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DEBATE
As of December 6, 1895 African-Americans were all legally set free.
However, most could not read or exercise any professional skills.
A major debate arose among the Southern freemen. Should they stay put, sharecrop, and gradually improve their lives? (BTW) Or should they get the heck out of the South and quickly integrate into professional society? (WEB Dubois)
Pretend you are all recently freed persons in Georgia. Debate this question in teams of 4 or 5:
Option 1
Do not leave.
Stay with your family.
Sharecrop.
Continue to live in the quarters you have always lived in.
Avoid the cold of the North.
Do not exercise the right of voting.
Go to schools like Tuskegee which will teach you a manual skill.
Enjoy music and the simply pleasures of life like Soul Food
Accept White segregation and racism as inevitable.
Option 2
Move North
Start your life over.
Learn a profession, or the assembly line.
Evacuate your old slave quarters
Acclimate to the snow and cold
Take the risk of voting
Go to schools like Harvard where you can learn to be a doctor or lawyer.
Insist on breaking into the new industries of athletics, entertainment, and inventing.
Demand that racism is unacceptable and worthy of fighting.
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