Arc of Justice Terms

The African Methodist Episcopal Church is a Protestant sect of the Christian faith. It was the first independent Protestant denomination founded by Black people, who broke from the Methodist Church in protest over racism, slavery… read analysis of African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church

The term color line refers to the racial segregation that existed in the United States following the abolition of slavery at the end of the American Civil War. Jim Crow laws aimed to strengthen the… read analysis of Color Line

The Great Migration was a massive movement of Black Americans from southern states to northern states that took place primarily between 1910 and 1970. Poor economic conditions, racism, Jim Crow segregation, and public acceptance of… read analysis of Great Migration

Jim Crow is the name given to a group of state and local laws put in place in the American South between the 1890s and the 1960s that enforced racial segregation in public facilities (including… read analysis of Jim Crow

A lynching is an extrajudicial killing carried out by a mob to punish perceived wrongdoing. Historically, lynchings have been dramatic, social events. In the United States, lynching almost always refers to the killing of a… read analysis of Lynching

Modernism was a philosophical and artistic movement that arose in the Global North in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a celebration of humankind’s capacity for progress and innovation. Modernist apostles like Clarence… read analysis of Modernism

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights advocacy organization founded by Black and white activists, including W. E. B. Du Bois, in 1909. Its early efforts were… read analysis of NAACP

Nativism is the political attempt to protect and elevate the needs, desires, and concerns of native-born or indigenous populations over other groups. (Importantly, in American history, “nativism” is a movement focused on the descendants of… read analysis of Nativism

Reconstruction is the name for a series of policies and programs enacted by the American government in the years following the American Civil War. Reconstruction aimed to rebuild the country, reestablish trade links and a… read analysis of Reconstruction

Redlining is the name given to a series of discriminatory practices meant to keep certain types of people—almost always a racial or ethnic minority—from buying houses or living in certain areas of a city or… read analysis of Redlining

The idea of “the talented tenth”—an elite, educated, and professionalized leadership class of Black Americans who would spearhead efforts at racial integration—was developed by Northern white philanthropists in the late 19th century. It later became… read analysis of Talented Tenth