“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” – Fannie Lou Hamer, American voting and women's r ...

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“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” – Fannie Lou Hamer, American voting and women's rights activist, community organizer, and a leader in the civil rights movement. In this class, we have looked at different ideas about freedom and liberty since the colonial era up to the turn of the twentieth century. In your final essay, you will put forth an argument/thesis statement about freedom in the U.S. focusing on the history of African Americans and using evidence from primary and secondary source materials.    The scope of the timespan you cover in your essay is your choice. For example, you can choose to only focus on the era of slavery. Or you can write about slavery as well as the experience of Black Americans after slavery ended, up to the early twentieth century. Use the following questions as a guide: What were some of the prevailing ideas about freedom in early U.S. history? Who got to define freedom? Who was included/not included? How have African Americans pursued freedom in this country over time? In what ways were they denied freedom during slavery/after slavery ended? What are some ways they carved out freedom for themselves even while enslaved? How did they engage in resistance against racial oppression during/after slavery ended? As you trace this history, keep in mind issues of race as it relates to gender, sexuality, and class. For example, how an African American woman experienced slavery was different from how an African American man experienced it. In addition, if you want to focus your essay on the experiences of African American women you can do so. Lastly, in the final 1-2 paragraphs of your essay, I want you to consider why this history matters now. How does the historical legacy of racial oppression in the U.S. continue to impact Black Americans today? Feel free to consider contemporary movements for racial justice (for example, the Black Lives Matter movement) and/or you might want to draw on something you learned listening to the 1619 Project. As you consider present-day racial oppression in this country, reflect on the following question, how do we get free? For example, what oppressive structural system(s) would need to be abolished or reformed? And/or what attitudes need to shift and how? Can you imagine a path towards more freedom for all Americans?