AP African American Studies study plan

Map the major African civilizations and empires (e.g., Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Great Zimbabwe, Kongo, Aksum) onto a timeline and a hand-drawn regional map

Trace the development of trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean trade networks and explain how they shaped cultural exchange

Define the African diaspora and distinguish voluntary migration from forced migration using at least three historical examples

Identify and describe the major religious and linguistic traditions of pre-1500 Africa and where each was concentrated

Explain the causes and mechanics of the transatlantic slave trade, including the roles of European, African, and American actors

Compare regional variations in African enslavement practices before and after European contact

Describe the Middle Passage and its demographic and cultural consequences using quantitative estimates

Analyze how the sugar, tobacco, and rice economies drove demand for enslaved labor

Compare the legal codes governing slavery in at least three colonial or early national settings (e.g., Virginia, Louisiana, Barbados)

Categorize forms of resistance: everyday resistance, escape, revolt, and marronage, with named examples of each

Explain how race-based chattel slavery was constructed and codified in law over time

Describe the cultural retention and innovation of enslaved communities in religion, music, and language

Trace the abolition movements and their key turning points in the US, Britain, and the Caribbean

Explain the role of enslaved and formerly enslaved people in their own emancipation

Analyze the political and economic debates around emancipation and its immediate aftermath

Evaluate primary-source excerpts (e.g., narratives, speeches, petitions) for argument, audience, and purpose

Summarize the constitutional amendments and Reconstruction legislation and explain their enforcement and rollback

Describe the institutions Black communities built (churches, schools, mutual aid, fraternal orders) and their functions

Explain sharecropping, convict leasing, and debt peonage as systems of labor control

Identify the strategies and ideologies of major Black leaders of the period and compare their approaches

Trace the Great Migration's causes, routes, and effects on northern and western cities

Describe the Harlem Renaissance and other cultural movements in terms of institutions, patrons, and debates

Explain the legal strategy of early civil rights litigation and name key cases and organizations

Connect the wartime and interwar experiences of Black Americans to the later civil rights movement

Sequence the major campaigns, legislation, and court decisions of the civil rights movement chronologically

Distinguish the goals and tactics of integrationist, nationalist, and Black Power strands

Describe the global and decolonial dimensions of Black freedom struggles in this period

Analyze the continuities and ruptures in Black political thought from the 1940s to the 2000s

Synthesize cross-domain themes (e.g., resistance, institution-building, migration) into coherent arguments

Complete two full timed practice sections under exam conditions

Diagnose and remediate the three weakest content areas identified by practice results

Review all deliverables for gaps and convert weak spots into flashcards