This document provides an overview of key terms and history related to African Americans. It discusses the forced migration and enslavement of West Africans in America from 1600-1862. Following emancipation, legalized segregation and discrimination persisted until civil rights reforms in the 1950s-60s. The document also notes current disparities African American children face, such as higher rates of single parenthood and lower educational outcomes. It describes the importance of the black church community and degrees of cultural identification among African Americans.

1. African Americans
Chapter 10

2. Terms To Know
• Minority: refers to power and privilege, not to
numbers
• Cultural Blindness: denial of any differences
between groups of people
• Cultural Pre-competence: recognition of
strengths and weaknesses of a culture
• Mulattoes: offspring of interracial unions
• Black Bourgeoisie: upper middle class Blacks

3. Terms To Know - continued
• Racial Identity: one’s beliefs or feelings about
a racial group to which one belongs
• African Diaspora: forcible dispersion of
peoples of Africa
• Institutional Racism: recurring ways injustice is
perpetuated on Blacks in the United States
• Stereotype: belief that “all Blacks look alike”

4. History
• 1600-1862
– West Africans from various ethnically distinct
tribes were forcibly moved to America
– They were forced to work as slaves on the
Southern tobacco, sugar, and cotton fields
– They were treated as objects/property that could
be bought and sold
– They had no civil status: they could not legally
marry, own property, be educated, forbidden from
assembling, could not vote or hold political office

5. More History
 1863:
-Emancipation Proclamation: freed slaves in the South
during the Civil War
- Legalized Segregation followed – “Jim Crow” laws -
systematic separation of Blacks & Whites in
schools, restaurants, theaters, buses, cemeteries,
funeral homes, water fountains, and restrooms
 1865
- 13th Amendment Signed – slavery was officially
abolished

6. Even More History
• 1954:
- Brown v Board of Education – made school
segregation illegal
 1950-1960:
- Civil Rights Movement – led by Reverend Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. – led to passage of Civil Rights Act of
1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965
 1960-1970:
- Black Pride Movements

7. African American Children
 African American children are more likely than
children of other racial backgrounds to live in
single parent homes often characterized by
limited income and other resources
 Percentage of children living with both
parents in 2008:
- 35% African American children
- 75% Non-Hispanic White children
- 64% Hispanic children

8. Black
Residential Patterns in U.S.
 In 2008, % of African Americans living in
various regions of the United States:
- 55% in the South
- 17.6% in the Northeast
- 18.1% in the Midwest
- 9.4% in the West

9. Education
 On the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP) only 13% of African American
eighth graders scored at or above the proficient
level in reading.
 NAEP math proficiency rates for students of color
is 20 percentage points lower than all other
students
 Students of color are graduating high school at
rates 25% lower than the national average
 African American students are 3 times more likely
to be suspended out of school than white peers

10. Teaching African Americans
 Need to identify the strengths, weaknesses,
and needs of every African American child
 “Employ a variety of teaching styles” to meet
the needs of the diverse learners
 Create a classroom environment that values
the experiences & perspectives of all students
 Validate their experiences and acknowledge
the potential in every child

11. Degree of Acculturation
 Four Interpersonal Styles:
1. Having An Accultured Interpersonal Style – have
assimilated into White culture – they deny or
reject their Blackness – limit social & business
contacts with Blacks.
2. Culturally Immersed Style – orientation is very
Africentric – have Black frame of reference &
reject White culture, norms, and values – view
Whites with suspicion & distrust

12. Degree of Acculturation – cont.
3. Bicultural Style – comfortable in both Black &
White societies – exhibit “double
consciousness” – function well in both
cultures – demonstrate bicultural competence
4. Traditional Interpersonal Style – value their
own Blackness – limited contact with people
outside Black community – comfortable with
calling themselves Negro – shows deference
to Whites

13. Religion
 Black church is very involved in serving African
American families
 It is one of the few institutions that is Black
owned and controlled
 Source of material, emotional, and spiritual
assistance
 Is recognized as a resource to build
relationships with African American
community

14. Interesting Tidbits From Readings
• Diversity exists among Blacks including physical
appearances, socioeconomic status, and
interpersonal styles
• Higher social status is given to those with more
“Whitelike” characteristics
• Blacks still experience a great deal of
discriminatory and oppressive attitudes from
dominant white society
• Poverty is not synonymous with African American
culture

15. Discussion Question
• Think about your own background and
experiences that you have had with the
African American culture. Do you agree with
the statement that Blacks still experience a
great deal of discriminatory and oppressive
attitudes from a dominant white society?
Why or why not?

16. References
• Alliance for Excellent Education. Caught in the
Crisis: Students of Color and Native Students in
U.S. High Schools. January 2012. www.all4ed.org
• Center for Excellence in Teaching. Teaching in a
Diverse Classroom. March 2008.
http://cet.usc.edu
• Lum, Doman.Culturally Competent Practice. A
framework for understanding diverse groups and
justice issues. Fourth Edition. 2011.