African American Culture
Directions: Read the following passage and complete the questions from section 20.11
Africans arrived in the United States speaking many languages and following many cultural traditions. To survive, they had to learn a new language—English—and adopt a new way of life. Yet they did not forget their African roots. Across the South, slaves combined their old traditions and new realities to create a distinctive African American culture.
This combining of cultures is evident in Harriet Powers’s story quilt. In square after square, Powers used animals from Africa and America to illustrate Bible stories that she learned as a slave on a Georgia plantation. The doves in her quilt are symbols of a slave’s yearning for freedom. As one spiritual expressed, “Had I the wings of a dove, I’d fly away and be at rest.”
You can also hear this combining of cultures in the songs and spirituals sung by slaves.These songs throb with the rhythms and harmonies of Africa, but speak about the realities of slavery. Slaves sang about faith, love, work, and the kindness and cruelty of masters.They also expressed their oppression, as in this song recorded by Frederick Douglass:
We raise the wheat, dey gib [they give] us the corn;
We bake the bread, dey gib us the cruss;
We sif the meal, dey gib us the huss;
We peel the meat, dey gib us the skin;
And dat’s the way dey takes us in.
Slave dances were based on African traditions as well. Dancing helped slaves to put aside their cares, express their feelings, and refresh their spirits. According to one former slave, good dancers “could play a tune with their feet, dancing largely to an inward music, a music that was felt, but not heard.”
African legends and folk tales survived in the stories and jokes told by slaves. For example, Br’er Rabbit, the sly hero of many slave tales, was based on the African trickster Shulo the Hare. In these stories, the small but clever brother rabbit always managed to outwit larger, but duller, brother bear or brother fox—just as slaves hoped to outwit their more powerful masters.
Directions: Watch this story about Br'er Rabbit and answer the following questions.
1. Who does Br'er Rabbit represent?
2. Who do brother bear and brother fox represent?
3. How does Br'er Rabbit get out of the trap?
4. Describe how this story can represent the relationship between a slave and his/her master.
Watch this video before proceeding
Slaves
Directions: Now that you know a little bit about African and African American Slaves in America, choose one of the two assignments to complete.
1. Pretend you are a slave. Write 7 diary entries explaining the days events. Include information such as: what your master is like, what your overseer is like, how you are controlled, your living conditions, your family, your religion, what you do for fun, etc. Be sure to include historical events covered in the reading. Be creative! Your diary should look like it could be from the 1800's!
2. Write a short play about one of the trips Harriet Tubman took to the north. What did they say to one another on their way to the north? How did they feel before, during and after the journey? What did they do and say when she fainted? What did they do and say when a slave catcher was nearby? Answer these questions and more in your script. Be prepared to present your play to the class!
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1. Who does Br'er Rabbit represent?
2. Who do brother bear and brother fox represent?
3. How does Br'er Rabbit get out of the trap?
4. Describe how this story can represent the relationship between a slave and his/her master.
Watch this video before proceeding
Slaves
Directions: Now that you know a little bit about African and African American Slaves in America, choose one of the two assignments to complete.
1. Pretend you are a slave. Write 7 diary entries explaining the days events. Include information such as: what your master is like, what your overseer is like, how you are controlled, your living conditions, your family, your religion, what you do for fun, etc. Be sure to include historical events covered in the reading. Be creative! Your diary should look like it could be from the 1800's!
2. Write a short play about one of the trips Harriet Tubman took to the north. What did they say to one another on their way to the north? How did they feel before, during and after the journey? What did they do and say when she fainted? What did they do and say when a slave catcher was nearby? Answer these questions and more in your script. Be prepared to present your play to the class!
Tools
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Previous Page Discussion Page