AP® African American Studies review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/african-american-studies/units/2/2-10)
Unit 2 · Topic 2.10
2.10 Black Pride, Identity, and the Question of Naming
In the 1800s, African Americans debated what to call themselves, and the names they chose made political arguments. After the American Colonization Society tried to send free Black people to Africa, many rejected the label 'African' to stress that they were Americans, and new names followed over the next two centuries.
Key terms
- ethnonym
- American Colonization Society
- colonization
- Freedom's Journal
- Black identity
A changing population
After the United States banned the international slave trade in 1808, fewer African-born people arrived, although some were still smuggled in illegally. Over time, the share of the Black population born in Africa fell, and most Black people in the US were born in America, often with American-born parents and grandparents.
Why 'African' fell out of favor
Until the late 1820s, 'African' was the most common term people of African descent in the US used for themselves. You can see it in the names of early institutions, such as the Free African Society (1787) and the African Methodist Episcopal Church (1816).
Then came the American Colonization Society, founded in 1816 by white leaders who wanted to send free Black Americans to Africa. They saw free Black people as a threat and hoped to remove them; the society founded the colony of Liberia in West Africa. Many free Black people pushed back. If they called themselves 'African', colonizationists could argue they belonged in Africa. So many began to stress that they were Americans, born in the land their labor had built, and they turned to names like 'colored' and 'colored American'.
Debating names in print and at conventions
Black newspapers and meetings became places to argue about identity. Freedom's Journal, the first Black-owned newspaper in the US, began in 1827, and The Colored American took its very name from the debate. From the 1830s, Black activists held political meetings called Colored Conventions across the United States and Canada, where they discussed shared heritage, rights and self-identification.
The required source is a set of letters to Black and antislavery newspapers and convention records from 1831 to 1841. Writers argued over which name best expressed who they were: some wanted to keep a link to Africa, while others wanted names that claimed American belonging.
Names over time
From the 1800s on, African Americans have used many ethnonyms (names for an ethnic group, race or nationality). Each reflects its era.
- African: common until the late 1820s.
- Colored: widely used in the 1800s, later in names like the NAACP (1909).
- Negro: common in the late 1800s and much of the 1900s.
- Afro-American: promoted by some writers and activists from the late 1800s.
- Black: embraced in the 1960s Black Power era as a statement of pride.
- African American: promoted by Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1988 to stress shared cultural heritage, like other hyphenated American groups.
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
Explaining a shift in identity
Explain why many free Black people in the 1830s stopped calling themselves 'African'.
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: Name the cause: the American Colonization Society's plan to send free Black people to Africa.
- Step 2: Explain the logic: calling themselves 'African' could support the claim that they belonged in Africa.
- Step 3: Give the response: they stressed American birth and belonging with names like 'colored American'.
Answer: Model answer: The American Colonization Society, founded by white leaders in 1816, wanted to send free Black people to Africa. Calling themselves 'African' could strengthen the argument that they belonged there, so many free Black people instead stressed that they were Americans, born in the United States, and adopted names like 'colored American' to claim citizenship and belonging.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up the American Colonization Society (a white-led plan to remove free Black people) with Black-led emigration movements (2.18).
- Thinking a name change meant rejecting African heritage entirely. It was mainly a claim to American citizenship.
- Assuming one name has always been 'correct'. Names shifted with politics and eras.
On the exam
- If a source debates names, explain the political goal behind each choice.
- Connect this topic to emigration debates (2.18) and the question of belonging.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
2 questions on 2.10 Black Pride, Identity, and the Question of Naming. Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
In the 1820s and 1830s, many free Black leaders stopped calling themselves "African" and stressed their American identity. This shift was mainly a response to
In the 1830s, free Black writers debated in newspapers such as The Liberator and The Colored American whether to call themselves "African," "colored" or something else. These debates best show that
0 of 2 answered