The trauma inflicted upon slaves as there families were ripped apart is atrocious.

Mrs. Ballard seems to not like how much alike the maid and her mistress her. Maybe she thinks the maid is out of line for being treated so well by her mistress?

Compare and Contrast the ways in which Whitfield portrays patriotism, liberty and hope in America and Self-Reliance. What role do these values play? In America he portrays patriotism, hope, and liberty in a dimmer light. He seems to justify why black people were mad about everything that happened to them.In Self-Reliance, those values are portrayed in a more positive light. The poem has a hopeful tone and shows pride in oneself. These values give a sense of being apart of America and having something to have pride in. They also most importantly relates to freedom.

Whitfield leaned on his religion for courage. He thought with his religion he could prevail through his troubled times. He thought everything would eventually work itself out for the good. But will it?

This has been one strategy for the liberation of black people. Black people leaving the US for other countries, mainly Africa. People who support this are called Pan-Africanist. What sense does it make to leave a country that I built to start over somewhere else?

Black people seem to use religion as therapy in a sense. It is used to make them feel better about the horrible conditions they're under. It also gives them hope during hopeless times. It could as serve as a way to get "justice" since they never got it on Earth.

Q1: How does Truth balance her discussion of abolitionism with her discussion of feminism within her speech? Q2: Truth's language is significantly simpler than the other writers we have read so far. How does this act as an advantage for her? How does this act as a disadvantage?

Q1: It is easier for her to talk about both because she is both. She is not only black. She is not only a woman. She was a black woman. Q2: The simpler speeches benefited her audience and herself since she couldn't read or write. The disadvantage could maybe be overlooked by bougie people who could view her work as low brow,

The word "man" seems to stand fro white men. She goes on to state that "the poor slave is on him" and "woman is coming up on him." These seem to stand for black men and white/black women, respectively.

This is significant because laws routinely don"t apply to black people. This can be paralleled with today's justice system. She successfully freed her son from slavery during an era where she didn't even own her own body. Remarkable!

This is a powerful statement. It is noted in italics to set it apart. She knows who she is and fully accepts that. She is not afraid to assert herself against a police officer who could brutalize her body.

This is interesting because the master terrorizes his slaves. A man who terrorizes other humans is afraid of someone else terrorizing him. Some people would call that karma. But I also think he feels like that because he know s everything he has done himself is wrong.

This is an example of trying erase history, censor free speech, and rewrite history into lies. Anything that disrupts the status quo, runs the risk of being censored by those in charge. Sometimes, like in his case, you have to go outside of that status quo area to fully tell your story. This also parallels with the attempted censorship that has been done by the current presidential administration.

At this time, "mulatto" was a slur for biracial/mixed slaves. These people existed usually from slave masters raping their female slaves. Mulatto was usually received for someone who was half and half. A mulatto's children could be called "quadroons" since they would only be a quarter white. These ideologies were used to perpetuate white genetic purity.

If this person was able to escape, why didn't the others follow their lead? Everyone else seemed to try to fight instead of retreat.

The author must have held the people mentioned in high regard to mention their names and give them dignity in death.

Is this word a slur for Native American/Indians or could this be some type of weapon?

I admire his ability to stand up and defend himself against his formidable masters. He did not allow them to break his spirit.

In this context this word means "a bundle of sticks or twigs bound together as fuel." Now, this word is used as a slur for gay men or calling someone an idiot. It's funny how a word's mean can change so much over a short period of history.

This is an accurate description of chattel slavery. Slaves were dehumanized to justify treating them inhumanely. They could be bought, sold, traded, and inherited just as livestock.

This penchant for disobedience seemed to work for him in both good and bad ways.

Booker T. Washington was a big proponent for African Americans learning trades. When Booker T. Washington founded Tuskegee University, the student built the buildings themselves, harvested their own food, and provided for their basic necessities. He thought learning skills would lead to the advancement of African Americans.

The wording of this is interesting. This seems to try to humanize a person who dehumanized others. How "good" could a Master be when he enslaved a human being?