The Ballot or the Bullet

The Ballot or the Bullet Glossary

Boycott

A concerted effort to avoid buying or consuming products of a company in order to protest against practices and bring about change.

Charter

An official document laying the foundation for the creation and bylaws of an institution.

Civil Rights

Rights that are endowed to a person by virtue of citizenship.

Colonialism

The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, often occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

Consciousness

The fact of awareness by the mind of itself and the world.

Conspiracy

A secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful.

Filibuster

Informal term for any attempt to block or delay Senate action on a bill or other matter by debating it at length, by offering numerous procedural motions, or by any other delaying or obstructive actions.

Gerrymandering

The practice of dividing or arranging a territorial unit into election districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage in elections.

Jurisdiction

The official power to make legal decisions and judgments.

Black Nationalism

Advocacy of or support for unity and political self-determination for black people, especially in the form of a separate black nation.

Uncle Tom

The titular character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin; used to refer to a black person considered to be excessively obedient or servile to white people.

Mechanize

Introduce machines or automatic devices into (a process, activity, or place).

Hypocrisy

The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.

Mosque

A house of worship in the religion of Islam.

Dixiecrat

Any of the southern Democrats who seceded from the party in 1948 in opposition to its policy of extending civil rights.

Legislation

Laws, considered collectively.

Segregationist

A person who supports the policy of enforced separation of different racial groups.

Racketeer

A person who engages in dishonest and fraudulent business dealings.

Guerilla

A member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting, typically against larger regular forces.

Genocide

The deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.

Ward

A person, usually a minor, under the care and control of a guardian appointed by their parents or a court.

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