Stamped Terms

#BlackLivesMatter is an antiracist activist movement focused on fighting anti-Black racism and police brutality. The Black feminist activists Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi first launched #BlackLivesMatter in 2013, and as of the early… read analysis of #BlackLivesMatter

Antiracists are activists who fight to change racist policies and debunk racist ideas. They believe that all racial groups are fundamentally equal, so they strive to create a society that reflects this equality. But most… read analysis of Antiracists

Assimilationists are racists who believe that certain racial groups are better than others, but that inferior groups can become equal if they change. For instance, assimilationists blame Black people for slavery and inequality but say… read analysis of Assimilationists

In the 19th century, the American Colonization Society campaigned for colonization: freeing enslaved Black people but then forcing them to leave the U.S. and move somewhere else (preferably Africa). Thomas Jefferson favored the racist idea… read analysis of Colonization

Segregationists are racists who think that different racial groups should be separate because certain racial groups are naturally better than others. Usually, they believe that white people are better than Black people, then use this… read analysis of Segregationists

The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee was a young people’s activist group that led sit-ins, protests, and voter registration drives in the South in the 1960s. The SNCC helped Black people win civil rights protections in… read analysis of SNCC

Stamped from the Beginning is Ibram X. Kendi’s award-winning book about the history of anti-Black racist ideas in the U.S. Stamped is an adaptation of Stamped from the Beginning. read analysis of Stamped from the Beginning

Politicians have used the “southern strategy”—appealing to white Southern voters with racism—to build political support since the 1960s. Instead of talking explicitly about white and Black people, they use code words like “ghetto” and “urban.” read analysis of The “Southern Strategy”

“Uplift suasion” is the assimilationist racist idea that Black people should act “respectable”—or imitate middle-class white people—in order to show white people that they’re human and convince the government to give them equal rights. read analysis of Uplift Suasion

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 gives the U.S. government the power to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment and stop voting-related racial discrimination. Congress and President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Voting Rights Act in response… read analysis of Voting Rights Act of 1965