African American History II

HIST 4920 surveys African American history from the end of Reconstruction to the present day. This semester we will use the theme “Racism and Resistance in the 20^th Century” to focus on the production of racist ideas and how black communities resisted and/or reproduced these ideas. This course employs an intersectional approach to African American history by intentionally including the experiences of women, LGBTQ communities, children, and others who have traditionally been relegated to the margins of African American history narratives.

"We're telling the story of the African American struggle for civil rights and for human rights" (Noelle Trent, National Civil Rights Museum). Black history was not being talked about or written about during the time of Carter G. Woodson and people were saying African Americans had no presence in history," Trent said. The importance of African American History is to amplify the African American voice in U.S. History. 

Following the Emancipation Proclamation, convicts—mostly black men—were “leased” through forced labor camps operated by state and federal governments.