Group 8: The Black Experience by SAMUEL MOON

Chattel Slavery (1600s-1800s)

smoon0005 — 2025-04-30 20:05:41 UTC

Chattel slavery was a form of enslavement of people, typically from African descent. The enslaved were forced to strip from their culture and were treated as inferiors to their captors. After crossing the treacherous sea and finally arriving to North America, the enslaved were then auctioned to wealthy White families. They were forced into various forms of labor, but the most common form was to cultivate cash crops in plantations. This played a huge part in the early years of American history as it was through the suffering of the African Americans that the nation was able to develop financially throughout the coming decades.

13th-15th Amendments (1865-1870)

smoon0005 — 2025-04-30 20:05:41 UTC

Called the Reconstruction Amendments, these 3 amendments focused on addressing the legal and political concerns regarding African Americans. The 13th Amendment was passed on February 1, 1865, and it abolished both any form of chattel slavery and forced servitude on any American soil, with the exception of forced servitude being allowed only as a form of punishment. The 14th Amendment was passed on June 13, 1866, which granted a US citizenship to anyone born on US soil or as a foreigner being successfully granted citizenship, no matter the race. This applied to all the formerly enslaved, granting liberation to millions of African Americans across the nation. The 15th Amendment was passed on February 26, 1869, which allowed a US citizen of any race to vote.

Black Power Movement (1960s-1970s)

smoon0005 — 2025-04-30 20:05:41 UTC

The Black Power Movement advocated for African Americans to establish their own community resources and institutions, essentially becoming self-reliant regarding in community management and financial situations. This movement was created due to many African Americans being fed up with the speed and limitations of the Civil Rights Movement and believed it was more efficient for them to construct their own society. From this, political ideas, such as rejecting White supremacy to establish African American politcal voices, and social ideas, such as embracing African American cultural heritage and pride, was prominent and embraced by the African American communities. Although unified by a single idea of reaching social equality, there was division present throughout the movement, which led to the creation of several political groups, such as Malcolm X's Black Panthers and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, that followed different ideologies when approaching to this matter of social injustice.

Stono Rebellion (1739)

smoon0005 — 2025-04-30 20:05:41 UTC

The Stono Rebellion was a slave revolt that occured in South Carolina, 1739. Regarded as the largest slave rebellion in colonial America, the goal of this rebellion was for the participants to successfully escape from enslavement by reaching Spanish Florida. By first gathering near the Stono River, the approximate 100 slaves then began marching to Spanish Florida. They were ultimately stopped by white colonists, causing many to die and harsher slave codes to be enacted in response to the failed rebellion. This brought fear towards the white colonists, which only motivated them to strengthen their control to prevent another rebellion to take form in the future.

Brown v. Board (1954)

smoon0005 — 2025-04-30 20:05:41 UTC

The Supreme Court's 1954 ruling of the Brown v. Board case made it unconstituitional for public schools to segregate students. It had essentially removed the "seperate but equal" idea established in Plessy v. Ferguson case and is considered a major stepping stone for African Americans to gain full equal rights within American history.

Black Lives Matter (2013-PRESENT)

smoon0005 — 2025-04-30 20:05:41 UTC

The Black Lives Matter is an ongoing cultural movement of which people are speaking out against the injustices African American communities face to this very day. This movement focuses on racism, discrimination, and the racial inequality many African Americans had experienced throughout American history, which grew significant attention after the death of an African American, George Floyd, brought by a white police officer in May 2020. Due to Floyd's death was viewed as uncalled violence brought by police brutality, the awareness of this movement brought great changes to the systemic racism and the corrupt police system present in America.

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

smoon0005 — 2025-04-30 20:05:41 UTC

Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation declared that all slaves in the Confederate states were to be freed from involuntary servitude and their enslaved status to be terminated. This act was done in order for the Union to gain support from foreigners who viewed the injustices of slavery, as well as to have more men enlisted to fight against the Confederate forces. This led to the Confederacy weaken significantly due to the major population of its work force becoming free, which ultimately led to the Union victory at the end of the Civil War. This was pivotal to African Americans as it had essentially granted all of them liberty from generations of forced servitude within America.

Voting Rights Act (1965)

nsoteloro0001 — 2025-04-30 20:35:45 UTC

The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed by US President Lyndon B. Johnson, removed restrictions of African American voting system in the south, banning poll taxes, literacy tests, and other measures that effectively prevented the majority of African Americans from voting. This act increased African American voter registration and participation, which was a major stepping stone for African Americans to receive equal political rights within the US.

Harlem Renaissance (1920s)

dgarcia0498 — 2025-04-30 20:44:00 UTC

The Harlem Renaissance, occuring in the early 20th century, was a direct effect of the Great Migration, a nationwide phenomenon where many African Americans migrated from southern states to northern states in search of better job opportunities. This period is regarded as a golden age of African Americans, as their influence in music, art, and literature greatly impacted American culture. The impact led towards their contribution greatly changed the America's negative view towards African American communities, which brought opportunities to promote African American pride and fight towards equality.

Montegomery Bus Boycott (1955-1966)

smoon0005 — 2025-05-02 07:50:19 UTC

The Montegomery Bus Boycott was a Civil Rights protest, occuring in Montgomery, Alabama. The protest mostly included African Americans refusing to ride the city buses as a way to protest agaisnt segregation laws that impacted public transportations. Inspired by the bravery conducted by Rosa Parks, an African American woman who resisted abiding to the segregation laws by refusing to give up her seat to a white bus passenger, Martin Luther King Jr. had led this boycott until 382 days later when the Supreme Court had declared bus segregation laws to be unconstitutional. This was a pivotal moment for African Americans, due it being the beginning of African Americans receiving equal treatment from the US system through non-violent means.

Election of President Barack Obama (2009)

smoon0005 — 2025-05-02 08:04:19 UTC

The 2009 election of America's first African American president, Barack Obama, was a critical point in the African American fight against America's racial injustice. This election represented a major political barrier being destroyed due to an African American becoming elected as one of the highest government position within American history. In addition, President Obama's presidential terms brought many reforms to support the cause to end racial prejudice within America.

American Civil War (1861-1865)

smoon0005 — 2025-05-02 08:11:45 UTC

The American Civil War was the war that erupted due to America's dispute over the continuation or end of slavery. Fought between the Union and the Confederacy, the result of this conflict essentially decided the lives of millions of enslaved African Americans and their future generations. This was a major step to the African Americans as it was the beginning to their fight agaisnt the political, economical, and social injustices that had plagued America since its creation.

Jackie Robinson's Acceptance to the Major League Baseball (1947)

smoon0005 — 2025-05-02 08:17:30 UTC

Jackie Robinson was the first African American baseball player who was accepted to play in the Major League Baseball games in 1947. Prior to this, African Americans were barred from playing major sport events due to racial prejudice affecting every aspect of American lives during the mid-1900s. His acceptance to play in major sport events was a crucial moment for African Americans' fight against social inequality as it broke down the barrier in sports, as well as the common idea of African Americans could never succeed as much as white Americans.

Juneteenth Holiday (1866)

smoon0005 — 2025-05-02 08:36:13 UTC

First created in 1866, this holiday was meant to celebrate the anniversary of when the Union troops arrived at Texas in 1865 to announce the liberation to all the slaves, which news had quickly spread to all the other southern states after. Each year after, this holiday was celebrated by African American communities to mark their official freedom from slavery. In 2021, Juneteenth became an official holiday, increasing awareness of America's dark history of torture and injustice to African Americans that lasted for generations.