Middle Passage & Enslavement
The forced journey across the Atlantic Ocean that brought enslaved Africans to the Americas.
What is the Middle Passage?
The war fought between the North and South from 1861–1865.
What is the Civil War?
Jim Crow laws enforced racial separation in public life. This system is called this.
What is segregation?
This Supreme Court case declared school segregation unconstitutional.
What is Brown v. Board of Education?
This movement emphasized Black pride, self-determination, and political power.
What is Black Power?
Conditions on the Middle Passage were often overcrowded, unsanitary, and this word describes how people were treated.
What is inhumane/brutal/cruel?
Answers may vary; up to teacher discretion.
This amendment ended slavery in the United States.
What is the 13th Amendment?
This phrase was used to justify segregation, even though facilities were usually unequal.
What is "separate but equal"?
This 1963 event in Washington, D.C. is famous for Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
What is the March on Washington?
This leader helped popularize the phrase “Black Power.”
Who is Kwame Ture/Stokely Carmichael?
Enslaved Africans were treated as property that could be bought and sold generationally. This U.S. system is called this.
What is chattel slavery?
This amendment said Black men could not be denied the right to vote because of race.
What is the 15th Amendment?
Under Jim Crow, African Americans were often denied access to this important democratic right.
What is the right to vote/voting rights?
This activist refused to give up her bus seat before Rosa Parks.
Who is Claudette Colvin?
This organization, founded in Oakland, monitored police and created community programs like free breakfast for children.
What is the Black Panther Party/Who are the Black Panthers?
Name one way enslaved people resisted slavery
What is running away, revolts, slowing work, sabotage, preserving culture, learning secretly, etc.
Answers may vary; up to teacher discretion.
This amendment granted citizenship and equal protection under the law.
What is the 14th Amendment?
Jim Crow came after this historical period, when African Americans briefly gained more legal rights after the Civil War.
What is Reconstruction?
This organizer believed strong movements should be built from the grassroots, not around one famous leader.
Who is Ella Baker?
This modern movement began after the killing of Trayvon Martin and focuses on racial justice and police violence.
What is Black Lives Matter?
Why is it important to study the Middle Passage in ethnic studies? Give one reason.
Answers may vary; up to teacher discretion.
May include thoughtful responses such as:
After slavery ended, Southern states created these laws to limit the freedom of formerly enslaved people.
What are Black Codes?
Explain how Jim Crow laws were designed to maintain white power even after slavery ended.
Answers may vary; up to teacher discretion.
May accept answers about:
This organization used court cases and legal action to challenge segregation and discrimination
What is the NAACP?
This term describes racism built into laws, schools, policing, housing, and other institutions—not just individual prejudice.
What is systemic racism?