AP African American Studies

AP African American Studies - Summer Assignment

For this assignment, you will do some reading, some research, and a lot of reflection. You must complete all parts of the assignment and be prepared to submit your work via Google Classroom on the first day of class.

PART 1 - READING OF HOW THE WORD IS PASSED BY CLINT SMITH

You will need to acquire a copy of How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith through one of these means:

• 
  Check out one of the copies available at the NHS Library (first come first served, see Ms. Bradley)

• Check out the e-book or audio book through Sora, the NHS Library’s digital reading app. You can go to soraapp.com or download the Sora app through the app store on your phone. You will then need to search for the MLS Commonwealth EBook Collection and log-in with your school Google account. You can link to Sora from the NHS Library’s web page: Norwood High School Library. Access to Sora is free for NHS students.

• Check out the book from the Norwood Morrill Memorial Library. If there are no copies available in-house when you initially request, they can get one from another local library loaned for you to check out.

• Purchase the book through a bookstore of your choice. If you plan to order online, I recommend using Frugal BookStore Bookshop, an online store that supports the Frugal Bookstore, a Black-owned store in Boston. 

You will then read portions of the book according to the list below:

1. ALL STUDENTS must read the Prologue (pages 3-7 in the print copy of the book)

2. You must then CHOOSE 2 CHAPTERS to read. Each chapter focuses on a specific place and describes how the space “remembers” slavery and its role in shaping the United States. A brief description of the focus location for each chapter is below:

   1. Monticello Plantation - Thomas Jefferson’s plantation in Charlottesville, VA, where most of the 300+ enslaved people he owned lived and worked.

   2. The Whitney Plantation - a plantation property in Louisiana that houses a museum about experiences of enslaved people, including an exhibit on the 1811 Louisiana Slave Revolt

   3. Angola Prison - the Louisiana State Penitentiary, a maximum security state prison, that sits on the former site of one of the largest plantations in the state and held hundreds of enslaved people

   4. Blandford Cemetery - a cemetery in Virginia that includes a large mass-grave of Confederate soldiers and has long been the site of prominent Memorial Day celebrations

   5. Galveston Island - a Texas island in the Gulf of Mexico where enslaved people belatedly learned of their freedom from the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865, inspiring the Juneteenth holiday

   6. New York City - documents the city’s relationship with slavery, including the city’s financial sector’s ties to slavery, and highlights the under-recognition of this history in NYC

   7. Goree Island - an island in Dakar, Senegal, which was the largest slave-trading center in Africa from the 15th to 19th centuries

PART 2 - WRITTEN REFLECTION ON THE READING

After you have completed the assigned reading, answer the reflection questions below for BOTH of the chapters you read (so each question should have 2 responses). 1-2 paragraphs for each question for each place (6+ total)

1. In what ways does the story of this place reveal a lesser-known or difficult truth about the United States: what is that truth, why is it lesser-known and/or difficult, and why is it important to uncover it?

2. How does Smith’s discussion of this location reveal the central role the institution of slavery has played in the history of the United States?

3. How do the guides, historians, or other professionals choose to tell the story of this place? Why do you think they made those choices? How do the visitors (Smith or the others he speaks with) react to the telling of the story?

PART 3 - LOCAL INVESTIGATION AND RESEARCH

Think of a place in Massachusetts OR a place you have visited elsewhere that has some sort of relationship with slavery. If you think there aren’t any, there definitely are! Some things to consider:

• Slavery was legal in Massachusetts until 1783, so any place of prominence that was built before then very likely has some relationship to slave labor.

• Boston and Massachusetts were prominent places in the abolitionist movement, so many sites have significance in pushing for the abolition of slavery.

• While chattel slavery (the kind you think of when you think of American slavery - large numbers of enslaved people working on large plantations) never existed here, enslaved people did all kinds of work all around the country, especially domestic work.

IN YOUR RESPONSE DOCUMENT, ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PLACE (3-5 sentences each):

1. Which place are you writing about? Why did you choose it, or why did you visit it if you did so?

2. What is this place’s relationship to slavery?

3. How does this place tell its story about its relationship to slavery, if it does at all? If the story is told, what impact does that have? If the story isn’t told, or isn’t told well, how do you think it should be told?

GRADING RUBRIC:

Criteria

Evidence of Success

Points

Reflection on the reading

Each of the 6 responses demonstrates strong understanding of the reading and thoughtful reflection on the places discussed

24

4 per answer

Local investigation

Chosen place fits the expectation of the assignment, responses to each question demonstrate thoughtful reflection and connection to learning from HTWIP

6

2 per answer

TOTAL

30