African American literature

E12972

American literature Black literature ethnic literature literary tradition

African American literature is a body of writing by Black Americans that explores their historical experiences, cultural identity, and struggles against racism and oppression, often blending oral traditions, political critique, and artistic innovation.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (3)

Surface form	Occurrences
African-American literature	11
African American literature movement	1
African Americans—Kansas—Fiction	1

Statements (71)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	American literature ⓘ Black literature ⓘ ethnic literature ⓘ literary tradition ⓘ
contributesTo	American cultural history ⓘ critical race discourse ⓘ postcolonial theory ⓘ
developedInCountry	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
emergedSignificantlyDuring	American civil rights movement ⓘ surface form: Civil Rights Movement Harlem Renaissance ⓘ
focusesOn	African American history ⓘ Black cultural identity ⓘ civil rights struggle ⓘ experiences of African Americans ⓘ racism in the United States ⓘ segregation in the United States ⓘ slavery in the United States ⓘ
hasHistoricalRootIn	abolitionist writing ⓘ slave narratives ⓘ
hasNotableAuthor	Alice Walker ⓘ August Wilson ⓘ Frederick Douglass ⓘ Harriet Jacobs ⓘ James Baldwin ⓘ Langston Hughes ⓘ Maya Angelou ⓘ Ralph Ellison ⓘ Richard Wright ⓘ Toni Morrison ⓘ W. E. B. Du Bois ⓘ Zora Neale Hurston ⓘ
hasNotableMovement	Black Arts Movement ⓘ Harlem Renaissance ⓘ
hasPrimaryLanguage	English ⓘ
hasTheme	double consciousness ⓘ family and community ⓘ gender and race intersectionality ⓘ migration and displacement ⓘ racial identity ⓘ resistance to oppression ⓘ search for freedom ⓘ
includesGenre	autobiography ⓘ drama ⓘ essays ⓘ hip hop literature ⓘ novels ⓘ poetry ⓘ sermon literature ⓘ short stories ⓘ slave narrative ⓘ spoken word poetry ⓘ
incorporates	African American oral tradition ⓘ call-and-response patterns ⓘ folktales ⓘ sermons ⓘ spirituals ⓘ
isConcernedWith	political critique of racism ⓘ representation of Black life in America ⓘ social justice ⓘ
isInfluencedBy	African diaspora culture ⓘ Black church traditions ⓘ blues ⓘ hip hop culture ⓘ jazz ⓘ
isStudiedIn	African American studies ⓘ English literature programs ⓘ
usesTechnique	code-switching ⓘ magic realism ⓘ nonlinear narrative ⓘ stream of consciousness ⓘ vernacular speech ⓘ