GABBY+B+--+African+American+leaders

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**Theme:** AFRICAN-AMERICANS **Topic:** African-American leaders **Free Response Question**: African-American leaders have responded to racial discrimination in the United States in a variety of ways. Compare and contrast the goals and strategies of African-American leaders in the 1890s-1920s with the goals and strategies of African-American leaders in the 1950s-1960s. Introductory Paragraph **Setting:** African-American leaders of the 1890s-1920s lived from the extravagance of the Gilded Age through the Black Scare. Black leaders in the ‘50s and ‘60s experienced both the climax of the Cold War and the height of the counterculture movement. **Basis for Analysis**: Strategies of black leaders varied from assimiliation to black empowerment, evolving as American society evolved. **Partitions**: Black leaders of different eras agreed on the goal of desegregation, but disagreed on how to racially equalize society, and what forms of protest to use to achieve it. **Thesis:** Despite some differences in strategy between African-American leaders of the 1890s-1920s and leaders of the 1950s-1960s, black movements shared the ultimate goal of racial equality. **Partition 1:** Goal of Desegregation Harlem Renaissance of early 1900s popularized black art; more culturally equal The counterculture movement of the 60s led to a rebellion against racial divides Civil rights movement wanted legal, social equality

**Partition 2:** How to Racially Equalize Early African-American leaders wanted black assimilation into mainstream white culture First Red Scare/Black Scare symbolized American xenophobia towards minorities 1960s saw surge of “black power” movements Black culture materialized out of backlash against conformity

** Partition 3: ** What Form of Protest Black leaders of 1890s-1920s did not want to alienate whites with direct protest At first racial violence was seen as insubordinate by whites Violent protest arose from frustration with persistence of status quo Leaders of late 60s expressed disdain for mainstream whites rather than desire for reconciliation- thus less subtle and more charged protests developed to combat “the man”

General Information: Gilded Age was an era of excess, political corruption <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: left;">Black Scare was fervent expression of racist sentiment <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: left;">Harlem Renaissance-<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12px;">period where black artists and authors thrived; whites took interest in African-American culture for the first time <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: left;">Assimilation meant absorption of blacks into white culture; empowerment emphasized unique black tradition <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: left;">