an Internet-Based Treasure Hunt on African Americans

Instructions | The Questions | The Internet Resources | The Big Question

Instructions

Use the Internet links below to uncover some "Treasures" of African American history past and present.

Each resource link is used once to answer one question, but some links do not work any more, so in some cases you will have to find alternative websites for the questions.

Do not try to cheat or copy your answers from another student. You must not work in pairs, this is an individual activity. If you try to cheat, you will get a negative mark, and you will have to answer some further questions, too.

After finding all the answers, move to the Big Question to bring your ideas together in a broader understanding of the topic.

Questions

1. In the years before Black History Month began to be celebrated, how often were African Americans lynched?
2. How many million slaves did prominent abolitionist Frederick Douglass estimate there were in the years before the Civil War?
3. When the conflict over abolition ended with the Civil War, what did demonstrators outside the White House say was the one thing more that they needed?
4. Sixty years after the Civil War ended, what federal program helped to preserve the oral histories of people who had been slaves?
5. Who came before Rosa Parks in protesting the segregation of public transportation?
6. What was it that made Nat Turner lead his famous revolt in 1831?
7. What famous black leader said, "over blacks must be their king, Not white, but of their somber hue, To rule a nation of themselves?"
8. How does Martin Luther King Jr. think negroes in 1963 compare to slaves in 1863?
9. What were the people at the Million Man March supposed to do right after they took the pledge?
10. What's the last sentence of the poem recited at the inauguration of President Clinton? Describe the spirit behind it.
11. Describe two habits of Nelson Mandela that show his serious dedication to achieving his goals.
12. Who knew by the age of 10 that he wanted to be a revolutionary?

Resources

• February is Black History Month is an article by professor Yaw Boateng
• Influence of Prominent Abolitionists shows important people working to free slaves.
• Conflict of Abolition and Slavery gives information about the struggle during the Civil War.
• Introduction to the Work Projects Administration celebrates various artist works by African Americans created during the Great Depression.
• Sojourner Truth is a more modern historical description of the heroine of freedom
• A Profile of Nat Turner: leader of a rebellion
• Marcus Garvey: wrote poems about "White and Black"
• Martin Luther King Jr.: The famous "I have a Dream" speech
• Tupac Shakur: commentary from the African-American News Service
• Maya Angelou "On the Pulse of the Morning"
• Nelson Mandela: biographical information
• The Million Man March Pledge: from Afro American Newspapers

The Big Question

Think over the questions above, the answers to them, and other things you've learned while exploring the Websites. Then put all this learning together by creating a thesis statement that points out the most important aspects of African-American history. What you're trying to convince people about is out of all the aspects of African-American history, what you're suggesting are the three most important.

Use the fields below and the "Build a Thesis" button to create your own "Report of Information" thesis statement. Don't copy sentences, just write a brief summary of the main ideas. Feel free to return to this page to adjust your wording, then click the button again to revise the Thesis window.

Note: Don't add any punctuation signs.
ThesisBuilder will do its best to put it in for you.

What's your name? What's an important aspect of African-American history? What's a second important aspect of African-American history? What's the most important aspect of African-American history? What's a possible title for your Essay?