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Alberta Online Encyclopedia


Glossary

This glossary provides definitions and detailed information about some of the key terms used throughout the Alberta's Black Pioneer Heritage Web site.

Abolitionist
Someone who wants to abolish slavery.
Alberta Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The Alberta Association for the Advancement of Colored People, known as the AAACP, was formed in 1947 due to a growing concern, in the post-war years, with racism against Blacks. The AAACP was organized with the help of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a Calgary union of Black railway porters. Under the leadership of Calgarian jazz musician, railway porter, and union member Melvin Crump, the AAACP played a key role in organizing the social and political life of Black Calgarians during the 1950s; the organization raised scholarships for young Blacks, fought discrimination in the workplace and in the use of public accommodations, and attacked Black stereotypes. By the 1960s, the AAACP declined and eventually ceased to exist.
Antebellum
Latin for "before the war", Antebellum is a term used by American historians to refer to the period leading up to the American Civil War of 1861.
Black History Month
Black History Month is celebrated in Canada and the United States in February; the observance is intended to remember the important events and people in African-Canadian and African-American history. The Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History created Black History Month in 1976 because Black contributions to American history were often untold and unrecognized. Events are held throughout February to recognize the Black contributions to society and to combat racial prejudice.
Black Pioneer Descendants' Society of Western Canada
The Black Pioneer Descendants' Society of Western Canada is an Edmonton-based non-profit-organization founded in 2001 to serve the needs of the descendants of Black pioneers in Western Canada. The Society seeks to commemorate the achievements of Black pioneers and their descendants and to educate Canadians about this living community.
Booker T. Washington
Born into slavery on a cotton plantation in Virginia in 1856, Booker T. Washington became a leader in the African-American community in the Southern United States after the slaves were freed in 1865. After earning an education at the Hampton Institute in Virginia, Washington became an instructor and, in 1881, he became the first principal of the Tuskegee Institute, a Black college in Alabama, which he made famous. Washington was committed to the education of African-Americans and, with a group of wealthy supporters, he built small community schools throughout the South to improve the state of the freed members of the Black community and help them get jobs.
Carbuncles
Pus-filled lumps on the skin which are a result of a bacterial infection.
Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement refers to a period during the 1950s and 1960s during which Americans held marches, non-violent protests, boycotts, and student-led sit-ins to obtain civil rights for all Americans, regardless of race. Members of the movement hoped to secure equal rights for African-Americans and to end segregation, oppression, and second-class citizenship. The movement encouraged the American Congress, in 1964, to pass theCivil Rights Act which outlawed segregation in schools and public places and which prohibited discrimination in employment practices and the use of public accommodations. The Civil Rights Movement also secured theVoting Rights Act of 1965 (which removed the literacy requirement for voters, thus restoring voting rights to many African-Americans) and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (which banned discrimination in the sale and rental of housing).
Colored Protection Association
Formed in Calgary in 1920 by members of the Black community, the Colored Protect Association (CPA) aimed to eliminate racism directed at Blacks in Alberta. The CPA was the first Black urban organization in Alberta. Along with organizing activities for Black Calgarians, the CPA was vocal in its opposition to the Victoria Park petition which demanded that Blacks be segregated in Calgary.
Denominations
In Christian terms, a denomination is a sub-group of Christianity that has an individual identity—with a different theology, philosophy, or set of ethics. Some commonly-known Christian denominations are the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, the Anglican Church, and the Baptist Church.
Freedom Rides
After the court case Boynton v. Virginia, in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that racial segregation in public transportation was illegal, many Southern states defied the ruling by continuing to enforce segregation in public transportation within their local laws and customs. Some African-Americans started defying these segregation customs by riding White-only public transportation; they were called freedom riders. These riders were subject to imprisonment and violence by mobs, and their plight caught the attention of the American public. The Freedom Rides helped to bolster the credibility of the American Civil Rights Movement.
Fundamentalist
Christian fundamentalism refers to a set of religious beliefs within the Protestant community which emphasizes strict adherence to Christian beliefs, including a belief in the literal truth of the Bible.
Hammond Organ
An electric organ invented in the 1930s and made by the Hammond Organ Company. The Hammond Organ was an alternative to the more expensive pipe organ and it was used in many churches.
Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE)
This Canadian women's organization was founded in 1900 to support the British Empire during the Second Boer War. IODE was a philanthropic organization especially active during wartime, providing comforts to soldiers and their families, and raising money for war efforts. However, IODE, as an ardent supporter of British imperialism, was a also a nativist organization that was suspicious of immigrants and people who were non-White and non-British. IODE still exists, but it has lost its nativist sentiments and now concentrates on improving the lives of children and youths by supporting better education, health, and social programs.
Jim Crow Laws
After the American Civil War, laws were enacted in many Southern states and municipalities to promote segregation of Blacks from Whites. These Jim Crow Laws often required that Black and White Americans have separate public facilities (e.g., schools, restaurants, washrooms, and public transportation); although these facilities were supposed to be "separate but equal", usually the Black facilities were inferior. By the end of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, a series of court cases and new laws had struck down the Jim Crow Laws.
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan (or KKK) is the name given to several past and present organizations that have advocated White supremacy, anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism, racism, and homophobia. Founded by veterans of the Confederate Army following the end of the American Civil War, the Klan's first incarnation was in 1866. Its main purpose then was to resist Reconstruction and to put down freed slaves. Between 1868 and 1870, the KKK was in decline and, during the 1870s, it was destroyed altogether by President Ulysses Grant's action under the Civil Rights Act of 1871 (also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act). In 1915, a second distinct KKK group, a formal fraternal organization, was founded, and thousands of men were paid to organize local chapters all over the United States. The KKK reached its peak during the 1920s, but its popularity fell during the Great Depression and even more so during the Second World War. Since then, the name "Ku Klux Klan" has been used by many different, unrelated groups, including those who opposed theCivil Rights Act and desegregation during the 1950s and 1960s.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929, Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. He began his career as a Baptist pastor in 1954, at which time he was a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The next year, he led the Montgomery Bus Boycott to protest racial segregation policies in public transportation; after 382 days of the boycott, the Supreme Court declared segregation on buses to be unconstitutional. In 1957, he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which made him a leader of the Civil Rights Movement. Inspired by peaceful Christian ethics, between 1957 and 1968, he travelled the United States leading protests, writing books and articles, and delivering speeches. His most famous speech, which began with "I Have a Dream", was delivered to 250,000 people during a peaceful march in Washington, DC Martin Luther King Jr. was named Man of the Year in 1963 byTime Magazine, and, the following year, he earned a Nobel Peace Prize. King was arrested and assaulted many times throughout his leadership of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1968, he was assassinated on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee.
Masonic lodges
Freemasonry is made up of Masonic lodges that consist of group of exclusive members called "freemasons" who usually belonged to the same community. Freemasonry is a fraternal organization with an all-male, international membership. Although the organization has been around for several centuries, its origins are shrouded in mystery, but it is believed to have been founded in England. Freemasons believe in a supreme being and they follow a code of morality. In the United States, during the late 1700s, African-Americans formed their own Masonic lodges and a separate Prince Hall Freemasonry, started by a master freemason and Methodist minister, Prince Hall.
Negro Welfare Association of Alberta
Formed under auspices of the UNIA in 1921, the Negro Welfare Association of Edmonton was concerned with the rising unemployment of urban Blacks. Under the leadership of Black pioneer Ira Day, the organization provided vocational education to Blacks, and lobbied to end discrimination against blacks in the workforce. The organization folded during the 1930s.
Poultice
A soft composition, as of bread, bran, or a moist substance, to be applied to sores or inflamed parts of the body
Racial stereotyping
Racial stereotyping are generalizations made about ethnic groups that often do not reflect the reality of that group. Stereotyping, whether positive or negative, can be detrimental to ethnic groups because it creates unfair assumptions about individuals and prevents group members from being seen as individuals.
Reconstruction Era
This was, in the United States, the period from 1863 to 1877 during which the defeated Confederate States returned to the American Union. During the Reconstruction Era, the leaders of the Union attempted to address the question of how to reincorporate the Confederate States into the union. The Black slaves were freed, but there was much controversy over the legal status of the Black freedmen. Radical Reconstructionists in the North sought racial equality, while many reactionary post-Confederates were violently opposed to this idea. In 1865, President Andrew Jackson secured the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which forbade slavery. The following year, Congress passed an even more radical bill, the 14th Amendment which granted full citizenship rights to Blacks. Then, in 1870, the 15th Amendment guaranteed Black voting rights in the South. In response, Southern states passed Jim Crow Laws which introduced segregation, and White supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan were formed to oppose the reconstruction. In 1877, the withdrawal of Union troops from the South marked the end of the Reconstruction Era.
Ringworm
A highly contagious disease caused by parasitic fungi, ringworm can be transmitted by skin-to-skin contact and it manifests itself in raised, reddish, itchy patches that resemble rings.
Segregation
Literally meaning "to separate something from a group", in the context of American History, segregation usually refers to the racial segregation of Black Americans from White Americans. After the American Civil War, Jim Crow Laws created formal segregation practices, barring Black Americans from using White-only public facilities, such as schools, public transportation, and restaurants.
Sporting life
A Black subculture that developed in some North American cities, wherein Blacks, frustrated by limited opportunities and discrimination, turned to illegal activities like gambling, prostitution, and drug dealing to earn a living and gain status. Blacks living the "sporting life" congregated at certain clubs and hangout spots in the cities. These criminals drew negative attention to the Black community, leading police to harass Black people, even those who were not involved in the "sporting life."
Steer
A castrated bull.
Syncopation
This is a musical term that means placing stress on off-beats (beats that are normally unstressed) or missing beats that would normally be stressed. Syncopation is common in a lot of modern music, and it is a main feature of jazz and blues music.
Turpentine
A chemical made from tree resin, turpentine is often used industrially as a paint thinner. It was once thought to have medicinal uses, but it is now known that ingestion of turpentine can cause kidney failure, and inhalation can damage both the respiratory and nervous systems.
Universal Negro Improvement Association
To improve the lot of African-Americans, the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) was founded in New York in 1916 by American Black nationalist Marcus Garvey. The UNIA branched out to cities across North America. A branch of the UNIA was set up in Edmonton during the 1920s, and another one in Amber Valley, Alberta during the 1930s. It was the most important secular Black organization in Alberta during the 1920s, and it was the first secular Black organization in Edmonton. The UNIA branches in Edmonton and Amber Valley began to decline during the 1930s, and they eventually folded. The organization was broadly mandated to uplift the Black community. The Negro Welfare Association and the Negro Political Association were both founded under the auspices of the UNIA.
Whooping cough
Whooping cough is an infection of the respiratory system that causes severe coughing and other cold symptoms. Whooping cough derives its name from the distinctive "whoop" sound made as an infected person tries to breathe in after a bout of coughing. The illness can last for months and can lead to complications such as pneumonia.

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