Origins of the Discipline
He founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915 and is often called the "father of Black history."
Who is Carter G. Woodson?
Paleontologists trace the evolution of hominins to this continent, making it the birthplace of humanity.
What is Africa?
This 14th-century ruler of the Mali Empire is widely considered by historians to be the richest person in history.
Who is Mansa Musa?
The Bantu migration was triggered by an increase in this, resulting from agricultural and technological innovations.
What is population (or population pressure)?
The Aksumite Empire served as a massive intermediary trading partner between the Roman Empire and this Asian subcontinent.
What is India?
This movement from 1965 to 1972 involved hundreds of thousands of students demanding Black studies programs at over 1,000 colleges.
What is the Black Campus Movement?
This ancient East African empire emerged around 100 BCE near present-day Eritrea and Ethiopia and controlled Red Sea trade.
What is the Aksumite Empire (or Aksum)?
This Malian city flourished as a massive center for the book trade, housing a university that drew astronomers, jurists, and mathematicians.
What is Timbuktu (or Tombouctou)?
The Bantu spread this metallurgical technology, making farming significantly easier with tools like hoes, sickles, and axes.
What is ironworking?
The Trans-Saharan trade routes were essential in connecting West Africa with Europe and this neighboring region to the east.
What is the Middle East?
The first Black Student Union was formed in 1965 at this California university.
What is San Francisco State University?
This ancient Nigerian people are known for creating complex terracotta sculptures and emerging ironworking technology around 500 BCE.
Who are the Nok people?
This musical and oral performance tradition in West Africa is responsible for keeping the history of empires alive.
What is the Jali (or Griot) tradition?
This agricultural technique, also known as "slash-and-burn," was used by the Bantu to clear land to grow yams and cassava.
What is swidden agriculture?
The Aksumite Empire's wealth came heavily from controlling maritime trade networks through this body of water.
What is the Red Sea?
This 1950 Supreme Court case successfully desegregated graduate programs, paving the way for Black students to enter predominantly white institutions.
What is Sweatt v. Painter?
Aksum developed this written script, which remains the main liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church today.
What is Ge'ez?
The Sunjata Epic recites the story of Mali's founder and the creation of the Kurukan Fuga, which served as the empire's oral this.
What is a constitution?
The massive Bantu expansion ultimately led to the creation of approximately this many distinct new languages.
What is 500?
Located at the south end of the Nile, this empire established the 25th dynasty of the Black Pharaohs after defeating Egypt around 750 BCE.
What is Nubia?
African American Studies relies on this type of academic approach, weaving together history, literature, art, and sociology.
What is an interdisciplinary approach?
By engraving crosses on their currency between 250 and 300 CE, Aksum symbolized its adoption of this religion.
What is Christianity?
This 1375 document depicts West Africa as the center of a global trade network, highlighting immense African wealth long before European "discovery."
What is the Catalan Atlas?
Languages like Xhosa and Zulu feature these unique linguistic sounds, proving their shared linguistic derivation from the Bantu expansion.
What are click consonants (or clicking sounds)?
Juan Garrido, a free Black conquistador who became the first known African in North America, was born in this Central African kingdom.
What is the Kingdom of Kongo?