A SURVEY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN

HISTORY: 1619-2010

DR. CLAUDE W. BARNES

BELOVED COMMUNITY CENTER
FALL 2015

Beloved Community Center

417 Arlington Street
Greensboro, NC 27406
A Survey of African American History
December 2015
Instructor: Claude Barnes, Ph.D.

September 2015
Hours: On Line

COURSE DESCRIPTION
"Of all of our studies, history is best qualified to reward our research. And when you
see that you've got problems, all you have to do is examine the historic method
used all over the world by others who have problems similar to yours. Once you see
how they got theirs straight, then you know how you can get yours straight." El-Hajj
Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X)
Why study African American History? There are several reasons one should be
interested in a survey course exploring the study of African American History. First,
such a course will help refute long held myths and inaccuracies about the origins
and experiences of black people in America. Such a course will also help one
develop an understanding of the roots of current problems in racial relations.
Thirdly, the study of African American History can help fill in huge gaps in American
History or United States History. In some quarters the study of African American
History is still considered a controversial subject. Until African American History is
fully incorporated in the story of America without controversy, until it becomes a
part of the mainstream, then there will still be a critical need for this subject.
Fourthly, the study of African American History can help young black students deal
with the struggle over identity formation. There are so many mixed messages in
our culture and young people have a hard time trying to figure how just exactly who
they are and where they fit in among the chaos and confusion of American culture.
Lastly, current problems of racial relations or as some historians prefer to call it the
American Dilemma are rooted in practices and public polices structured over the
course of time. Proposed solutions to the African American dilemma run the risk of
repeating the same mistakes unless a clear view of the history of black people in
America is taken into consideration. In fact, American History is inadequate at best
and misleading at worst, if it does not include the role and impact of African
Americans in America.
The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of the main events,
controversies, themes and people structuring the history of black people in America.
The course presents a framework for classifying major periods of African American
History; examines soci-economic, political and cultural contexts of each period; and,
develops an alternative characterization of themes and debates emerging from
systematic study of this field of academic study. In short, African American History

(this course) asks the question: What are the most important controversies shaping
the evolution of black people in America and their interactions with other peoples,
from the time of slavery through the time of emancipation, to the post-civil rights
and post segregation era? The course will also briefly examine the role of African
Americans in the current period of the rise of coalition politics, interest in economic
democracy and the electoral success of Barack Hussein Obama.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING

All students are required to take four regular examinations and one final. You are
also required to take one Quiz per week. The Quizzes are worth 20% of your grade.
Examinations and Quizzes will consist of multiple choice questions and cover
required readings, class discussion, films, as well as, other special projects. All
students are expected to attend all class sessions, to read the assigned materials,
participate in class discussion and turn in all homework assignments on time. Final
grades will be determined by your average score on three regular in class
examinations. Your final grade will be the result of your three highest scores on the
regular exams, averaged in with your scores on the Quizzes, averaged in with your
score on the final exam.
Grading Scale:
A- 93>100
B- 85>92
C- 77>84
D- 68>76
F- 0>67
REQUIRED READINGS
Required readings in this class will be selected from books, scholarly journals and
newspaper articles. Book chapters will be selected from the following textbooks:
Cheikha Anta Diop, The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality,
(Chicago, IL: Lawrence Hill Books, 1974)
John Henrik Clarke, Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust: Slavery
and the Rise of European Capitalism, (New York: A&B Publishers, 1998)
Walter Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, (Washington, DC: Howard
University Press, 1982)

John Hope Franklin and Evelyn Higginbotham, From Slavery to Freedom: A

History of African Americans, ninth edition, (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010)
Howard Zinn, A Peoples History of the United States: 1492- Present, (New
York: Harper Collins, 2005)
Claude W. Barnes, Samuel A. Moseley and James D. Steele, American National
and State Government: An African American View of the Return of
Redemptionist Politics, (Dubuque, IW: Kendall/Hunt, 2000)
Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness, (New York: The New Press, 2010)
Douglas Blackmon, Slavery By Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black
Americans from the Civil War to World War II, (New York: Random Books,
2009)
Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: Americas Great Migrations,
(New York: Random House, 2010)
Henry Lois Gates and Nellie Y. McKay, General Editors, The Norton Anthology
of African American Literature, (New York: W.W. Norton, 1996)
Tom Burrell, Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority, (New
York: Smiley Books, 2010)
Claud Anderson, Black Labor White Wealth: The Search for Power and
Economic Justice, (New York: Routledge, 2006)
Additional readings will be made available from selected online resources, journals,
newspapers and books.
General Course Outline
Week I

An Introduction to the Study of African American History

A.
B.
C.

Why Study African American History?

Goals of the Course
Requirements

Assignment #1: The American Factfinder and Creating a Demographic Profile.

Create a demographic profile of the US, NC and Winston Salem using the US Census
Bureaus American Factfinder. Your profile should contain the following variables:
Total Population, Total Black Population and Total White Population. Your profile
should also include wealth, poverty and education distributed by race. Where do
most black people live in the US? What is the Black Belt South? Create maps of
your profiles, print them out and bring them to class on Tuesday September 3,
2013.

US Census Bureau American Fact Finder: Demographic Analysis of the United States
[http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml]

Week II

Before Slavery
A.
B.
C.
D.

The African Origins of Civilization

Empires of West Africa
Egypt and Nubia
Other African Civilizations and Empires

Assignment #2: African Geography

Find three maps of the African Continent. The first map should display Ancient
Africa, the second map should display colonial Africa, and the third map should
display modern Africa. How many countries are there in modern Africa? What is the
total population of this continent? Email copies of the map to me and the class.
Assignment #3: How did black people in America who used to be called Negroes,
Colored People and other derogatory names, begin to see themselves as African
Americans. Most black people in America can trace their history back to Western
Africa. What is known about the history of this region?
Find some time away from class to explore the PBS website built by Harvard scholar
Henry Louis Gates, Wonders of the African World: The Road to Timbuktu. This
website contains commentary about the ancient empires of Ghana and Mali, other
African empires and civilizations, as well as, commentary and observations by
Gates: Wonders of the African World [http://www.pbs.org/wonders/fr_wh.htm]. For a
brief discussion of the history of Western African Kingdoms and Empires especially
Ghana, Mali and Songhai be sure to look at the following twenty eight minute video
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqB5LYNPes4]. Finally, to get a sense of how
the rulers of the old African Kingdoms and Empires looked you should examine the
images of Ancient African Kings and Queens made possible by Anheuser Busch as
Legends of the Crown
[http://anheuser-busch.com/index.php/our-responsibility/community-ourneighborhoods/education/legends-of-the-crown-image-gallery/] Write a one page
essay on your impressions and email a copy to me and the class. Discussyour
impressions on the online bulletin board.
Week III and IV
American Capitalism and Slavery 1619-1865 (Please note the
Spanish brought slaves to what is now Florida in 1526).

A.
Native Americans and the Coming of Europeans
B.
The North American Slave Trade
C.
Colonial America and the Caribbean
D.
Blacks, American Revolution and Constitutional Legacy of
Slavery 1776-1781
E.
The Demographics of Slavery
F.
Abolitionist Movement, the Underground Railroad and Slave
Revolts
Assignment #4: The Demographics of Slavery.
This assignment requires you to make use of the University of Virginias Historical
Census Browser. First find out the total number of slaves and free persons in 1790
and in 1860. Next compare the number of slaves in your home county in 1790
during the heyday of this institution and in 1860 toward the end of this institution.
Finally, map the location of slaves and free families in 1790 and 1860. What do
these variables tell you about the location and growth of this institution?
University of Virginia Historical Census Browser [http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/]
Email your results to me and the class. Discuss your results on the online bulletin
board.
Assignment #5: The Atlantic Slave Trade.
Watch the first 20 minutes of the online video African Slave Trade to Colonialism.
Where did most of the Africans who were taken to North America come from
originally? What is the most unique aspect of the North Atlantic Slave trade
compared with the institution of slavery throughout human history? What
happened during the middle passage? Write a one page essay on these questions
and email your essay to me and the class. You should also discuss your results on
the online bulletin board. You can find a link to the video African Slave Trade to
Colonialism below:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CzjYIdQG4&list=PLCLy3MdEaUZDEDhJ10oDvam4QXGZ8YZsx]
Assignment #6: Slavery and the Founding Fathers.
At the US Constitutional Convention of 1787 the Founding Fathers debated the
issue of slavery. Several compromises and provisions were added to the
Constitution to prevent the southern delegates and slave holders from walking out
of the convention and destroying the new nation before it had a chance to solidify.
Identify four delegates to the US Constitutional Convention who were for slavery
and four delegates who were against slavery. Identify also the key provisions in the
US Constitution of 1787 (Article and Section) which provide justification and support
for slavery in America. Write a one page essay on your findings and discuss your
findings on the online discussion board. Email your essay to me and to the class.
Assignment #7: The Abolitionist Movement.
This assignment requires you to write brief descriptions of several leaders of the

Abolitionist Movement. Identify the following and read their speeches: David Walker
and David Walkers Appeal; William Lloyd Garrison on the Death of John Brown;
Henry Highland Garnets address to the National Negro Convention of 1843;
Sojourner Truth Aint I a Woman speech; Maria Stewart s speech Why Sit Ye Here
and Die? ; and , Fredrick Douglas, The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro . One
of the key points of this exercise to clearly illustrate that blacks were intimately
involved in their own liberation from slavery. Identify additional themes of these
abolitionists. What did you find most interesting and enlightening? What insights
continue to apply to the status of racial relations today in the United States? Write
a two page essay on these issues, send your essay to me and the class and of
course discuss your findings on the online bulletin board.
Week V

Blacks and the American Civil War April 12, 1861- April 9, 1865
A.
The Mythology of Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation
Proclamation
B.
Black Sailors and Soldiers in the Civil War
C.
The Civil War Amendments and the Second American Revolution
D.
Black Reconstruction 1865-1877 and the Destruction of Reconstruction
1877-1890

Assignment #8: The Emancipation Proclamation.

The Emancipation Proclamation was signed 150 years ago on January 1, 1863.
Watch this eight minute PBS News Coverage of the 150 Anniversary.
[http://video.pbs.org/video/2322386434] Next, read the document and answer a few
questions. You can find the Emancipation Proclamation from the link below:
[http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/
] What do you think about this document? Why did Abraham Lincoln issue this
document? What was the impact on the slaves in the states where the rebellion
against the United States was taking place? Write a one page essay on these issues
and send a copy to me and the class. Also discuss your perspective on the online
bulletin board.
Assignment #9: Blacks and the American Civil War.
How many blacks fought in the US Civil War of 1861-1865? What impact did the
Black soldiers and sailors have on the war? List three major battles where black
troops play a key role in the outcome. How did the militaries and of the United
States of the Confederacy treat black troops? What would happen to black troops
fighting for the US or the federal government if they were caught by Confederate
forces? Use the following resources to explore these questions.
Black Soldiers and Sailors in the Civil War
[http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/civil_war_series/2/index.htm]

[http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/ethnicity-race-and-the-military.htm]
Write a two page essay on these issues, send a copy to me and the class and of
course discuss your findings on the online bulletin board.
Assignment #10: Black Reconstruction.
In the aftermath of the American Civil War some 150 years ago it appeared for one
brief historical moment that America was about to solve its problems with racism
and the absence of racial democracy. Over 2000 blacks were appointed and
elected to public office. Identify the Congressmen elected during the
Reconstruction Era from North Carolina and the two Senators elected from
Mississippi. Also, read Nicholas Lemann, Deconstructing Reconstruction,
Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War (series in the Washington Monthly).
What were some of the major accomplishments of Black Elected and Appointed
Officials during the Reconstruction Era? What was the major tool used to bring
down or destroy Reconstruction? What echoes from reconstruction do you see in
todays racial politics? Write a two page essay on these issues, send a copy to me
and the class. Discuss your findings on the online bulletin board.
Week VI and VII

Racial Segregation: Jim Crow or Slavery by Another Name

A.
The Nadir and the Negro Question: The Debate Over Black
Identity
B.
Protest, Accommodation, or Self-Determination: Dubois, Washington
and Garvey
C.
The Harlem Renaissance and the Great Depression
D.
Race Riots, Lynching and Negrophobia
E.
Race, Democracy and the American Dilemma
F.
The Great Black Migrations

Assignment #11: Jim Crow Segregation.

Watch the PBS Documentary on Jim Crow Segregation based on the book by
Douglas Blackmon, Slavery by Another Name[ http://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-byanother-name/watch/] What impact did the convict leasing system have on
blacks in America? When did North Carolina begin its convict leasing system?
What impact did Jim Crow segregation have on white America? Discuss your
findings on the online bulletin board.
Assignment #12: Black Migration.
Watch the PBS Newshours Tavis Smileys interview of Isabel Wilkerson the author of
a New York Times Best Seller The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of
Americas Great Migration
[http://video.pbs.org/video/1722951355] What was the cause of the Great Black
Migration? When and how did the black migrations take place? What was the

impact of the black migrations? Write a one page essay on these issues, send a
copy to me and the class. Discuss your findings on the online bulletin board.
Week VIII and IX
A.
B.
C.
D.

Globalization, World Wars I and II, and Pan-Africanism

The Collapse of Colonialism and the Creation of Neo-colonialism
Blacks and the World Wars
Pan-Africanism and Black Nationalism
Urbanization, Migration and the New Black Politics

Assignment #13: Blacks and World War I.

Read Chad Williams essay on Black participation in World War I. What impact did
Black participation have on the war and what impact did the war have on race
relations in America during the age of Jim Crow? Examine the images that
accompany this web site and describe briefly the images that got your attention.
You can find the web site below:
Chad Hamilton, African Americans and World War I
[http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/essay-world-war-i.html#fighting]
Assignment #14: Racism, Colonialism and Neo-colonialism in Africa and America.
Read the essay by Ehiedu E.G. Iweriebor of Hunter College, The Colonialization of
Africa. What was the purpose of European Colonialization of Africa? How did
Africans resist the scramble for Africa or the process of colonialization? Can you
cite specific examples? Were there any exceptions to European conquest of Africa?
Again, examine the images that accompany this essay and describe briefly the
images that got your attention and why. You can find Iweriebors essay here:
The Colonization of Africa [http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/essaycolonization-of-africa.html] You can find a more detailed discussion of African
Resistance to Colonialism by reading Benjamin Talton of Temple University, essay:[
http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/essay-resistance.html]
Discuss your findings on the online bulletin board.

Week X and XI

The Civil Rights Revolution: Phases of Social Struggle

A.
The NAACP and the Supreme Court
B.
Dr. Martin L. King and Non-violent Direct Action: SCLC, SNCC and
CORE
C.
Four Freshmen Sit Down so a People Can Stand Up: The
Greensboro Sit-Ins
D.
Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and the Great Society
Programs
E.
Malcolm X, Black Power, Self Defense, Self Determination and

Urban Rebellions
F.
Larry Little and the Black Panther Party in Winston Salem, NC
G.
Missing Pages of the Civil Rights Movement or Women Hold of
Half the Sky
Assignment #15: The Modern Civil Rights Movement.
You are required to watch several segments of the video documentary Eyes on the
Prize including: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, Freedom Summer 1964, and the
Freedom March From Selma to Montgomery. After watching these videos answer
the following questions in a brief one or two page essay: What was the significance
of these events? Who were the key leaders and organizations associated with these
events? What impact did these events have on racial relations today in 2013-14?
Do you feel the sacrifice of the people participating in these events was worth the
effort? Why or why not. You can find the links to these videos listed below:
The Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-56
[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/story/02_bus.html#video]
Freedom Summer 1964
[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/story/09_summer.html#video]
The Freedom March from Selma to Montgomery, AL 1965
[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/story/10_march.html#video]
Send a copy of your essay to me and the class and discuss your finding on the
online bulletin board.
Week XII and XIII
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Post Segregation and the End of Racism in America?

American Politics and the Coming of the First Black President
Inequality and Race in America in the 21st Century
Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Coalition Politics and the Rise of Hispanic America
Economic Democracy and the Promise of the American Dream

Assignment #16: The Black Freedom Struggle Today.

You are required to read Mark Morial (President of the National Urban League) From
the Presidents Desk found in the National Urban Leagues State of Black America
Report 2013: Redeem the Dream. You are also required to view the video of a panel
discussion of the issues raised in the report by Journalist Jeff Johnson, President of
the Hip Hop Caucus Rev Lenox Yearwood and Director of Washington Legislative
Office of the ACLU Laura Murphy. You will find a link to the Urban Leagues Report
here:[ http://iamempowered.com/node/74570 ] . You can find a link to the panel
discussion here: [http://iamempowered.com/soba/2013/webcast/webcast] After
reading Morials summary and viewing the panel discussion write a one page or two
page essay on the accuracy of the observations covered in these resources. Do the
speakers give an accurate portrayal of where we are in America now fifty years after
the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963? Do you have

points of disagreement with the speakers? Finally, what are the most important
insights you have gained about African American History from taking this class.
Discuss your findings on the online bulletin board.
Resources
Kingdoms and Empires of Western Africa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqB5LYNPes4
Wonders of the African World
http://www.pbs.org/wonders/fr_wh.htm
Images of African Kings and Queens
http://anheuser-busch.com/index.php/our-responsibility/community-ourneighborhoods/education/legends-of-the-crown-image-gallery/
BBC Documentary Racism Part I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-WPqZQ1Kcs&feature=glist&list=PLCLy3MdEaUZDEDhJ10oDvam4QXGZ8YZsx
Africas Slave Trade to Colonialism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CzjYIdQG4&list=PLCLy3MdEaUZDEDhJ10oDvam4QXGZ8YZsx
A History of Slavery in America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Jc1RbUxQv4E&list=PLCLy3MdEaUZDEDhJ10oDvam4QXGZ8YZsx&index=6
African American History: From Emancipation to the Present (An Open Yale
University Course)
http://oyc.yale.edu/african-american-studies/afam-162
University of Virginia Historical Census Browser
http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
National Geographic Timeline: From the Civil War to Civil Rights 1526-1965
http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/civil_war_series/2/sec13.htm

Black Soldiers and Sailors in the Civil War

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/civil_war_series/2/index.htm
http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/ethnicity-race-and-the-military.htm
1898 Wilmington Race Riots
http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/1898-wrrc/powerpoint/powerpoint.htm

Robert Williams Negroes with Guns (1957 and 1961) and Deacons for Defense
(1964)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5193906
http://www.jou.ufl.edu/documentary/negroeswithguns/about.asp
http://www.africanaonline.com/orga_deacons_for_defense.htm
Eyes on the Prize PBS Documentary on the Civil Rights Movement
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize
US Census Bureau American Fact Finder: Demographic Analysis of the United States
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
Race and Ethnicity Dot Density Map of Racial Segregation in Greensboro, NC
http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/5560438680/
Race and Ethnicity Dot Density Map of Racial Segregation in Winston Salem, NC
Race and Ethnicity Dot Density Map of Racial Segregation in Knoxville, TN
http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/5560424300/
Black Agenda Report
http://www.blackagendareport.com/
Color Lines
http://www.colorlines.com/
Black Commentator (News Analysis from a Black Perspective)
http://www.blackcommentator.com
The Root (Black News and Culture)
http://www.theroot.com/