Black people were rarely, if ever, truly equal.
Poll taxes
Fees required to be paid in order to vote, a tactic used in the Jim Crow South to disenfranchise poor African Americans and some poor whites who could not afford the payment.
Example:
Many sharecroppers, struggling to make ends meet, found the annual poll taxes an insurmountable barrier to exercising their democratic right.
The Red Record
An influential pamphlet published by Ida B. Wells-Barnett in 1895, which meticulously documented the widespread practice of lynching in the American South and debunked common justifications for these murders.
Example:
The Red Record provided irrefutable evidence that lynchings were not about protecting white women, but rather about maintaining white supremacy and terrorizing the Black community.
Trolley Boycotts
Early forms of civil rights protest where African Americans refused to ride segregated public transportation, aiming to exert economic pressure and challenge discriminatory practices.
Example:
In cities like Montgomery, long before the famous bus boycott, trolley boycotts demonstrated the power of collective action against segregation.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Federal legislation that prohibited racial discrimination in voting, outlawing discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests and poll taxes, and enabling federal oversight of voter registration.
Example:
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a monumental step, finally allowing millions of African Americans in the South to register and vote without fear of intimidation or discriminatory barriers.