Black Organizing in the Early Twentieth Century | APAAS

Black Organizing in the Early Twentieth Century

Explore the development of organizations, institutions, artistic styles, and philosophical theories in the Jim Crow era. Topics may include:
 


Image Source: Johnson, James Weldon, and J. Rosamond Johnson. “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” New York: Jos. W. Stern & Co., 1900. Sheet music. Library of Congress.

The first page of sheet music for "Lift Every Voice and Sing"

  • Topics 3.7–3.15

AP African American Studies Guide

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Topic 3.7

The Color Line and Double Consciousness in American Society

Learning Objectives

Essentials

Learning Objectives

LO 3.7.A

Explain how groundbreaking texts like Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask” and Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk—and the dialogue these texts generated—portray Black humanity and the effects of racism on African Americans at the turn of the twentieth century.

Essentials

Terms

  • The mask/the veil
  • Color line
  • Double consciousness

People

  • Paul Laurence Dunbar
  • W. E. B. Du Bois

Required Sources

You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.

Portrait of Paul Laurence Dunbar, a young Black man, wearing a dark suit and tie and white shirt.

“We Wear the Mask”

1895

Read Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, which poses a “mask” similar to Du Bois’s “veil.”

  • Primary Source
Frontispiece and title page of The Souls of Black Folk, with a photograph of the author, a Black man with a mustache and beard, signed by W. E. B. Du Bois at the bottom left.

“The Souls of Black Folk”

1903

Read excerpts from W. E. B. Du Bois’s foundational book, in which he explains his ideas of “the veil” and “double-consciousness.”

  • Primary Source

Additional Resources

You can further develop your knowledge of this topic with primary and secondary sources.

Featured Videos

These videos from Black History in Two Minutes (or So) feature condensed, engaging, and fact-packed stories.


Take a closer look at W. E. B. Du Bois and his impact in this video.

Resources from Our Partners

We have teamed up with New American History on interactive resources exploring America’s past and harnessing the power of digital media, curiosity, and inquiry.

Logo for Bunk History

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The Legacy of Black Reconstruction

Du Bois’s “Black Reconstruction in America” showed that the Black Freedom struggle has always been one for radical democracy.

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Topic 3.8

Lifting as We Climb: Uplift Ideologies and Black Women’s Rights and Leadership

Learning Objectives

Essentials

Learning Objectives

LO 3.8.A

Describe strategies for racial uplift (or social advancement) proposed by African American writers, educators, and leaders at the turn of the twentieth century.

LO 3.8.B

Describe ways that Black women promoted the advancement of African Americans.

Essentials

Terms

  • The Atlanta Exposition Address
  • “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (aka the Black National Anthem)

People

  • Booker T. Washington
  • Nannie Helen Burroughs
  • James Weldon Johnson

Organizations

  • National Association of Colored Women

Required Sources

You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.

Booker T. Washington, a Black man, wearing a light colored jacket, vest, and pants, white shirt, and black bow tie.

The Atlanta Exposition Address

1895

Read and listen to Booker T. Washington's speech to a predominantly White audience at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta.

  • Primary Source
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Additional Resources

You can further develop your knowledge of this topic with primary and secondary sources.

Featured Videos

These videos from Black History in Two Minutes (or So) feature condensed, engaging, and fact-packed stories.


The Women’s Club Movement


Booker T. Washington

Resources from Our Partners

We have teamed up with New American History on interactive resources exploring America’s past and harnessing the power of digital media, curiosity, and inquiry.

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“A Public Calamity”

Learn about Maggie L. Walker, an African American leader who successfully lobbied the governor of Virginia to provide resources to African American patients during the 1918 flu pandemic.

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Topic 3.9

Black Organizations and Institutions

Learning Objectives

Essentials

Learning Objectives

LO 3.9.A

Explain how African Americans promoted the economic stability and well-being of their communities in the early twentieth century.

Essentials

Terms

  • Black press

People

  • Madam C. J. Walker

Organizations

  • The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME)

Required Sources

You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.

Additional Resources

You can further develop your knowledge of this topic with primary and secondary sources.

Featured Videos

These videos from Black History in Two Minutes (or So) feature condensed, engaging, and fact-packed stories.


World’s Fair 1893


Black Press


Ida B. Wells


Madam C. J. Walker

Topic 3.10

HBCUs, Black Greek Letter Organizations, and Black Education

Learning Objectives

Essentials

Learning Objectives

LO 3.10.A

Describe the founding of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

LO 3.10.B

Explain how the creation of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States impacted the educational and professional lives of African Americans nationally and internationally.

Essentials

Terms

  • Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
  • The Second Morrill Act
  • Black Greek-Letter Organizations (BGLOs)

Places/Geography

  • Wilberforce University
  • Fisk University
  • Tuskegee Institute

Required Sources

You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.

Additional Resources

You can further develop your knowledge of this topic with primary and secondary sources.

Wordmark for "Hidden History" above Bryan Museum logo of a palm tree to the left of a house, next to a portrait of a Black woman wearing a black blouse or dress and a white necklace, over a picture of several Black women holding a sign "Head-Quarters for Colored Women Voters."

Hidden History: Jessie McGuire Dent

with Tommie Boudreaux, Samuel Collins III, Diane Henderson, and Faye Williams

Explore McGuire Dent’s role in fighting racial discrimination and organizing the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. 

  • Video

Featured Videos

These videos from Black History in Two Minutes (or So) feature condensed, engaging, and fact-packed stories.


African American Higher Education


Fisk Jubilee Singers


Black Greek-Letter Organizations


Elite Black Public High Schools

Topic 3.11

The New Negro Movement and the Harlem Renaissance

Learning Objectives

Essentials

Learning Objectives

LO 3.11.A

Describe ways the New Negro movement emphasized self-definition, racial pride, and cultural innovation.

Essentials

Terms

  • The New Negro movement
  • Harlem Renaissance

Places/Geography

  • Harlem

Required Sources

You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.

Alain Locke, a Black man, wearing a white suit, vest, and shirt, and a dark tie.

“Negro Youth Speaks”

1925

Read an excerpt from Alain Locke’s book The New Negro, a cornerstone of the New Negro movement.

  • Primary Source

Additional Resources

You can further develop your knowledge of this topic with primary and secondary sources.

A blue tile mosaic mural with depictions of various historical figures

“Harlem Timeline”

by Willie Birch

Explore the history of Harlem through this work of art in the New York City subway system.

  • Work of Art
A tile mosaic in a subway station of drum majors in white uniforms dancing in formation.

“PARADE”

by Derek Fordjour

View an homage to historic parades through Harlem in this mosaic created in the New York City subway system.

  • Work of Art
Laura Wheeler Waring, a Black woman, wearing an artist's smock and painting a portrait of a man with her right hand while holding a palette in her left. On the walls behind her are other portraits and artwork.

Laura Wheeler Waring: A Luminous Palette

by Cherene Sherrard-Johnson

Learn more about Laura Wheeler Waring’s portraiture, highlighting her luminous palette and contributions to African American art history.

  • Essay
Expand

Featured Videos

These videos from Black History in Two Minutes (or So) feature condensed, engaging, and fact-packed stories.


Learn more about Black service in World War I amid the New Negro movement.

Resources from Our Partners

We have teamed up with New American History on interactive resources exploring America’s past and harnessing the power of digital media, curiosity, and inquiry.

Logo for Bunk History

New American History Logo

Fog From Harlem: Recovering a New Negro Renaissance in the American Midwest

Read an excerpt that illuminates how the focus on Harlem obfuscated Black culture in the Midwest.

Explore Activity

Topic 3.12

Photography and Social Change

Learning Objectives

Essentials

Learning Objectives

LO 3.12.A

Explain how African Americans used visual media in the twentieth century to enact social change.

Essentials

People

  • James Van Der Zee

Required Sources

You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.

Image Gallery: Photographs from James Van Der Zee’s “Portfolio of Eighteen Photographs” (1905–1938)

In the midst of the Harlem Renaissance and the New Negro movement, photographers like James Van Der Zee brought global recognition to the vibrancy of the African American community in Harlem, as shown in the four photographs below. The full portfolio can be found on the Williams College Museum of Art’s website.

A Black woman in a bejeweled white dress reading in a chair. In the background is a wall with a dark brocade-style wallpaper, adorned with framed images and artwork, and (to the woman's right) a side table with a lace tablecloth and a basket with flowers.
From left to right: A standing Black man in a military-style uniform (dark jacket, light-colored belt and buckle, dark pants, dark shoes, and holding his dark hat; a seated Black woman, wearing a sparkly black dress and shoes; a young Black child wearing a dark sailor suit; and a small dog toy.
A panoramic image of Black children sitting and standing, with many in bathing suits and swimming caps.
A light-skinned Black woman standing outside a car, and a darker-skinned Black man sitting in the car. Both are wearing heavy fur coats and dark hats.

Topic 3.13

Envisioning Africa in Harlem Renaissance Poetry

Learning Objectives

Essentials

Learning Objectives

LO 3.13.A

Explain how Harlem Renaissance poets express their relationships to Africa in their poetry.

Essentials

People

  • Gwendolyn Bennett
  • Countee Cullen

Required Sources

You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.

Featured Videos

These videos from Black History in Two Minutes (or So) feature condensed, engaging, and fact-packed stories.


Take a closer look at the Harlem Renaissance in this video.

Topic 3.14

Symphony in Black: Black Performance in Music, Theater, and Film

Learning Objectives

Essentials

Learning Objectives

LO 3.14.A

Describe African Americans’ contributions to American music in the 1930s and 1940s.

LO 3.14.B

Describe African Americans’ contributions to American theater and film in the 1930s and 1940s.

Essentials

Terms

  • Blues
  • Great Migration
  • Jazz

Places/Geography

  • New Orleans

Required Sources

You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.

Image Gallery: Photographs of Cast Members of Cabin in the Sky (1940–1943)

Cabin in the Sky opened on October 25, 1940, at New York’s Martin Beck Theatre. Staged by George Balanchine, the show featured an all-Black cast and starred Ethel Waters, Dooley Wilson, Rex Ingram, Katherine Dunham, J. Rosamund Johnson, and Todd Duncan. The show ran for 156 performances, closing on March 8, 1941, and then toured nationally. In 1943, the musical was adapted to a feature film by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, starring Waters, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, and Lena Horne.

(Text adapted from “Cabin in the Sky,” in Selections from the Katherine Dunham Collection, Library of Congress, ca. 2019.) 

Katherine Dunham, a Black woman, dancing in costume (including a large white hat/headdress) with bare feet. In the background, two Black men sit shirtless while drumming.
In this film still, a Black woman wearing a dark, sparkly dress, a Black man in a tuxedo with white tie, and a Black man in a light-colored jacket, white shirt, light-colored patterned tie, and light-colored hat with a dark brim stand over a table with a checkered tablecloth, as a Black woman wearing fur sits.
A Black man in a light-colored jacket, white shirt, light-colored patterned tie, and light-colored hat with a dark brim dances next to a smiling Black woman wearing a dark, sparkly dress.

Additional Resources

You can further develop your knowledge of this topic with primary and secondary sources.

Topic 3.15

Black History Education and African American Studies

Learning Objectives

Essentials

Learning Objectives

LO 3.15.A

Explain why New Negro movement writers, artists, and educators strove to research and disseminate Black history to Black students.

LO 3.15.B

Describe the development and aims of the Black intellectual tradition that predates the formal integration of African American Studies into American colleges and universities in the mid-twentieth century.

Essentials

Terms

  • Black History Month

People

  • W. E. B. Du Bois
  • Zora Neale Hurston
  • Arturo Schomburg
  • Carter Godwin Woodson

Organizations

  • African Free School
  • Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Required Sources

You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.

Additional Resources

You can further develop your knowledge of this topic with primary and secondary sources.

Six older Black men wearing dark suits sitting on steps in two rows of three.

The WPA Slave Narratives

by Robert C. Williams

Develop an understanding of the nuances behind recording narratives of formerly enslaved people during the Great Depression.

  • Essay

Resources from Our Partners

We have teamed up with New American History on interactive resources exploring America’s past and harnessing the power of digital media, curiosity, and inquiry.

Logo for Bunk History

New American History Logo

Origins of Black History Month

Read a brief history of the Black History Month tradition, from its origins in 1926 as Negro History Week to its formal launch in 1976.

Explore Activity