Deck 19: Meanings of Freedom: Culture and Society in the 1930s and 1940s

Question 1

What did the development of black culture during the 1930s and 1940s help African Americans counter?

Answer 1

white racism

Question 2

What roles did blacks generally play in films produced by whites?

A) Generally, they only played slaves in background, non-speaking roles.
B) They played the role of servant or buffoon, although sometimes they could make substantial amounts of money and gain fame for such roles.
C) Many films at this time were allowing blacks greater access to more creative roles.
D) Blacks were not allowed in film productions by whites at the time.

Answer 2

They played the role of servant or buffoon, although sometimes they could make substantial amounts of money and gain fame for such roles.

Question 3

Which of the following is true about the difficulties faced by black artists in the 1930s and the 1940s?

A) They were never allowed to include political views in their works.
B) Whites simply refused to accept black art or culture in any way..
C) They often had to depend on whites for the financial backing to publish their work.
D) Black artists were actively associated with the Communist Party at this time.

Answer 3

They often had to depend on whites for the financial backing to publish their work.

Question 4

How were Oscar Micheaux's films different from standard Hollywood fare?

A) His films were even more outwardly racist than most typical Hollywood portrayals.
B) He produced movies for and about blacks, and often focused on race within black culture.
C) He was a French director who produced films that strongly critiqued American society and culture, including racism.
D) Oscar Micheaux's films actually set the standard that the rest of Hollywood followed with respect to race.

Question 5

How did big band swing music originate?

A) Whites began with black gospel music and added complicated, individualized rhythms and more instruments.
B) When white bandleaders orchestrated innovative black music.
C) Big band was actually a white innovation. Blacks fed off its popularity to develop jazz and the blues.
D) The federal government had underwritten music programs during the 1930s for blacks to develop new types of music.

Question 6

Which of the following was not a difficulty for African Americans wanting to study classical music in St. Louis?

A) No institutions for classical study existed in the city for blacks.
B) Whites tended to relegate blacks to playing ragtime or jazz.
C) African Americans often had to take jobs in demeaning roles in productions.
D) Very few cultural opportunities of any kind existed in the Midwestern city.

Question 7

What was true about the film, The Negro Soldier (1944)?

A) It was directed by Frank Capra, a black director.
B) It was very unpopular among black audiences.
C) It portrayed blacks in a positive, favorable light, rather than simply portraying them as servants.
D) It was the first film to feature an African-American actor.

Question 8

What first is Hattie McDaniel known for?

A) She was the first African American to win an Oscar.
B) She was very outspoken for segregation, and was highly criticized by other blacks.
C) She was the first black woman to gain a recording contract with a white studio.
D) She refused to take any demeaning, stereotypical roles in her career as an actress.

Question 9

What roles or jobs did African Americans generally have in radio?

A) Blacks were often staff musicians, since they were heard and not seen.
B) African Americans did much of the writing, acting, and directing for the show Amos 'n' Andy.
C) Blacks were completely excluded from the entertainment industry during the 1930s and 1940s.
D) Radio stations refused to hire any blacks as disc jockeys.

Question 10

What role did comic strips, radio programs, and movies play during the Great Depression?

A) Because of their realistic subject matter, they reminded everyone of the economic problems the country was facing and the inability of government to come up with solutions.
B) They were merely attempts by whites to further subjugate blacks.
C) They provided at least a small relief from troubles of poverty and hunger.
D) They provided an outlet for black creativity and career advancement.

Question 11

Where was the center of the black music world in the 1930s and 1940s?

Question 12

What was true about the radio program Amos 'n' Andy?

A) It was a generally positive, non-stereotypical view of blacks.
B) It was one of many shows about blacks on the radio at the time.
C) It featured white actors performing the part of blacks.
D) None of these answers are correct.

Question 13

What effect did the Great Depression have on black music?

A) It forced black Americans to begin to record only upbeat, cheery tunes, since those were the only ones the public wanted to purchase.
B) It actually increased record sales, since blacks were benefiting greatly from the government welfare programs.
C) It greatly reduced record sales, which had flourished in the 1920s.
D) The Great Depression really had no effect on black music.

Question 14

Why did Paul Robeson's successful career end?

A) He became a communist, and was targeted for his political beliefs after World War II.
B) Black people refused to see his movies, since he presented such a negative view of blacks.
C) White actors became increasingly jealous of his success, and white directors stopped hiring him.
D) He was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1930.

Question 15

Who was not one of the original revolutionaries in music to produce bebop?

A) Louis Armstrong
B) Charlie Parker
C) Dizzy Gillespie
D) Max Roach

Question 16

Which of the following is not true about bebop?

A) It was so popular it was adopted wholesale by white audiences as well as black.
B) It had its own style and dress, including zoot suits, goatees for men, and dark glasses.
C) Some musicians became drug addicts, or later were broken by poverty.
D) Charlie Parker was one of the innovators of this style.

Question 17

What lessons did Amos 'n' Andy teach white America?

A) That racism was unacceptable, and blacks were the equals to whites.
B) That it was acceptable to laugh at black people's efforts to get by in America.
C) That blacks could be successful in high-level positions in society.
D) That blacks could only be stereotyped as comedians or pranksters.

Question 18

How did black audiences react to Amos 'n' Andy?

A) Blacks were excited to have black actors accurately portraying black characters.
B) Blacks were hopeful that some black writers could get jobs on the show.
C) Although many thought the show was accurately portraying blacks, they wished it would focus on more positive aspects of black middle-class life.
D) Many urban, educated blacks resented the stereotypical view of blacks presented by the show. Some attempted to get it banned from the radio.

Question 19

What 1930s movie most solidified blacks in the roles of servants in the American mind?

A) Belle of the Nineties
B) The Little Colonel
C) Gone With the Wind
D) Just Around the Corner

Question 20

What role did comic strips like "The Jones Family" play for African Americans?

A) They were often more negative toward black family life and culture than even whites were.
B) They tried to provide blueprints for middle-class life, while emphasizing the difficulties blacks faced in society.
C) They only showed the positive aspects of black life, since they were trying to reform stereotypical images of whites.
D) "The Jones Family" showed blacks how racist whites could be.

Question 21

What was characteristic of black literature during the 1930s and 1940s?

A) They were generally frivolous stories of romance and adventure.
B) They generally addressed issues of black identity, urban life, and discrimination and poverty.
C) They avoided political topics and focused on black elites.
D) Much black literature began to focus on science fiction and futuristic studies where racism did not exist.

Question 22

How did Katherine Dunham influence African-American dance?

A) She was an anthropologist, and incorporated African ritual dances into her work.
B) She refused to be influenced by other styles.
C) She opened a dance school for African Americans in New York.
D) She forced dance into more conventional, white-inspired performances.

Question 23

What is true about the story of Native Son?

A) It was a story about a black man who triumphed over whites and founded a new nation in Africa.
B) It was a story about how discrimination and the difficulties of black life could lead some blacks to murder and violence.
C) It was the story of an American black man who is rejected by his country, and adopted by the French as a national hero.
D) It was the story of a young black musician who performs on the radio and gains success by fooling many into thinking he is white.

Question 24

How did Billie Holiday's song "Strange Fruit" protest racism?

A) The song was about the violence directed against black women with rape.
B) The song was about the difficulties of hunger and starvation among blacks in the Great Depression.
C) The song was about the horror and violence surrounding lynching.
D) The song was about segregation and the degrading character of racism.

Question 25

What role did the WPA and the Federal Arts Project play in the development of black arts?

A) They played a critical role, funding black art projects that would not have existed otherwise.
B) Both agencies discriminated against blacks, and did not assist with the development of black art.
C) Both merely funded academic studies, and had little effect on the arts.
D) No black art from the period would exist without the two agencies.

Question 26

Where was the central, most vibrant place for the development of black culture in the 1930s and 1940s?

A) Harlem
B) Chicago
C) Philadelphia
D) New Orleans

Question 27

How did the minority groups that influenced Hollywood---Jews and Italians---treat African Americans?

A) They realized that they were also discriminated against, and tried to include them in film and television.
B) They made no attempt to include them in Hollywood's power structure, continuing to marginalize them.
C) Jews and Italians were forbidden by the owners of studios from employing black actors in anything but subservient roles.
D) Jews had such little influence in Hollywood that they really could not change the situation for other minority groups.

Question 28

What class of blacks did many Chicago Renaissance writers focus on during the 1930s and 1940s?

A) the elite of black society, the "Talented Tenth"
B) middle-class blacks who had achieved some gains in black life
C) working-class blacks
D) Chicago Renaissance writers focused exclusively on the evils of racist whites

Question 29

What changes occurred in music in Chicago during the 1930s and 1940s?

A) Black music became a commodity, and some blacks even became disk jockeys on radio.
B) Music in Chicago never developed in the same way as in Harlem.
C) Black music became more intellectual and esoteric, drawing average people away.
D) Black music began to incorporate the use of drums and electric guitars.

Question 30

Which of the following is true about Mahalia Jackson?

A) She was a famous gospel singer, based in Chicago.
B) She was the first African-American woman to write a fiction book published by a white press.
C) She was a journalist who campaigned against lynching.
D) She was an innovator in the area of dance in Chicago.

Question 31

What was one difference between Harlem Renaissance artists and Chicago Renaissance artists?

A) Chicago Renaissance writers focused solely on political gains for their race. They refused to take part in "frivolous" fictional writing.
B) Writers of the Chicago Renaissance refused to publish their works with white publishers.
C) Chicago Renaissance writers generally did not feel that their work would solve racial problems.
D) These artists were very similar in goals, methods, and projects.

Question 32

What was a main characteristic of Dunham's dance choreography?

A) It was very conservative and often compared to classical ballet.
B) It was frequently filled with sexual movements and innuendo.
C) It was a forerunner of tap dancing.
D) It was quickly adopted by whites across the South.

Question 33

Who was not a Chicago Renaissance artist?

A) Richard Wright
B) Arna Bontemps
C) Louis Armstrong
D) Aaron Douglas

Question 34

Who was most responsible for the development of urban gospel during the 1930s and 1940s?

A) Louis Armstrong
B) Lillian Hardin
C) Thomas Dorsey
D) Mahalia Jackson

Question 35

What is not true about Katharine Dunham?

A) She opened a school for blacks, when none existed before.
B) She incorporated elements of African culture into her choreography.
C) She refused to return to some venues if they supported segregation.
D) She actually refused to become involved politically, as she felt this would interfere with her art..

Question 36

What concerns or attitudes did the painting Defense Worker reflect?

A) the inability of black workers to get ahead in the world
B) the strength of the black worker, and dreams of a racially integrated work force
C) the inability of black workers to gain jobs in defense industries
D) the strength of the black soldier during World War II

Question 37

What was a characteristic of black Depression art?

A) It was generally upbeat and colorful, attempting to provide an escape in difficult times.
B) Because the Depression was so severe, no artwork of any consequence was produced by blacks during the period.
C) Although blacks produced much art, most of it refused to deal with any type of controversial issue.
D) Black art at the time was a part of social realism, which attempted to make a political statement of some type.

Question 38

How was gospel music different from earlier spiritual black music?

A) It was very similar, and basically simply copied earlier styles.
B) It was never sung in churches, since most thought it was the "devil's work."
C) It used instruments, including drums, guitars, and horns.
D) It was developed in California, rather than in the Deep South.

Question 39

In what area of Chicago was jazz focused?

A) Harlem
B) the North Side
C) the stockyard neighborhoods
D) the South Side

Question 40

Which of the following was not a characteristic of gospel music?

A) The performance of the song used not only the voice, but also movements of the entire body.
B) Since the music was carefully written down, it was important to perform the song the same way each time, or audiences would be disappointed.
C) The instruments and vocalists often engage in call-and-response interaction.
D) Group participation was often involved.

Question 41

Who replaced Wright as "best known black American male writer"?

A) Ralph Ellison
B) Toni Morrison
C) James Baldwin
D) Langston Hughes.

Question 42

In what sport did Joe Louis excel during the 1930s?

A) boxing
B) track events
C) horse racing
D) tennis

Question 43

What similarities in ideas about blacks do we see between Du Bois and Ellison?

A) There are very few-Ellison was always highly critical of Du Bois.
B) Both were members of the Communist Party, and were very disillusioned with American society.
C) Both were political writers, who thought fiction a lesser form of literature.
D) Both believed in the "twoness" of blacks in America, existing both within the system and wanting something better out of it.

Question 44

Why did many people see the fight between Joe Louis and Italian Primo Carnera as so important in 1935?

A) Whites claimed that Carnera's victory would mean that whites were better than blacks.
B) The fight had political meaning, as it occurred when Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was about to invade Ethiopia.
C) It was the last interracial boxing match until the 1980s.
D) It was fought in the South, which had never allowed an interracial fight until that point.

Question 45

Which of the following was an alternative religion that became prominent among African Americans during the 1930s and 1940s?

A) the Peace Mission Movement
B) African Episcopal Methodists
C) the Nation of Muslims
D) the Church of God in Christ

Question 46

How did black religious and secular culture overlap in the 1930s and 1940s?

A) They generally did not overlap. Blacks tried to maintain a sense of separateness between religious life and home life.
B) Music was a constant feature of both, with one form frequently transported into other areas.
C) Both religious and secular culture at the time generally was against desegregation.
D) Both types of culture failed to provide much assistance to blacks struggling for civil rights.

Question 47

In what sport did Jesse Owens excel during the 1930s?

A) boxing
B) track events
C) horse racing
D) tennis

Question 48

Who was not involved in the origins of the early Nation of Islam faith?

A) Elijah Muhammad
B) Wali Farad
C) Timothy Drew
D) Father Major Jealous Divine.

Question 49

How did James Baldwin challenge Richard Wright over his characters in Native Son?

A) James Baldwin never challenged Richard Wright. The two worked closely together on Native Son.
B) Baldwin felt that blacks were more victimized than Wright portrayed.
C) Baldwin disagreed with Wright's portrayal of blacks as helpless victims of racism and discrimination.
D) Baldwin felt that Wright should have emphasized color discrimination within the black race.

Question 50

Why did the Dodgers decide to sign Robinson?

A) They were doing it as a marketing ploy, to bring more people in to the stadium.
B) They were forced into signing him by the Supreme Court.
C) They were hoping to improve their chances at a pennant race.
D) President Roosevelt, who was a friend of Robinson, personally asked the Dodgers to sign him.

Question 51

What happened to the Negro Leagues as major league teams began to sign black players?

A) Very little happened, since the major leagues signed very few black players until the 1980s.
B) The Negro Leagues grew stronger, as they became a significant source of major league players.
C) The Negro Leagues never provided black players to the major league teams. All black players were boycotting the major leagues because of their policy of discrimination.
D) The Negro Leagues slowly began to disintegrate.

Question 52

Who was the leader of the Peace Mission Movement?

Question 53

What was Invisible Man about?

A) It was the first science fiction book written by an African American. It had to do with a chemical accident that made a black man invisible.
B) It was about a young black man who migrates to New York, and it focuses on his interactions with other blacks and with whites at the time.
C) It involved the rape of a black woman by a white man, and her son's efforts to exact revenge.
D) It was about blacks surviving in society by adopting white ways, including discrimination against darker skin.

Question 54

What beliefs did Father Divine preach?

A) Blacks were a far better, stronger people than whites.
B) A black revolution would soon occur, and only violence would destroy racism.
C) Followers should be honest, hardworking, and sober to achieve recognition under God.
D) That his followers should avoid eating pork.

Question 55

What did the Nation of Islam and the Peace Mission Movement have in common?

A) They were both "black supremacist" religions, which stressed the superiority of blacks over whites.
B) They were both religions that emerged to deal with the problems and aspirations of blacks in urban areas during the Depression.
C) They were both very small, and had almost no effect among blacks.
D) Combined, they had more members than the traditional Protestant religions.

Question 56

What was not a belief of the Nation of Islam?

A) Whites and blacks should integrate and work together, since they were both equal in God's eyes.
B) Blacks were the first inhabitants of the Earth.
C) Whites were created by a magician and banished to Europe, where they began to introduce and spread evil.
D) That members should not serve in the military.

Question 57

Who broke the color barrier in baseball in 1947?

A) Satchel Paige
B) Jackie Robinson
C) Rube Foster
D) Sammy Sosa