AP US History in 1 Minute Daily: Antebellum African American Communities (Day 117/309)

Welcome to today’s explanation of Antebellum African American Communities in my series- APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!

Free African Americans and Enslaved Persons

Despite challenges, discrimination, and violence, African Americans, both free and enslaved, created communities to protect their dignity and fight against their status.

The Old Plantation, Wikimedia Commons

Enslaved African Americans formed extended family units to combat the frequent family separations they faced. They maintained African names and languages as well as preserved and adapted religious and cultural practices through the use of folk tales, dance, and music.

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, BlackPast

By 1860, there were around 250,000 African Americans in the North and another 250,000 in the South. While Blacks in the North had more freedom, both regions developed strong communities centered around the church.

Sojourner Truth, Sojourner Truth Statue Fund

Many African Americans participated in the Abolition movement through organizations, such as the American Antislavery Society, writing narratives or other publications like Frederick Douglass’s North Star, and giving lectures and speeches, like Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?”

African Americans, both free and enslaved, found methods to form communities, assert agency and autonomy, and advocate for the end of slavery.

Join me tomorrow as we head to APUSH Period 5 with the Causes of Westward Migration in the next APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!