Deck 23: African Americans in the Twenty First Century

Question 1

Which of the following statements is true about African Americans and HIV/AIDS?

A) African Americans account annually for very few new HIV/AIDS infections
B) Some self-described straight African American men have sex with both men and women and spread the HIV/AIDS virus to their unsuspecting female partners.
C) African-American women rarely seek testing for HIV/AIDS.
D) Most African Americans acquire HIV through homosexual sex outside of the home.

Answer 1

Some self-described straight African American men have sex with both men and women and spread the HIV/AIDS virus to their unsuspecting female partners.

Question 2

Under what president did the poverty rate for blacks drop (between 1990 and 2000)?

A) George H.W.Bush
B) Bill Clinton
C) George H.Bush
D) Albert Gore

Answer 2

Bill Clinton

Question 3

How did deindustrialization impact the black community in the late twentieth century?

A) It made no impact on the black community.
B) It produced many more industrial jobs in the U.S.for blacks.
C) It produced some new industrial jobs for blacks.
D) It led to a decrease in industrial jobs for blacks.

Answer 3

It led to a decrease in industrial jobs for blacks.

Question 4

How was the cultural flowering of the 1980s and 1990s different from that in the 1960s and 1970s?

A) The art included more political content than before.
B) Literature was mainly aimed toward poetry in languages other than English.
C) Film began to be used as a political tool and art form.
D) The 1980s and 1990s included women, especially novelists.

Question 5

How does the career of Reginald Lewis reflect the opportunities open to blacks in industry during the late twentieth century?

A) He used a Yale business degree to sell diamond mines in Asia.
B) He used a Stanford medical degree to expand health care in Africa.
C) He used a Harvard law degree to help him buy big corporations.
D) He used a UC Davis history degree to write books on black history.

Question 6

How is Oprah Winfrey an example of black success in the twenty-first century?

A) Her writing career has made her the most highly acclaimed writer in the world.
B) Her acting career has made her the most highly acclaimed performer in the world.
C) Her singing career has made her the most successful black musician in the world.
D) Her media empire has made her the richest African-American woman in the world.

Question 7

As the field of African-American studies has matured,what has happened in American society?

A) Black women have begun to emphasize that women should be supreme over men.
B) Some scholars criticized Afrocentricity for constructing a false "glorious past" for blacks.
C) Black scholars have generally begun to accept an ideologically flexible approach regarding racial identity.
D) Generally, schools have refused to adopt the curriculum, except at Temple University.

Question 8

Which of the following is true regarding African Americans and inner-city poverty?

A) Inner cities are generally cut off from the rest of society in terms of access to social services.
B) Inner cities have low rates of HIV infection and decreased levels of violence and crime.
C) Poor black children are adversely affected because they often live only with their fathers, who have limited access to jobs and education to help them move out of poverty.
D) Most African Americans have moved out of poverty in the inner cities.

Question 9

How did the publication of Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon impact black literature?

A) It produced a decline in black interest in general in black literature.
B) It had a limited impact due to its focus on male subjects.
C) It inspired other African-American women in the late 1970s to publish their work.
D) It produced a backlash in the white community against any black literature by women.

Question 10

How did the recessions of 2001 and 2008 affect black women in particular?

A) They actually made some gains, as they took jobs white women vacated.
B) Black women began both recessions with much higher rates of unemployment than other ethnic groups.
C) Black women were forced out of menial positions so that whites and Hispanics could have the jobs.
D) Black women benefited because black men received more benefits from the government at this time.

Question 11

Grandmaster Flash is credited with creating what techniques in rap music?

A) Flash was notorious for simply copying other rappers' styles.
B) Flash began the rap music tradition of using female backup singers.
C) Flash began the use of "scratching" and manipulating turntable speeds.
D) He is generally credited with beginning the inner city style known as "gangsta rap."

Question 12

What city in the first decade of the twenty-first century serves as an example of the devastating impact of drugs and crime on African-American inner-city residents?

A) Palo Alto
B) Carmel
C) Oakland
D) Monterrey

Question 13

How did the economic situation for blacks change from the mid-twentieth century to the late-twentieth century?

A) More black women were forced into domestic and food service jobs.
B) Black family income increased dramatically.
C) Elite black wealth declined compared with whites.
D) Overall, economic opportunities for blacks dropped dramatically.

Question 14

Alice Walker's The Color Purple received which of the following prizes?

A) the Bancroft Prize
B) the Pulitzer Prize
C) the African Prize
D) the Nobel Prize

Question 15

The impact of rap music popularized which musical term and genre?

A) bebop
B) hip-hop
C) classical
D) ragtime

Question 16

Why have some blacks criticized gangsta rap?

A) It is generally too loud and damages the eardrums of children.
B) Its lyrics are often anti-women, violent, and offensive.
C) It advocates having blacks in subordinate positions in society.
D) It is generally copies other musicians' creative efforts.

Question 17

The high rate of black poverty disproportionately impacts which category of the black population?

A) men
B) women
C) children
D) senior citizens

Question 18

The death of what tennis star pushed the black community into action against the HIV/AIDS virus?

A) Bjorn Borg
B) Arthur Ashe
C) Monica Sellers
D) Serena Williams

Question 19

Regarding health in 2001,__________.

A) blacks continue to have lower infant mortality rates
B) black life expectancy has declined slightly since the 1950s
C) although many blacks are healthier, they often distrust the healthcare system
D) skin cancer has become a leading problem among African Americans in many states

Question 20

What developments have occurred regarding school desegregation since 2005?

A) The Supreme Court has argued that desegregation violates the Fourteenth Amendment.
B) The Supreme Court has consistently upheld school plans to desegregate, seeing diversity as a positive good in American society.
C) The Supreme Court has generally ignored all recent court cases regarding desegregation.
D) The Supreme Court has supported southern plans to segregate its school systems again by beginning private schools.

Question 21

How did the Million Man March achieve symbolic success in the mainstream media and throughout the nation?

A) Over 200,000 whites attended the march.
B) Only black journalists covered the march.
C) Louis Farrakhan was present at the march.
D) Over 400,000 black men attended the march.

Question 22

What two areas have witnessed increased migration to the U.S.since the 1960s?

A) the West Indies and Brazil
B) Africa and the West Indies
C) Brazil and Africa
D) Cuba and Ethiopia

Question 23

Where did most blacks live in the U.S.in 2000?

A) the northeastern states
B) the midwestern states
C) the southern states
D) the western states

Question 24

What is the connection between Molefi Kete Asante and Afrocentricity?

A) Asante was a major critic of the movement and tried to stop it.
B) Asante was a proponent of the movement and helped it spread.
C) Asante had a minimal connection to the movement and made no real impact.
D) Asante founded Temple University on the theory of Afrocentricity and its centrality to white American culture.

Question 25

What institution continued to be at the center of black life during the late twentieth century?

A) newspapers
B) rap music
C) churches
D) the NAACP

Question 26

What percentage of the U.S.population did blacks comprise,according to the U.S.census in 2000?

A) 25 percent
B) 20 percent
C) 16 percent
D) 12 percent

Question 27

During the 1990s,voluntary immigration from what part of Africa increased dramatically?

A) white Africans from former colonies of Europe
B) white Africans from Europe
C) black Africans from southern, western, and eastern Africa
D) black Africans from North Africa, particularly Egypt

Question 28

Supporters of Afrocentricity argue that __________.

A) Europeans are actually the highest culture, and Africans should follow their lead.
B) America is a melting pot, bringing together many cultures, including Africans.
C) Africa should be only one of the main focal points of their study of history.
D) European civilization came from African origins, especially from Egypt.

Question 29

In the Supreme Court case of Loving vs.Virginia (1967),the court struck down what category of law?

A) antiabortion
B) homosexual marriage
C) hate-speech
D) antimiscegenation

Question 30

What is the connection between black studies programs to American universities?

A) American universities initially embraced black studies but now reject them.
B) American universities never accepted black studies programs into curriculum.
C) American universities initially rejected but now embrace black studies programs.
D) American universities have always taught black studies programs from the start of college education in U.S.history.

Question 31

How does the career of Louis Farrakhan symbolize the activities of the Nation of Islam during the 1980s?

A) He became an outspoken proponent of Jewish expansion into Palestine.
B) He became an outspoken critic of white discrimination against blacks.
C) He became an outspoken advocate for the expansion of the U.S.prison system.
D) He became an outspoken supporter of the war on drugs in the United States.

Question 32

What is one source of tension within modern black church congregations?

A) the expectation that children are subservient to adults
B) the expectation that women are subservient to men
C) the expectation that men are subservient to women
D) the expectation that senior citizens are subservient to young adults

Question 33

What types of goals did Farrakhan set for Nation of Islam members?

A) He pushed aggressively for civil and political rights.
B) He wanted women to be the social and political equals to men.
C) He pressed for equal constitutional rights for children of any race.
D) He thought they should help themselves by emulating Booker T.Washington.

Question 34

What statements made by Louis Farrakhan attracted national attention during and after the 1984 presidential campaign?

A) He said that blacks are superior to whites.
B) He said he hopes for a return to a segregated society where blacks are subordinate.
C) He denounced rap music and called it "the music of the devil."
D) He made anti-Semitic comments, stating that Jewish people caused black problems.

Question 35

What was a culminating event of Farrakhan's leadership of the Nation of Islam?

A) his trip to Mecca
B) his denunciation of Jews
C) the Million Man March
D) his reaction to September 11

Question 36

How were Louis Farrakhan and Elijah Muhammad similar in their outlook on civil rights for blacks?

A) They embraced a superior position for women over men in the Nation.
B) They rejected a focus on achieving greater political rights for blacks.
C) They denounced the teachings of Booker T.Washington as accommodation with whites.
D) They championed the role of Jewish Americans in helping blacks gain greater civil rights.

Question 37

What is the connection between the Vatican,slavery,and African-American history?

A) No discernible connection exists.
B) Pope John Paul II apologized for the role of the Catholic Church in slavery.
C) Pope John Paul II apologized for the role of the Catholic Church in World War II.
D) Pope John Paul II apologized for the role of the Catholic Church in priest abuse of children.

Question 38

Why did Louis Farrakhan lose some support in the U.S.months after the Million Man March?

A) He quit the Nation of Islam.
B) He went to China and criticized communism.
C) He went to Africa and met with a brutal dictator.
D) He went to Europe and praised the British for ending the slave trade.

Question 39

What was the impact of September 11,2001,terrorist attacks on the U.S.black Muslim community?

A) The attacks made no discernible impact on African Muslims in the U.S.
B) The attacks led to thousands of African Muslims being killed in the U.S.
C) The attacks offered hope to African Muslims that the U.S.was a safe country
D) The attacks have left African Muslims conflicted about the U.S.because of anti-Muslim discrimination

Question 40

What was unique about the 2000 census?

A) It allowed respondents to opt out of participation.
B) It allowed respondents to count undocumented immigrants.
C) It allowed respondents to choose more than one racial designation.
D) It allowed respondents to use census data for statistical reports on demographics.

Question 41

Which of the following was an achievement of the women's movement of the 1970s?

A) Women helped pass an amendment prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex.
B) Women gained access to affirmative action programs in higher education.
C) Women gained the right to one year of maternity leave for all jobs.
D) Women secured the federal right to marry other women.

Question 42

Beginning in the 1980s, cultural renaissances emerged in virtually every American community that had a substantial African-American presence.

Question 43

An example of a black female artist in theater during the modern era is Anna Deavere __________,who pioneered new forms of theater with her powerful one-woman plays such as Fires in the Mirror.

Question 44

The rap artist ???__________ __________ emerged to counter the images of women presented by gangsta rap artists.

Question 45

What arguments have surfaced about racial statistics?

A) They should never be used because they are always discriminatory.
B) Without racial statistics, it is unclear if programs to change discrimination are necessary.
C) Racial statistics stop miscegenation.
D) These statistics should only be used at the state level, not the national level, to determine changes in society.

Question 46

Rap was the most commercially successful genre of black music to emerge in the late twentieth century and became emblematic of the post-civil rights and black power movement generations of African Americans.

Question 47

The decline in crime in inner-city communities throughout the 1980s and 1990s combined with a national shift toward aggressive policing and harsher sentencing to vastly increase the imprisonment rates of African-American boys and men.

Question 48

Russell Simmons saw the potential of rap street music in the mid-1970s and recognized that the mainstream entertainment industry was not aware of it; he became a concert promoter and encouraged early rap groups to stay close to the dress styles and language of the inner-city African-American community.

Question 49

Kool Herc (aka Clive Campbell)is an example of an early rap music pioneer who began using simple raps to cover a mix of beats played from two turntables during the 1970s.

Question 50

What has Coretta Scott King done in her career since the assassination of her husband,Martin,in 1968?

A) She worked against minority rights.
B) She ignored issues of minority struggle.
C) She embraced activism on behalf of minority rights.
D) She manipulated the civil rights struggle for personal gain.

Question 51

Because of immigration restrictions, few blacks, either from the Western Hemisphere or from Africa, immigrated to the United States before the 1970s.

Question 52

The decades after 1970 witnessed a consolidation of black economic, civic, and political progress and the expansion of a black middle and upper class of professionals, media celebrities, and business entrepreneurs

Question 53

The results of Supreme Court decisions in 2007 removed __________ classification as a means to achieve racial diversity in public schools.

Question 54

Hip hop refers to the backup music for European classical music that is often composed of excerpts or "samples" from other songs.

Question 55

After the Civil War an accurate count of slaves was important because they counted for three-fifths of a person in determining the representation of states in the House of Representatives.

Question 56

Which of the following is true about homosexual African-Americans in the twenty-first century?

A) Many African Americans have been openly hostile to gays and lesbians, even to the point of being instrumental in prohibiting gays the right to marry in California.
B) Because African Americans have consistently been discriminated against themselves, they support the rights of others who have also been the victims of discrimination.
C) Coretta Scott King and Jesse Jackson ignored gay rights in favor of working to end poverty.
D) Homosexual African Americans were very open about their sexuality.

Question 57

George C.__________ is a playwright,director,and producer whose achievements helped demolish racial barriers in the theater.

Question 58

Religion has become peripheral to the African-American experience in the twenty-first century.

Question 59

The results of the __________ decision of 1954 to improve black student education by desegregating public education were only partially successful and remain unresolved in the modern era.

Question 60

Why did some African-American women become attracted to feminism?

A) They hated men and hoped to be admitted into the military in combat roles.
B) They wanted to reduce the birthrate in America.
C) They became disillusioned with black male attitudes towards them.
D) Few black women supported feminism.

Question 61

Many black educators embraced Afrocentricity as a way to celebrate and reclaim a positive African identity and to unite the peoples of the African __________.

Question 62

The first commercial rap hit, "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugar Hill_________, came out in 1979 and popularized the term hip-hop.

Question 63

Briefly discuss some of the literary achievements by African Americans in the late twentieth century.How are some of these works different from,or similar to,black literary works in other periods (the Chicago Renaissance or the 1960s,for example)?

Question 64

Afrocentrists rejected the idea of America as a melting __________.

Question 65

Rap bands such as__________-__________,which dominated the charts in the mid-1980s,brought rap music to MTV and to a larger public.

Question 66

What accomplishments have black feminists made?

Question 67

What is the status of education for blacks around the turn of the twenty-first century? How much progress has been made since the Brown decision in 1954?

Question 68

How did rap music symbolize the struggles within the black community,especially during the Reagan years?

Question 69

Although the African Methodist Episcopal church has ordained women since 1898,the number of women ministers has only recently become significant; now __________ of the AME's 8,000 ministers are female.

Question 70

What types of gender issues intersect with HIV and AIDS among the black community? Why are blacks more likely to have HIV/AIDS than any other group?

Question 71

Why and how did life change for upper- and middle-class blacks in the late 1980s? What problems did many poor blacks continue to face?

Question 72

How is "gangsta rap" symbolic of the changes impacting black music during the 1980s?

Question 73

Discuss the issue of Afrocentricity.What supporting and opposing arguments to this philosophy have blacks advanced? How does this debate reveal the changing nature of the black community?

Question 74

How are gender and sexuality affecting black churches? How have different denominations approached these issues?

Question 75

What were the various developments in black culture,the arts,and intellectual leanings during the 1980s and 1990s? Who were some of the major figures?