Unit 3: The Practice of Freedom  

Unit 3 Vocabulary

The most important concepts for unit 3.

“Let the blare of Negro jazz bands and the bellowing voice of Bessie Smith singing the Blues penetrate the closed ears … We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, it doesn’t matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too…We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain, free within ourselves.” - Langston Hughes, 1926

Unit Vocabulary Guide

This handout is paired with the Unit 3 “Essential Must Knows” document (link). These key terms come from the College Board’s Course and Exam Description (CED) for Unit 3.

Topic Sequencing

The vocab packet I created follows my own unique pacing as described below.

I employ a blend of the thematic approach with a chronological focus, which I have found helpful in supporting student understanding and their ability to contextualize and analyze this content.

  • 3.1-3.5: I follow the College Board sequencing from Reconstruction through disenfranchisement and the onset of Jim Crow laws.

I skip over 3.6 at this point. I find that my students are better able to contextualize the events of the Red Summer after we have covered Black soldiers in World War 1 and the Great Migration (3.16).

  • 3.7-3.10: I follow the College Board sequencing through the introduction of W.E.B. Du Bois, Black organizations, and HBCUs.

  • 3.16 Context: African Americans in World War 1

  • 3.16 - 3.17: The Great Migration and Afro-Caribbean immigration. It makes sense to me to explain the migration to northern cities before I dive into the Harlem Renaissance. Many of the figures we encounter during the New Negro Movement will be from the Caribbean.

  • 3.6: Red Summer and Racial Violence. This is a great place to use Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die.” It offers the perfect transition to the New Negro Movement. I think it works so much better after we have fully contextualized the themes of this era.

  • 3.11-3.15: The New Negro Movement: Harlem, Poetry, Photography, Jazz, Black History Education

  • 3.18 - The UNIA and Marcus Garvey are a perfect way to end this powerful unit