Glossary

One of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design. Located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois, the school is associated with the the Art Institute of Chicago and has trained some of the country’s most talented visual artists, including Richard Hunt and Dr. Margaret Burroughs.

Bobby Seale was the chairman and co-founder of the Black Panther Party, an organization formed in 1966 to guard against police brutality in black neighborhoods and provide social services. Eventually the party developed into a militant revolutionary group with thousands of members in several major cities. In 1969, Seale, as one of the "Chicago Eight," was charged with conspiracy to incite riots during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Charges against him were eventually dropped, but not before he had been bound and gagged to silence his courtroom outbursts. During 1970 and 1971 he was tried for the torture-murder of former Panther Alex Rackley, who was suspected of being a police informant. That trial ended in a hung jury, and afterward, Seale moderated his more militant views, leaving the Panthers altogether in 1974. He continues to remain active in seeking social justice.

Established in 1944 and located on Puget Sound, the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra is a community based non-profit organization committed to developing audiences for orchestral music. The Seattle Philharmonic is one of only 13 orchestras nationally that participates in the "New Residencies" program. The Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra strives to provide high quality concerts while encouraging young talent. It is also commited to promoting music from varied cultures.

A community-based full-service commercial bank located on Chicago’s South Side. Seaway National Bank was founded in 1965 to counter discriminatory lending practices by banks in the African American community. The founders of the bank sold shares of the enterprise door-to-door in order to raise the bank’s first $100,000.

Restricting the movement of a specific population to certain designated areas or separate institutions and facilities on the basis of a set of characteristics. Segregation is designed to reinforce social hierarchies and support political and economic privileges of the dominant group. In the United States, racial segregation of African Americans was widely practiced up until the 1960s when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed legal discrimination in public facilities.

The Republic of Senegal is located in West Africa. Archeological evidence, such as stone tools, suggests that the area has been inhabited for fifteen thousand years or more. During a period spanning the 8th, through the 11th, to the 14th century in what is now Senegal, several dominant regional empires were formed. Senegal's official language is French, although several other languages including Wolof, Jola, Pulaar, and Mandinka are widely spoken. More than 90 percent of the population is Muslim. Senegal, whose economy is primarily agricultural, has been a constitutional republic since 1963 with Dakar as its capital.

Those who worked as paid farm labor shortly after the Civil War. Under the sharecropping system, a family rented a share of a large plantation owned by a landowner. In order to efficiently till the land, sharecroppers had to acquire tools, fertilizer and seeds. Often these were loaned by the same white landowners who demanded even larger portions of the harvest as repayment for the debt. Many sharecroppers fell deeper and deeper into debt, barely able to produce enough from the land to feed themselves and their families.

One of the masterpieces of the American musical theater. Written in the late 1920s by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, Show Boat’s weighty subject matter and treatment of racial prejudice revolutionized the musical theater and popular theater in general. Revived countless times, Show Boat has launched the career of many black actors, including Paul Robeson. Show Boat’s most famous songs, “Old Man River” and “That Man of Mine,” remain central parts of the American cultural canon.

Independent public trust of the United States. The Smithsonian holds over 140 million artifacts and specimens relating to U.S. history and culture. Founded in 1846 with funds bequeathed to the United States by James Smithson, the Smithsonian has grown to include sixteen museums and galleries, a National Zoo as well as numerous research facilities around the world.

The study or science of human society.

Cosmetics company founded in 1964 by Ed Gardner. Soft Sheen manufactured and sold beauty products aimed at black men and women. Before it was bought by L’Oreal in 1998, it was the largest African American-owned beauty products company in the United States.

Federal government official charged with overseeing government cases brought before the Supreme Court. The Office of the Solicitor General is involved in approximately two-thirds of the cases argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Soul signifies a return to black music's roots - gospel and blues. The genre incorporates vocal intensity and call-and-response techniques marked by an emotional delivery. Artists like Aretha Franklin and James Brown popularized soul in American culture during the 1970s. Soul continues to be an influential medium and has inspired contemporary musical styles such as funk and hip-hop.

Postcolonial independent nation located on Africa’s southern tip. Originally inhabited by Bantu-speaking tribes, what is today South Africa was conquered by the Dutch, and then the British, in the 17th and 18th centuries. By 1910, South Africa was an independent nation run entirely by descendants of Dutch and British colonizers. The white government created a segregated system of “apartheid” (‘apartness’) in which the nation’s black African majority was denied access to basic civil rights, and separated entirely from the politically and economically empowered white minority. After years of struggle and resistance the system of apartheid was overthrown in 1994, when the first democratic election was held. Nelson Mandela, a former political prisoner and civil rights activist, was elected president.

The eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union on December 24, 1860. Troops from the South Carolina militia also led the first battle of the Civil War when they attacked Fort Sumpter. Following years of economic devastation as a result of the Civil War, the state finally began a recovery in the 1900s. With the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s came a relatively peaceful adjustment with the exception of the killing of three black protesters by state police in Orangeburg. Since then, the state has sent numerous African Americans to office.

After World War II, a republic was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north. During the Korean War (1950-1953), US and other UN forces intervened to defend South Korea from North Korean attacks supported by the Chinese. An armistice was signed in 1953, splitting the Peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel.

Community space and art gallery, founded by Dr. Margaret Burroughs in 1941. Located on Chicago’s South Side, the center has presented over 450 art exhibits, including works by Gordon Parks and Richard Hunt. In 1982, the center received the prestigious Governor's Award for the Arts in Illinois.

Founded in 1957 by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference coordinated with various African American organizations to fight for racial equality. Employing Dr. King’s nonviolent strategies, SCLC staged mass boycotts and sit-ins, organized voter-registration drives and sponsored citizen education programs. Most notably, SCLC played a key role in the 1963 March on Washington and in influencing the passage of major civil rights legislation during the mid-1960s. Reverend Ralph David Abernathy succeeded Dr. King as head of SCLC after King’s assassination in 1968. However, over the next decade SCLC’s political and social influence diminished greatly.

A civil rights law firm founded in 1971, today the Center is one of the largest civil rights organizations in the country. Located in Montgomery, Alabama, SPLC seeks to promote tolerance education as well as monitor the activities of white supremacist groups.

Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II, but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). In the second half of the 20th century, Spain has played a catch-up role in the western international community; it joined the EU in 1986.

A private, historically black institution of higher learning for women located in Atlanta, Georgia. The school's history is traced to 1881, when two Boston women, Sophia Packard and Harriet Giles, began teaching 11 black women, mostly ex-slaves, in a church basement. Spelman offers degrees in more than 20 fields, including the arts, sciences, psychology, and computer science. Total enrollment is about 2,000.

Annual award given by the NAACP to an African American of outstanding merit and accomplishment. Past recipients include W.E.B. DuBois, A. Philip Randolph, Dr. Martin Luther King, Oprah Winfrey and Earl Graves, Sr.

A state’s chief fiscal officer, the responsibilities normally include auditing of government fiscal records, managing retirement funds of state employees, and overseeing the fiscal activities of local governments.

One of the key civil rights organizations of the early 1960s, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was committed to direct action, civil disobedience and voter registration. Founded by southern college students in 1960, SNCC helped to organize sit-ins in segregated businesses and massive voter registration drives throughout the rural South. The group also organized the famous Freedom Rides in 1961.

A museum of visual art, dedicated to exhibiting work by African Americans. Since its founding in a Harlem loft in 1967, the Studio Museum has grown and recently announced plans for a major renovation and expansion. The museum is currently located on W. 125th Street, in the heart of Harlem, New York.

A military power during the 17th century, Sweden has not participated in any war in almost two centuries. An armed neutrality was preserved in both World Wars. Sweden's long-successful economic formula of a capitalist system interlarded with substantial welfare elements was challenged in the 1990s by high unemployment, rising maintenance costs, and a declining position in world markets. Indecision over the country's role in the political and economic integration of Europe delayed Sweden's entry into the EU until 1995, and waived the introduction of the euro in 1999.

Switzerland's independence and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and Switzerland was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations, but retains a strong commitment to neutrality.

The Symbionese Liberation Army was an American paramilitary group with a radical ideology. They committed two murders, bank robberies, and other acts of violence between 1973 and 1975. Even though they never had more than 13 members, they became the top ongoing media story during their underground fugitive period. They are famous for kidnapping wealthy media heiress Patty Hearst, granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst, in 1974 and allegedly brainwashing and convincing her to join the group and take part in their illegal activities, including bank robberies.