The Crisis in AP African American Studies

The Crisis is the official journal of the NAACP, where editor Jessie Redmon Fauset published critiques of both American racism and European colonialism, connecting African American activism to the Négritude and Negrismo movements across the diaspora (Topic 4.1).

What is the Crisis?

The Crisis is the official journal of the NAACP, and on the AP African American Studies exam it matters most for what it published, not just what it was. Under Jessie Redmon Fauset, who served as editor from 1919 to 1926, the magazine ran African American literature and civil rights coverage right next to reports on colonialism in Africa and the Caribbean. That editorial choice was an argument in itself. Fauset was saying that the racism Black Americans faced at home and the colonial exploitation Afro-descendants faced abroad were two versions of the same system.

That's exactly the link the CED highlights in EK 4.1.B.2. African Americans who supported Négritude and Negrismo, including writers and activists like Fauset, condemned racism and colonialism as interrelated. Both, they argued, rested on racial ideologies that justified exploitation and coerced labor. Think of The Crisis as the print bridge between the New Negro movement in the United States and anti-colonial Black thought in the wider diaspora. It gave US readers a window into global Black struggles and gave diasporic writers an American audience.

Why the Crisis matters in AP® African American Studies

The Crisis lives in Unit 4: Movements and Debates, specifically Topic 4.1, The Négritude and Negrismo Movements. It directly supports learning objective AP African American Studies 4.1.B (explain why proponents of Négritude and Negrismo critiqued colonialism) because Fauset's editorship is the CED's named example of an African American seeing racism and colonialism as connected systems (EK 4.1.B.2). It also reinforces AP African American Studies 4.1.A, since the journal shows how the New Negro movement in the US influenced and connected with Négritude and Negrismo abroad (EK 4.1.A.1). If an exam question asks how African American thinkers tied domestic racism to global colonialism, The Crisis is your concrete, citable example.

How the Crisis connects across the course

Jessie Redmon Fauset (Unit 4)

You can't separate The Crisis from Fauset on this exam. The CED names her specifically as the editor who used the journal to condemn racism and colonialism as interrelated. When a question mentions one, expect the other.

Aimé Césaire and Négritude (Unit 4)

Césaire, from Martinique, made the intellectual case that colonialism never civilized anyone and that racial ideology justified exploitation (EK 4.1.B.1). The Crisis is the American outlet that put that anti-colonial critique in front of US readers, showing the movements reinforced each other across the Atlantic.

The New Negro Movement (Unit 3)

Négritude and Negrismo were both influenced by the New Negro movement in the United States (EK 4.1.A.1), and The Crisis was one of the main publishing platforms of that era. The journal is the physical evidence of how Unit 3's cultural pride flowed into Unit 4's global debates.

Critiques of Global Capitalism and Racism (Unit 4)

African American supporters of Négritude and Negrismo saw these movements as part of their own critique of global capitalism and racism (EK 4.1.B.2). The Crisis turned that abstract connection into something readers could see, with anti-colonial reporting printed alongside coverage of American racial violence.

Is the Crisis on the AP® African American Studies exam?

Multiple-choice questions almost always test The Crisis through Fauset's editorial logic. A typical stem describes her publishing Négritude writers alongside coverage of American racial violence, then asks you to explain why she connected the two. The credited answer is always some version of EK 4.1.B.2: racism and colonialism were interrelated systems built on the same racial ideologies that justified exploitation. Other stems focus on the journal's audience (educated Black readers and white reformers) and what international coverage was meant to accomplish. Your job is to explain the connection, not just identify the magazine. No released FRQ has used this term verbatim, but it works well as specific evidence in a short-answer or project response about diasporic solidarity or anti-colonial thought.

The Crisis vs The Crisis (Thomas Paine's pamphlet series)

If you've taken APUSH, don't mix these up. Thomas Paine's The American Crisis was a Revolutionary War pamphlet series from the 1770s. The Crisis on the AP African American Studies exam is the NAACP's twentieth-century journal. Same name, completely different century, author, and purpose. On this exam, The Crisis always means the NAACP publication tied to Fauset, the New Negro movement, and anti-colonial critique.

Key things to remember about the Crisis

• The Crisis is the official journal of the NAACP, and Jessie Redmon Fauset served as its editor from 1919 to 1926.

• Fauset used The Crisis to publish critiques of American racism and European colonialism side by side, arguing they were interrelated systems of oppression.

• The journal connected African American readers to the Négritude and Negrismo movements, showing the New Negro movement's influence across the diaspora.

• On the exam, The Crisis is your concrete example for EK 4.1.B.2, which says African Americans condemned racism and colonialism as connected critiques of global capitalism and racial ideology.

• Multiple-choice questions usually ask WHY Fauset linked domestic racism and colonialism, so memorize the reasoning, not just the magazine's name.

Frequently asked questions about the Crisis

What is The Crisis in AP African American Studies?

The Crisis is the official journal of the NAACP, edited by Jessie Redmon Fauset from 1919 to 1926, which published African American literature alongside critiques of racism and European colonialism. It appears in Topic 4.1 as evidence of connections between African Americans and the Négritude and Negrismo movements.

Did Jessie Redmon Fauset found The Crisis?

No. W.E.B. Du Bois founded The Crisis in 1910. Fauset served as editor from 1919 to 1926, and the CED highlights her editorship because she used the journal to connect American racism and global colonialism.

Is The Crisis the same as Thomas Paine's pamphlet?

No. Paine's The American Crisis was a 1770s Revolutionary War pamphlet series covered in APUSH. The Crisis on this exam is the NAACP's twentieth-century journal tied to Fauset, the New Negro movement, and anti-colonial critique.

Why did The Crisis publish coverage of colonialism in Africa and the Caribbean?

Fauset and other African American writers saw racism at home and colonialism abroad as interrelated, both built on racial ideologies that justified exploitation and coerced labor (EK 4.1.B.2). Publishing both together made that connection visible to readers.

How does The Crisis connect to Négritude and Negrismo?

The Crisis published works by Négritude writers and covered anti-colonial movements, linking US Black activism to diasporic movements led by figures like Aimé Césaire of Martinique. It shows how the New Negro movement in the US and Négritude and Negrismo reinforced one another (EK 4.1.A.1).