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Crash Course: Black American History

25 episodes 80%4KCC

Clint Smith will teach you about the experience of Black people in America

Episode guide

25 episodes
1
1Arts and Letters of the Harlem Renaissance: Crash Course Black American History #26
The Harlem Renaissance was one of the richest, most vibrant, and most culturally generative artistic periods in American history and the work that emerged from that period continues to shape the landscape of American arts and letters today.
12 min
2
2Political Thought in the Harlem Renaissance: Crash Course Black American History #27
When we think about the Harlem Renaissance, the arts come immediately to mind. But new political theories were also blossoming during this time. We've talked about Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, but today we'll get into some other thinkers with different ideas about civil rights.
13 min
3
3The Great Depression: Crash Course Black American History #28
Today we'll talk about the Great Depression, which lasted from 1929 until the US entered World War II. This depression profoundly changed the US economy, and we'll focus on how the depression impacted Black Americans.
11 min
4
4The Tuskegee Experiment: Crash Course Black American History #29
Today we're learning about the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, a shameful example of racism in American medicine, and a tragedy that still impacts how many Black Americans think about healthcare today.
13 min
5
5Zora Neale Hurston: Crash Course Black American History #30
The Harlem Renaissance produced many remarkable artists, writers, and thinkers. Today we'll talk about one of the most interesting minds of the time, Zora Neale Hurston.
10 min
6
6World War II: Black American History #31
Black Americans have long fought in America's wars, very often fighting for a country that doesn't always fight for them. Today we'll learn about the experience of Black Americans in World War II.
12 min
7
7Randolph, Rustin, and the Origins of the March on Washington: Crash Course Black American History 32
Today we'll learn about Randolph, Bayard Rustin, the march they planned, and the movement it inspired. We'll also talk about how the dream of the 1941 march was ultimately deferred for more than 20 years.
12 min
8
8School Segregation and Brown v Board: Crash Course Black American History #33
In 1955, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that public schools should be racially integrated. Beginning in the 1930s, the NAACP's legal defense fund pursued a strategy of bringing cases to court that would expand the civil rights of Black Americans.
12 min
9
9Emmett Till: Crash Course Black American History #34
In 1955, a 14-year-old boy named Emmett Till was brutally murdered in Money, Mississippi. The white men who murdered him killed him for being Black.
11 min
10
10The Montgomery Bus Boycott: Crash Course Black American History #35
For 381 days in 1955 and 1956, the Black citizens of Montgomery, Alabama boycotted the city bus system. Black riders had been mistreated on public transit all over the country for decades, and the national coverage of the Montgomery Bus Boycott intensified the public conversation about Civil Rights.
12 min
11
11Student Civil Rights Activism: Crash Course Black American History #37
A wide range of Americans contributed to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Students and young people were a prominent group of activists within the movement.
13 min
12
12Malcolm X and the Rise of Black Power: Crash Course Black American History #38
Today, we'll learn about Malcolm X's origins, his work with the Nation of Islam, his break from that organization, and his eventual assassination.
14 min
13
13The Black Panther Party: Crash Course Black American History #39
Today, we'll learn about the Black Panthers. They were a relatively small, relatively short-lived political party that had an outsized impact on US history.
13 min
14
14Women and the Black Power Movement: Crash Course Black American History #40
Today, we'll learn about how women contributed to several organizations, including the Black Panthers. We'll also explore how the Black Arts Movement served as a way for women to empower Black People through creative output.
11 min
15
15Marsha P Johnson and the Stonewall Rebellion: Crash Course Black American History #41
Today we’re learning about Marsha P. Johnson and the Stonewall rebellion. Serving as a pivotal moment in the modern Gay Rights Movement, Stonewall began on June 28th, 1969, and lasted six days in New York City’s Greenwich Village.
12 min
16
16War on Drugs: Crash Course Black American History #42
Today we'll talk about the history of the War on Drugs, what it was trying to accomplish, and how it contributed to the US as a carceral state and the nation that imprisons more of its population than any country in the world.
13 min
17
17Shirley Chisolm: Crash Course Black American History #43
Today we'll learn about the life of Shirley Chisholm, her career, and her legacy.
11 min
18
18Jesse Jackson: Crash Course Black American History #44
Today, Clint Smith is teaching you about the Civil Rights activist and Icon, Reverend Jesse Jackson. Jackson has worked for decades for the cause of Civil Rights and his long career has served as a bridge from the work of the 1960s to the movement for Black lives today.
11 min
19
19LA Uprisings: Crash Course Black American History #45
In this episode of Black American History, Clint Smith teaches you about the complicated history of racial tension in South Central Los Angeles.
12 min
20
20Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas: Crash Course Black American History #46
Today, Clint will teach you about the Supreme Court confirmation hearing of Clarence Thomas. During the screening process, Anita Hill came forward alleging that Thomas had sexually harassed her when the two of them worked together at the Department of Education.
12 min
21
21Rap and Hip Hop: Crash Course Black American History #47
Today, Clint Smith will teach you about rap & hip hop, and the cultural significance of artists including Public Enemy, Wu-Tang Clan, Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, N.W.A., Queen Latifah, and Missy Elliot. And he just might break dance while doing it.
15 min
22
22Toni Morrison: Crash Course Black American History #48
Today, Clint Smith will teach you about the legendary writer Toni Morrison. Morrison is best known for her novels which chronicle the experiences of Black Americans throughout history. She was the first Black American Woman to win a Nobel Prize for Literature.
12 min
23
23Hurricane Katrina: Crash Course Black American History #49
In which Clint Smith details his experience as a teenager in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005. The widespread devastation of Hurricane Katrina was a result of faulty levees and a fumbled response by FEMA, and it hit Black residents the hardest.
15 min
24
24Barack Obama: Crash Course Black American History #50
Barack Obama was the first Black man elected President in the United States in 2008. In this episode, Clint Smith will explore the early life, political career, presidential campaign, and legislative milestones of Barack Obama.
15 min
25
25Black Lives Matter: Crash Course Black American History #51
In the final episode of Crash Course Black American History, Clint Smith teaches you about the Black Lives Matter movement. We'll discuss some of the major events that contributed to the rise of BLM, including the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and George Floyd.
13 min
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