A carte-de-visite was a small, inexpensive photographic print mounted on a card (about the size of a calling card) that became hugely popular in the mid-1800s because studios could mass-produce multiple copies. African American leaders used cartes-de-visite to shape public images and fight racist stereotypes: photos presented them as dignified, respectable citizens deserving of rights (EK 2.21.A.1). They were also tools for fundraising and activism—Sojourner Truth sold her cartes-de-visite to raise money for abolition and recruiting (EK 2.21.A.2), and Frederick Douglass used repeated portraits to spread his image and message (EK 2.21.A.3). Because cartes were cheap, portable, and easily shared, they helped circulate visual proof of Black achievement and freedom. For more on this topic, see the AP Topic 2.21 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe). For practice, check Fiveable’s unit resources (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Frederick Douglass became the most photographed man of the nineteenth century because he used photography as a political tool to shape how Black people were seen. He sat for dozens of portraits over many decades—cartes-de-visite and studio portraits that showed him dignified, educated, and respectable—explicitly to counter racist stereotypes and prove Black citizenship and achievement (EK 2.21.A.1, EK 2.21.A.3). Photos helped him promote speaking tours, books, and abolitionist fundraising; different poses and repeated images kept his public identity visible across the North and overseas. For AP exam prep, this ties to visual self-representation and how leaders used new media to argue for equal rights (see the Topic 2.21 study guide on Fiveable: https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe). For extra practice on visuals, try Fiveable’s practice bank (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Photography let Black leaders control how they were seen. In the 1800s new formats like the carte-de-visite and collodion and albumen prints let people such as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman present themselves as dignified, literate citizens—not the racist caricatures common in popular media. Douglass’s many portraits and Tubman’s images showed formerly enslaved people who’d achieved freedom and leadership; Truth sold cartes-de-visite to fund abolition and her speaking tours. These photos were used in abolitionist campaigns, fundraising, and public lectures to prove Black competence, moral worth, and right to equal rights (LO 2.21.A, EK 2.21.A.1–A.3). For AP prep, be ready to explain how photographic self-representation challenged stereotypes and supported political goals—the topic study guide here covers this (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe). For more practice, try Fiveable’s unit review and practice problems (https://library.fiveable.me/unit-2, https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Sojourner Truth didn’t just sit for photos—she used them as activism and fundraising tools. She sold small portrait prints called carte-de-visites to raise money for the abolitionist cause and to support her speaking tours. Her photos also helped recruit Black soldiers for the Union and circulated widely to show that Black women were public leaders deserving of dignity and respect. In short, her photographic self-representation was political: it countered racist stereotypes, raised funds, boosted her visibility as an organizer and speaker, and reinforced Black women's central leadership in the fight for freedom (see the Topic 2.21 study guide: https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe). For extra practice connecting visuals to AP-style questions, check Fiveable’s practice problems (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Taking photos was resistance because people used the new medium to control how Black leaders and formerly enslaved people were seen—not as stereotypes but as dignified citizens deserving rights. That’s exactly LO 2.21.A in the CED: 19th-century Black leaders embraced photography to counter racist images (EK 2.21.A.1). Examples: Sojourner Truth sold carte-de-visites to fund abolition and show Black women’s leadership (EK 2.21.A.2); Frederick Douglass—the most photographed man of the century—used portraits to prove Black achievement (EK 2.21.A.3); photos of Harriet Tubman documented freedom and leadership. Later artists like Bisa Butler quilt portraits that reclaim and deepen those legacies (EK 2.21.A.4). For the AP exam, be ready to explain how photographic self-representation challenged stereotypes and supported abolitionist work—use the topic study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Photos of formerly enslaved people like Harriet Tubman mattered because they turned a new technology—photography—into political proof. By sitting for cartes-de-visite, albumen, and collodion portraits, Tubman and others (like Frederick Douglass, the most photographed man of the 19th century) used photographic self-representation to contradict racist stereotypes and show Black people as dignified citizens deserving of equal rights (CED EK 2.21.A.1, EK 2.21.A.3). Tubman’s images also tied into abolitionist work: portraits helped raise funds, promoted her leadership as a Black woman, and made the achievements of formerly enslaved people visible—evidence of freedom’s possibilities. Contemporary artists (e.g., Bisa Butler) build on that legacy to preserve stories of resistance and faith. For review, check Topic 2.21’s study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Modern artists like Bisa Butler connect to historical Black leaders by reworking visual traditions that nineteenth-century leaders used to claim dignity and leadership. Butler’s quilted portrait I Go to Prepare a Place for You centers Harriet Tubman, using African American quilting techniques, diasporic patterns, and religious symbolism to highlight Tubman’s faith, leadership, and resistance (EK 2.21.A.4). That mirrors how Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass used carte-de-visite and other photographic formats to fundraise, assert citizenship, and counter racist stereotypes (EK 2.21.A.1–3). Butler transforms photographic self-representation into tactile, large-scale quilted images that preserve leaders’ legacies and connect Black aesthetic traditions to gender, religious, and diasporic themes—exactly the kinds of continuities the AP CED asks you to explain for LO 2.21.A. For a quick refresher on this topic, check the Topic 2.21 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass both used photography to push back against racist stereotypes, but they did it in different, strategic ways. Truth sold carte-de-visite portraits to raise money for abolition, to publicize her speaking tours, and to highlight Black women's leadership (CED EK 2.21.A.2). Her images circulated as fundraising and promotional tools tied to activism. Douglass, meanwhile, became the nineteenth century’s most photographed man; his portraits were deliberately dignified and widely reproduced to show that formerly enslaved people could be accomplished citizens deserving of equal rights (CED EK 2.21.A.1, A.3). In short: Truth used photography as a fundraising and organizing tool that centered Black women’s leadership; Douglass used repeated, carefully staged portraits to normalize Black achievement and claim full civic dignity. (See the Topic 2.21 study guide: https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe.) For more practice on CED-aligned questions, try Fiveable’s practice problems (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

In the 1800s African American leaders used photography—a brand-new tech—to shape public opinion and push for rights. They sat for carte-de-visite and other prints to show Black dignity, counter racist stereotypes, and prove formerly enslaved people could be respected citizens (EK 2.21.A.1). Sojourner Truth sold her cartes-de-visite to raise money for abolition, speak on tours, and recruit Black soldiers (EK 2.21.A.2). Frederick Douglass was the most photographed man of the century; images of him and Harriet Tubman showed Black achievement and freedom, strengthening abolitionist arguments and inspiring supporters (EK 2.21.A.3). These photos were evidence activists used in speeches, fundraising, and posters—an early media strategy to influence Northern audiences and policy. For more on this topic, check the Topic 2.21 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe). For practice, try problems at (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Black aesthetic traditions are visual and material practices—like quilted portraiture, photo self-representation, and diasporic symbolism—rooted in African American craft, religion, history, and gendered experience. They show resilience: 19th-century leaders used cartes-de-visite, collodion, and albumen prints to claim dignity and counter racist stereotypes (see Douglass, Truth, Tubman). Contemporary artists build on those traditions by reworking materials and iconography to connect past and present. For example, Bisa Butler’s quilted portraits (I Go to Prepare a Place for You) use African American quilting, religious imagery, and African motifs to honor Harriet Tubman’s leadership and faith while making the work tactile and public. On the AP exam, be ready to explain how visual choices (medium, composition, symbols) preserve legacies of resistance and show continuity/change across time (LO 2.21.A, EK 2.21.A.4). For more detail, check the Topic 2.21 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe), Unit 2 overview (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2), and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Bisa Butler’s quilts relate to African American resistance by using quilted portraiture to reclaim and celebrate Black leadership and dignity—the same goal nineteenth-century Black photographers had when they used new technology to counter racist stereotypes (EK 2.21.A.1–.3). In I Go to Prepare a Place for You Butler reimagines Harriet Tubman through African American quilting traditions, diasporic patterns, and religious symbolism to highlight Tubman’s faith, leadership, and bravery (EK 2.21.A.4). Her work is tactile and public: it preserves memory, centers Black women’s roles in abolition, and resists erasure by making history visible in a medium tied to communal labor and survival. For the AP exam, you can connect Butler’s quilt to the required Tubman photos by explaining how both art and photography function as forms of visual self-representation and resistance (see the Topic 2.21 study guide: https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe). For extra practice, check Fiveable’s practice problems (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Photos mattered because pictures worked where words couldn’t. In the 19th century many people had limited literacy, but nearly everyone could see a photograph and instantly read its message: dignity, freedom, leadership. African American leaders like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth used new formats (carte-de-visite, albumen prints) that were cheap, reproducible, and portable—perfect for fundraising, recruiting Black soldiers, and circulating abolitionist messages. Photos countered racist stereotypes by showing formerly enslaved people as respectable citizens worthy of rights, and they created visual evidence of Black achievement that newspapers, lectures, and exhibitions could amplify. That visual power carries into contemporary art (e.g., Bisa Butler’s quilted portraits) which preserves and reinterprets those legacies. On the AP exam you might see this in a short-answer visual source or the project (LO 2.21.A); the topic study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe) and practice problems (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies) are great for drilling this.

Start with a clear thesis: what claim are you making about visual representations of Black leadership (e.g., “Photography and quilted portraiture reframed African American leaders as dignified citizens and carriers of collective memory”)? Then structure your essay: - Context (1 paragraph): situate images historically—19th-century embrace of photography (carte-de-visite, matte collodion, albumen prints) to counter stereotypes (EK 2.21.A.1–A.3). - Description + evidence (2 paragraphs): closely describe 2–3 images (e.g., Douglass’s portraits, Sojourner Truth’s cartes used for abolition fundraising, Bisa Butler’s I Go to Prepare a Place for You). Name dates, formats, and one visual detail per source that supports your claim. - Analysis (1 paragraph): explain purpose, audience, and how each image resists white narratives (self-representation, Black women’s leadership, diasporic symbolism). Tie Butler to Black aesthetic/quilting traditions (EK 2.21.A.4). - Comparison & significance (1 paragraph): compare strategies across media and explain long-term legacies (representation, memory, political mobilization). Remember AP requirements: cite each source by name, offer at least two explicit comparisons, and support claims with specific evidence (use the Selected Sources Template for your project). For review/examples, check the Topic 2.21 study guide (Fiveable) (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Photography was a powerful tool for the abolitionist movement because images let Black leaders control how they were seen. Nineteenth-century technologies like the carte-de-visite, matte collodion, and albumen prints helped people such as Frederick Douglass (the most photographed man of the century), Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth present themselves as dignified citizens deserving of rights (EK 2.21.A.1, A.3). Sojourner Truth sold carte-de-visites to raise money for abolition and recruitment; Tubman’s and Douglass’s portraits proved that formerly enslaved people could succeed in freedom, countering racist stereotypes (EK 2.21.A.2–3). Those photographs were used in lectures, fund-raising, and newspapers to persuade Northern audiences and build credibility. For AP prep, study the required photos in Topic 2.21 and use the Fiveable study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies) to link images to abolitionist strategies for the exam.

Art and photography preserve legacies of resistance by making Black leadership and dignity visible—and by controlling the story. In the 19th century, leaders like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth used photographic self-representation (carte-de-visite, albumen, matte collodion prints) to counter racist stereotypes, raise money (Truth’s cartes), recruit soldiers, and show that formerly enslaved people were citizens worthy of respect (LO 2.21.A; EKs 2.21.A.1–3). Contemporary artists build on those visual traditions: Bisa Butler’s quilted portrait I Go to Prepare a Place for You reinterprets Tubman’s leadership through quilting, diasporic symbolism, religion, and gender (EK 2.21.A.4). For the AP exam/project, use these images as primary sources—cite specific details, explain purpose/audience, and compare how older photos and modern art each preserve resistance (this fits Skill 2: Source Analysis and Skill 3: Argumentation). For more examples and review, see the Topic 2.21 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/21-legacies-of-resistance-in-african-american-art-and-photography/study-guide/i6dgSRQeJckJJ4Qe) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).