Lesson 6– African Americans – Part Two

Please read Freedom’s Main Line (p. 32 in A Place at the Table)

1. Describe the racial policies of Louisville’s streetcar companies in 1870.

2. What character traits are revealed in the actions of the following people: the Fox brothers and Horace Pearce? Col. John H. Ward? Carey Duncan?

3. What effect did the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1896 ruling in the case of Plessy vs Ferguson have on racial segregation in the South?

4. What distinguished the Louisville streetcar boycotts from similar protests in other cities?

5. Choose one:

a. According to his epitaph, Thadeus Stevens requested to be buried in a racially integrated cemetery in order to “illustrate in my death the principles which I advocated through a long life – equality of Man before his Creator.” Write your own “epitaph,” expressing an idea or trait for which you would like to be remembered.

b. Using John Hope’s speech in “Be Dissatisfied” as a model, write a short essay in which you urge your audience to accept a call to action on an issue of importance and meaning to you.

Please read Nightriding With the Klan (p. 102 of Us and Them)

6. What circumstances in his life contributed to Tiger Knowles’ feelings of alienation and of hostility toward minorities?

7. What about the Klan was enticing to Knowles?

8. Why do you think Tiger Knowles and Henry Hays killed Michael Donald, and why did they remain unaffected by Donald’s plea for his life?

9. How do you explain the fact that Hays and Knowles drove around with Donald’s body in the car trunk, displaying it to others?

10. Have you ever gone along with a group even though you knew what they were doing was wrong? Explain.

11. Why do you think Beulah Mae Donald was able to forgive Tiger Knowles?

12. Write a journal entry recording your feelings and impressions as you read the story of Tiger Knowles.

13. Choose one of the following:

a. Write a letter to Beulah Mae Donald telling her what is being done in your home, school or community to make the world a more tolerant place. Also, explain what you can do as an individual to promote tolerance.

b. Compile a list of tactics a hate group might use to recruit young members. Include the kinds of statements a recruiter might make. Then write responses that could be given to resist each of them.

Now let’s go to the Web to read a short bio of John Hope.

14. Choose at least three events in Hope’s life that you feel were significant. Describe them, and explain your reasons for choosing those particular events.