Focus on Black America, Student's Book/Web

Broadbridge and Kristiansen FOCUS ON BLACK AMERICA SLAVERY · CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT · BARACK OBAMA · BLACK AMERICAN CULTURE TODAY ISBN 978-87-23-03561-5

bog, Har du eb! har du w

9 788723 035615 www.alinea.dk

EDWARD AND HANNA BROADBRIDGE WITH TANIA KRIS TIANSEN • ALINEA

STUDENT’S BOOK/WEB

ALINEA focuson.alinea.dk

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FOCUS ON BLACK AMERICA Edward and Hanna Broadbridge with Tania Kristiansen © 2012 Alinea, København - et forlag under Lindhardt og Ringhof Forlag A/S, et selskab i Egmont Mekanisk, fotografisk, elektronisk eller anden gengivelse af denne bog eller dele heraf er kun tilladt efter Copy-Dans regler.

Forlagsredaktion: Sissel Amundsen, Lise Nerlov og Katrine Fogsgaard Grafisk tilrettelægning: Poul Lange Omslagslayout: Poul Lange Trykkeri: GPS Group 1. udgave 5. oplag 2019 ISBN: 978-87-2303561-5

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CONTENTS INTRODUCTION + TIMELINE

4

1]

YES WE CAN!

A Black President?

The 2008 Election Results Obama’s 8 Steps to Becoming President

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12 14 15

2]

SLAVERY

16

3]

THE HOPE OF FREEDOM

20

4]

WHAT KIND OF FREEDOM?

34

5]

THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

44

6]

BLACK AMERICAN CULTURE TODAY

54

Cooperative Learning Structures Glossary

70 71

Remembering Slavery – Fountain Hughes

19

The Declaration and the War of Independence Slave Rebellions and the Anti-Slavery Movement Escaping From Slavery – The Underground Railroad A Runaway Story – James Lindsay Smith Go Down, Moses Uncle Tom’s Cabin The American Civil War

Jim Crow Laws Freedom Train The Harlem Renaissance The Ku Klux Klan Ku Klux The Lynch Mob – A Personal Tale Strange Fruit To Kill a Mockingbird

21 22 24 25 28 30 32

34 35 36 38 39 40 41 42

I Have a Dream Rosa Parks and the Bus Boycott The Freedom Rides Martin Luther King Malcolm X

44 45 46 48 51

The Beer Summit Basketball – THE Black Sport Black Painting Black Writing Black Music Epilogue

56 58 60 62 64 68

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e Af firs t ric s l th a to ave ey J s a ca am re n es br w to ou or w g k t n, ht M o V fr be irg om ar yl fre ini al an e. a, b lo d w be ut an sl c d ave om ne s e ve to s t r t b he o e b fi be o rs fre ug h t s t Th e. t a ate e fi nd to sla rs t so ve m ld ry ov be em gi en ns t in to Ph a b Th ila ol eA d e ish Br m lp ita eri hi a.

‘U in. can ni 13 Re t De ed s ta vol cl Sta tes uti ar te f on at s or io of m ag a n of Am an ins in t I e n d r Ve d e ic ep rm pe a’ a en nd nd d s t on at t b en si ent et e ce gn c o om . th ab e ol es ish th e sla fi ve rs t Th ry eF . it ug ill iti e v (fu gal e S gi to lav tiv b e e) e a La sla ru w m ve na a . wa ke y s

Th 1831 1863

1861-65

TIMELINE

1619

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1640

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1775

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1776

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1777

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1793

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INTRODUCTION

N

OVEMBER 4, 2008 was a historic day in the United States of America.

For the first time Americans voted for a president who was both black and white to lead them for the next 4 years. Barack Obama was a symbol of Martin Luther King’s dream of black and white together. That dream began with the arrival of African slaves in America in the 16th century. They dreamed of Africa. When they gave up that dream, they dreamed of freedom. When the slaves were set free in 1865, they dreamed of equality with the white people. Thanks to Martin Luther King and other activists in the 1960s they were given the same civil rights as whites. And then came a black president!

BUT DOES THIS MEAN that blacks and whites are at last equal in the USA? Some would say, Yes, look at all the successful black people in the last 100 years!

Others would say, No, look at how poor blacks still are compared to whites and all the other racial groups in the USA. Now you can read Focus on Black America and judge for yourself. And before you start, discuss in class how you can keep up to date with what’s happening in the USA. WITH THIS BOOK you also get access to the website focuson.alinea.dk, where you will find digital resources such as soundtracks, links and worksheets.

SEVERAL CHAPTERS in the book begin with a quotation from one of Barack Obama’s two books: Dreams from My Father (autobiography) and The Audacity of Hope (politics). These quotations are comments on American society and add a perspective to the content of the chapter.

Th

e is imp n o or lo tat ng io er n o al f s lo la N at w ve ed s Tu . rn er ’s sla In ve ‘T re be sla he A lli ve m on s a is t fa re ad ils re Ca . le s as e’ Th e c e d ap by t u W Und la re h i er w d . th tes gro e S he un ou lp s d R th la ai to ves lro th to ad e N e be Th eb or scap gin th e s. pu oo . fro bl k U i s m – a he nc nd d. le T it It i om is s a ’s a b ga C es ins a bi Th ts t n i el sla s eA le v N m r. er or er y th ica th w n e S an C ou ts ivil th to W w a b ar. an o T 18 ts lish he 63 to s ke lav fre Pre ep er e a sid it. y, th ll t en e E he t L m sl inc an av o cip es ln at in pro En io th m n e is d Pr N es o sla f t oc or to h la th ve e m w C s an a iv at it io h d re il W th fr n. e S ee ar . d ou in Al th th l th . eN e or th

TO HELP YOU get a quick overview of black history in the USA we begin with a Timeline. It includes all the dates mentioned in the book.

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1807

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1831

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1841

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1843

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1852

1861-65

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1863

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1865

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e

e to firs t sit ‘Ji in m se Cro pa w ra ’ L te aw se s Th ct fo io rc eJ ns e be azz of bla co A tr cks m ge ai es be ns . po gi pu ns. la Bl r. ac km Bl us ac ic So ks s ut tar h tt to o th m e N igr or ate th fr om .

Th eH th lit ar e er le at m ur Re eb n ec ais om sa es nce CO po . B R pu lac or E (C la k ga o r. n n an ize gre d s i ss w n o hi C f te h i Ra s fi ca ci g h go al E tin wi qu By g th ali fo bl ty la r c ac ) w lo , ivi ks ng se lr er gre ig ht al ga lo te s. w d ed s c . ho ol Ro sa sa re P no se ar at ks Co to a re f ur w use t j hi s ud te to ge pa gi s i ss ve n en up he ge h r f r. er av Th b or e us Su . pr em

Th

1963

1881

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1912

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1915

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1921

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1942

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1954

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1955

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1. QUESTION AND ANSWER – IN PAIRS

1955

Read the Timeline and take turns to ask and answer: Student A: What happens in 1619?

Student B: The first slaves are ...

2. HISTORICAL QUIZ – IN GROUPS OF 4

Make a quiz for another group where you use the facts from the time-line.

You can make it as a multiple choice e.g.

When was Martin Luther King murdered?

A. In 1963 B. In 1968 C. In 1962 Or you can just ask your questions.

Make sure to write down the right answers.

3. DISCUSS – IN PAIRS

2008

What are the most important events on the timeline? Make a list of 5 events. Why have you chosen these?

Th

e M ‘Fre ar ed t N in L om ob u R el the id e Pr r s’ ize Kin be fo g r gin r P ec .

M ea eiv ar ce es tin .

‘I th ha Lu e ve the m a r ur d K d e re ing re am s a d 5 ’. H ys, ye e ar is Pr sl es at i d rig en er . ht t J s o bl to hn ac t s k M he on us bla giv lim ck es le s. M full ad a c Th er lco ivil eB , is l m m lac m X ov k ur , a em Po de en we re tb r d. eg in s.

Ca ro be l M co os el me eley ec s te the Bra d to firs un th t b e U la S ck Th Se w eT na om te an be V h . co o s bi me t O lli s on th pra ai e fi h W re rs . t b inf la rey Ba ck ra c fir k O st b is bla ama aw ck U be fo ard S p co r P ed re me ea th si s ce e d e the . No nt be an lP d riz e

e

1961

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1961

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1963

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1965

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1966

1993

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2003

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2009

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“W

e hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Those simple words are our startingpoint as Americans; they describe not only the foundation of our government but the substance of our common creed.

Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope

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1 ] YES WE CAN! George Washington: 1st President of the USA (1789-97) Thomas Jefferson: 3rd President of the USA (1801-09) Abraham Lincoln: 16th President of the USA (1861-65) John F. Kennedy: 35th President of the USA (1961-63) Jimmy Carter: 39th President of the USA (1977-81) Ronald Reagan: 40th President of the USA (1981-89) George Bush: 41st President of the USA (1989-93) William Jefferson Clinton: 42nd President of the USA (1993-2001) George W. Bush: 43rd President of the USA (2001-09) Barack Hussein Obama: 44th President of the USA (2009-

IT’S NOT DIFFICULT to spot the odd man out! After 43 white presidents came a black man. It’s important to note that Obama is half-black, half white. But he is regarded by the world – and by himself – as being black.

Also – he has a very different name:

His father died in a traffic accident in Nairobi, Kenya in 1982. His mother died of cancer in 1995.

Barack grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia. He studied law at Harvard University, and was a brilliant student. He joined the Democratic Party and became Senator for Illinois in 2004 in the US Congress in Washington.

Barack: his father’s first name, from the Arabic

and Jewish word ‘baruch’ (blessed)

Obama: his father’s and grandfather’s tribal

He met Michelle Robinson in 1989 and married her in 1992. She is from a black working-class family in South Chicago with roots going back to slavery. They have two children, Malia Ann born in 1998 and Natasha (“Sasha”) born in 2001.

Obama’s father came from Kenya. His mother came from Kansas, USA. They met in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii, USA, where Obama’s father was a foreign student.

Barack was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961.

His parents divorced when he was 3 years old.

Barack Obama became a national figure when he made a prime-time TV speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. In 2007 he decided to run for President at the 2008 election.

His slogan was: “Yes we can.” One of his supporters, a member of the rock group Black Eyed Peas, made a song about him.

Hussein: his grandfather’s first name, from Arabic meaning ‘good’ or ‘handsome’

name, from the Luo tribe of Kenya

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Yes We Can

by Will.i.am

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.

Yes we can. Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can. Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountain-top and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality. (yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can…)

Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.

Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.

Yes we can heal this nation. Yes we can repair this world. Yes we can. Si Se Puede. (yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can…)

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We want change!

(We want change! We want change! We want change…)

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant.

We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check.

We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

We want change! (We want change! I want change! We want change! I want change…)

The hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea - Yes. We. Can. (yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can…)

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1 ] YES WE CAN!

1. “YES WE CAN” ON THE INTERNET

Watch the video on focuson.alinea.dk Answer these questions: A. How many people do you see in the video?

B. How many different nationalities do you see?

C. Do you recognize any of the people in the video? Who? Discuss your answer with your partner and agree on the best answers.

Share your answers with your class.

2. INSIDE-OUTSIDE CIRCLE© PRESENTATIONS

The rap mentions a lot of historical facts: 1. the founding documents 2. immigrants from distant shores 3. pioneers who pushed westward 4. workers who organized 5. women who reached for the ballots 6. a President who chose the moon as our new frontier Choose one of the facts above and try to explain what it refers to. E.g. explain what ‘the founding documents’ might be. Your presentation must be about 1 minute long.

The Inside-Outside Circle structure is presented on page 70.

JANUARY 18, 2009: Will.i.am performs at the ceremony of President elect Barack Obama’s inauguration as the 44th President of the United States.

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A Black President?

I

n order to become the Democratic candidate Barack Obama first had to defeat fellow-Democrat Hillary Clinton, wife of former president Bill Clinton. When Obama won the nomination in August 2008, Hillary Clinton put all her support behind him, as did a number of famous people such as Eddie Murphy, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and Oprah Winfrey.

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1 ] YES WE CAN

BUT WOULD AMERICANS vote for a black president? A conversation was overheard by a friend of the authors of this book:

the USA, if you are of mixed race, for example black and white, you are considered a black, not a white. So how did this come about? To understand Obama’s background we need to go back in time. Even before the ‘United States of America’ came into being in 1776, there were both black and white people in the country.

But before we do that, let’s take a look at how you become President in the United States.

First white man: I like Obama, but I don’t think I can vote for a black.

Second white man: Well, can’t you vote for the white half of him?

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This anecdote represented the dilemma of many white Americans. After 8 years of President George W. Bush the desire for change was great, but Americans now had to vote not only for new policies but also for a black man. For in

POINT OF DISCUSSION

Why do some white Americans find it difficult to vote for a black man?

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1 ] YES WE CAN!

THE 2008 ELECTION RESULTS

T

here are two major political parties in the USA, the Republicans and the Democrats. It was the Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, who freed the slaves in 1863, and it was the Democratic president, Lyndon Johnson, who gave them their civil rights in 1965. For the last 50 years or so, blacks have voted overwhelmingly Democratic. Basically the South and Midwest tend to vote Republican, while the East votes Democrat. In the 2008 election Obama surprisingly beat his Republican rival, John McCain, in a number of traditionally Republican states, such as Florida.

IN A PRESIDENTIAL election each of the 50 states has a certain number of Electoral Votes depending on their population numbers. The more people that live in the state, the larger the number of electoral votes – these are the votes that actually choose the new president. Thus California has 55.

Texas, though much bigger in area has 34, while another large state like Wyoming has only 3. Here are the results from 2008, with blue states for Obama, red states for McCain, and the number of electoral votes for each state.

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OBAMA’S 8 STEPS TO BECOMING PRESIDENT HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:

In the USA only Republicans or Democrats have a serious chance of becoming president.

Obama had an election staff of over 1,000, paid partly by campaign funds and partly by the Democratic party.

STEP 1 – BE AN AMERICAN (the only legal demand) Be at least 35 years old and a citizen born in the United States or to American parents abroad. You also need to have been a U.S. resident for at least 14 years. So, however popular Arnold Schwarzenegger was as a film star and as Governor of California from 2003 to 2011, he can never become president, because he was born in Austria to Austrian parents. Obama was born in Hawaii, the 50th and last state to join the Union in 1959.

STEP 6 – BE WILLING TO TRAVEL You will need to travel the length and breadth of the country as each state votes – first for its candidate (the ‘caucus’ vote), then for the country’s president. Since Iowa is the first state to vote, you need to go there often!

STEP 7 – FIND A RUNNING MATE Your ‘running mate’ is the person you want to be your vice-president. He/She is often a contrast to yourself, and must be capable of taking over as president, if you should fall from office (Richard Nixon in 1974), or die (John F. Kennedy in 1963).

Obama chose Joe Biden as a respected and experienced senator. And he was also a lawyer!

STEP 2 – QUALIFY YOURSELF You need a university degree – and out of 44 presidents, 25 have been lawyers! Obama gained a law degree from Harvard in 1991.

STEP 8 – RUN A HARD CAMPAIGN AGAINST YOUR RIVAL After 8 years with President George W. Bush, Obama promised “Change you can believe in” and used “Yes we can” as his slogan.

STEP 3 – GET SOME EXPERIENCE AND DEFEAT ALL THE RIVALS IN YOUR OWN PARTY All the candidates have long political experience as Senators or Congressmen. Your campaign will begin in January of the election year and will last until November. Your party will select their candidate in August.

1. COUNT THE VOTES – IN PAIRS

STEP 4 – INSPIRE OTHERS You need to have a program to change the country, a good campaign slogan, and the charisma to inspire others to put it into practice. You need a team of strategists, spokespeople, and speechwriters.

Using a map of the USA, identify all the 50 states in the illustration, whom their people voted for, and how many states altogether went to the Democrats and the Republicans.

You can write the information on worksheet 1 on the Focus on-website.

STEP 5 – FIND SOME MONEY George W. Bush spent $186 million on his campaign in 2000 and $258 million in 2004.

Obama spent a massive $740.6 million in 2008.

2. COMPARE ELECTIONS IN DK AND THE US – IN PAIRS

What do you need to become a Danish Prime Minister?

Write down the necessary steps for her or him.

Use worksheet 2 on the Focus on-website.

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The British Brookes slaveship from 1788 was built to carry max. 450 but in fact carried over 600 slaves, chained by hands and feet. Many died of illness and starvation and only half of them became effective workers.

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2] SLAVERY

A

t the bank where she worked, Toot (Barack’s white grandmother) made the acquaintance of the janitor, a tall and dignified black World War II vet she remembers only as Mr. Reed. While the two of them chatted in the hallway one day, a secretary in the office stormed up and hissed that Toot should never, ever, “call no nigger ‘Mister’.” Not long afterward, Toot would find Mr. Reed in a corner of the building weeping quietly to himself. When she asked him what was wrong, he straightened his back, dried his eyes, and responded with a question of his own. “What have we ever done to be treated so mean?”

Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father

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the Americas between 1540 and 1850.

In America, at first the whites regarded the slaves as servants who could work to be free, but in 1640 Maryland became the first state to allow slaves to be bought and sold and never to be free. Slaves were treated much better in the Northern States than in the South. Most of the white settlers in the Southern states came from Britain or Germany. They set their slaves to work especially in the cotton or tobacco fields.

A VISIT TO A PLANTATION In the early 1850s Frederick Olmsted wrote the following for the New York Daily Times about a plantation in Mississippi which he visited together with the white overseer: the Southwest the Negroes, as a “rule,Throughout appeared to be worked much harder than in the Eastern and Northern Slave States ... They are constantly and steadily driven up to their work, and the stupid, plodding, machine-like manner in which they labor, is painful to witness.

This was especially the case with the hoe-gangs.

One of them numbered nearly two hundred hands (for the force of two plantations was working together), moving across the field in parallel lines, and not one of them lifted an eye from the ground ... I think it told a more painful story than any I had ever heard, of the cruelty of slavery.

As we were crossing a gully the overseer suddenly stopped his horse exclaiming, ‘What’s that? Hallo! Who are you, there?’

It was a girl lying at full length on the ground at the bottom of the gully, evidently intending to hide herself from us in the bushes.

‘Who are you, there?’

‘Sam’s Sall, sir.’

‘Have you been here all day?’

‘No, sir.’

‘How did you get here?’

The girl made no reply.

‘Where have you been all day?’

The answer was unintelligible. After some further questioning, she said her father accidentally locked her in, when he went out in the morning.

‘How did you manage to get out?’

‘Pushed a plank off, sir, and crawled out.’

FROM 1502 TO 1580 the Portuguese and Spanish sailed slaves from West Africa to their colonies in South America. All black Brazilians, such as the famous soccer player Pelé, are descendants of these slaves.

Between 1540 and 1850 about 15 million slaves were transported to North, Central, and South America as well as to the Caribbean islands. From 1650 until 1848 Denmark was also involved in the slave trade. As the seventh largest slave-trading nation Denmark exported 100,000 slaves from the Gold Coast (now Ghana) to North America. However, as the first nation in the world Denmark forbade the import of slaves from 1802. But it was not until 1848 that Denmark forbade the slave trade itself. Altogether, about 15 million Africans were transported to

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2 ] SLAVERY The overseer was silent for a moment, looking at the girl, and then said, ‘That won’t do; come out here.’

The girl arose at once, and walked towards him. She was about eighteen years of age. A bunch of keys hung at her waist, which the overseer saw, and he said, ‘Your father locked you in; but you have got the keys.’ After a little hesitation, she replied that these were the keys of some other locks; her father had the door-key.

Whether her story was true or false, could have been proved in two minutes by riding on to the gang with which her father was at work, but the overseer had made up his mind.

‘That won’t do,’ said he; ‘get down.’ The girl knelt on the ground; he got off his horse, and struck her thirty or forty blows across the shoulder with his raw-hide whip. At every stroke the girl winced and exclaimed, ‘Yes, sir!’ or ‘Ah, sir!’ or ‘Please, sir!’ not groaning or screaming.

At length he stopped and said, ‘Now tell me the truth.’ The girl repeated the same story.

‘You have not got enough yet,’ said he; ‘pull up your clothes, lie down.’

The girl without any hesitation without a word … drew closely all her garments under her shoulders, and lay down upon the ground with her face toward the overseer, who continued to f log her with the raw-hide, across her naked loins and thighs, with as much strength as before. She now shrunk away from him, not rising, but writhing, groveling, and screaming, ‘Oh, don’t, sir! Oh, please stop, master! Please, sir! Please, sir! Oh, that’s enough, master! Oh, Lord! Oh, master, master! Oh, God, master, do stop! Oh, God, master! Oh, God, master!’

A young gentleman of fifteen was with us; he had ridden in front, and now turning on his horse, looked back with an expression only of impatience at the delay.

The overseer laughed, ‘She meant to cheat me out of a day’s work, and she has done it, too.’

It was the first time I had ever seen a woman flogged.

”

Slave quarters on a plantation on Cockspur Island, Georgia, in the mid-19th century.

1. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SLAVES?

Make a fact file about slaves.

Write down all the facts you know about slaves. Compare your notes with a partner. Write the new information down. You might even find more facts on the Internet.

2. INTERVIEW – IN PAIRS

Imagine that the girl in the story is given the opportunity to tell her version of the story to the New York Daily Times. Write an interview with the girl. It must be between 350-450 words.

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REMEMBERING SLAVERY – FOUNTAIN HUGHES Here are the words of an actual slave, born in 1840 and interviewed in Baltimore in 1941.

I’d have to be back, you know, whoever he sent me to, they, they’d give me another pass an’ I’d bring that back so as to show how long I’d been gone. We couldn’t go out and stay a hour or two hours or something like… But they’d give me a note so there wouldn’t nobody interfere with me and tell who I belong to. And when I come back, why, I carry it to my master and give that to him, that’d be all right. But I couldn’t jus’ walk away like the people does now, you know. It was what they call, we were slaves. We belonged to people. They’d sell us like they sell horses an’ cows an’ hogs and all like that. Have a auction bench, an’ they’d put you on, up on the bench and bid on you just the same as you bidding on cattle, you know.

My name is Fountain Hughes. I was born in Charlottesville, Virginia. My grandfather belonged to Thomas Jefferson. My grandfather was a hundred and fifteen years old when he died.

And now I am one hundred and one year old.

Interviewer: You talk about how old you are, Uncle Fountain. How far back do you remember?

Well, I’ll tell you. Things come to me in spells, you know. I remember things more when I’m laying down than I do when I’m standing or when I’m walking around. Now in my boy days, boys lived different from the way they live now.

Oh, oh you wore a dress like a woman till I was, I believe ten, twelve, thirteen years old.

Was that in Charlotte that you were a slave?

Hmmm?

So you wore a dress?

Was that in Charlotte or Charlottesville?

Yes. I didn’t wear no pants, and of course didn’t make boys’ pants. Boys wore dresses. The women’s wearing the pants now and the boy’s wearing the dresses. Still ... [laughs]

That was in Charlottesville.

Charlottesville, Virginia.

Selling women, selling men. All that. Then if they had any bad ones, they’d sell them to the nigger traders, what they called the nigger traders. And they’d ship them down south, and sell them down south. But, uh, otherwise if you was a good, good person they wouldn’t sell you.

But if you was bad and mean and they didn’t want to beat you and knock you around, they’d sell you to what, to what was called the nigger trader. They’d have a regular… have a sale every month, you know, at the courthouse. And then they’d sell you, and get two hundred dollars, a hundred dollars, five hundred dollars.

Who did you work for, Uncle Fountain, when…?

When I, you mean, when I was slave?

Yeah, when you were a slave. Who did you work for?

Well, I belonged to, uh, Burney, when I was a slave. My mother belonged to Burney. But we didn’t know nothing. They didn’t allow you to look at no book. And there was some free-born colored people, why, they had a little education, but there was very few of them where we was. And they all had uh, what you call, I might call it ‘sentence’ now, uh, ‘jail sentence’, it was just the same as we was in jail. Now I couldn’t go from here across the street or I couldn’t go through nobody’s house without I have a note or something from my master. And if I had that pass – that was what we call a ‘pass’ – if I had that pass, I could go wherever he sent me. And

1. INSIDE-OUTSIDE CIRCLE ©

Tell each other what you imagine it is like to be a slave.

2. LANGUAGE DIFFERENCES

Fountain Hughes doesn’t speak standard English. Find some examples.

The Inside-Outside Circle is presented on page 70.

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Broadbridge and Kristiansen FOCUS ON BLACK AMERICA SLAVERY · CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT · BARACK OBAMA · BLACK AMERICAN CULTURE TODAY ISBN 978-87-23-03561-5

bog, Har du eb! har du w

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EDWARD AND HANNA BROADBRIDGE WITH TANIA KRIS TIANSEN • ALINEA