African American essay

You are required to answer one of three essay questions described below. The essay portion must be 4-5 pages in length, double-spaced, numbered, include 1-inch margins, use 12 point Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman font.

Your essay must include a Works Cited page. The citation style of the Works Cited page may be either Chicago, APA, or MLA. The selected citations must be appropriate to the exam topic and the citations must support the assertions made in the exam. Your essay should also include either in-text citations or footnotes depending upon the formatting style selected (Chicago, APA, or MLA).

Your essay will include three main parts—the Thesis/Introduction, Argument, and Conclusion.

The Introduction section should clearly state the thesis within the first 1-2 paragraphs. The thesis must be relevant and appropriate to the argument and demonstrate an accurate and complete understanding of the question. This section should make it clear which question you are answering, but it should do more than restate the question by offering a brief response and it should be free of grammar and spelling errors.

The Argument section (3-4 pages) should incorporate pertinent details from the assigned readings but you may also use outside readings. The section must provide relevant historical evidence to support the thesis and the key claims made in the argument as needed. It should maintain focus and avoid sidetracking. It should present your answer to the question clearly and concisely in an organized manner and it should be free of grammar and spelling errors.

The Conclusion section should be in the last part of your essay exam within the last 1-2 paragraphs. It should briefly restate the thesis and summarize the main points of the argument. It should also demonstrate insight and understanding regarding the question asked and it should be free of grammar and spelling errors.

A scoring rubric for the essay portion is included below. Please answer one of the following essay questions:

1. Often when reading texts on the history of North American slavery, a number of generalizations are made to condense the experiences of enslaved Africans and African Americans. However, it is important to note that there were variations and that there was not just one experience. A variety of factors could and did create different experiences for the enslaved. Two factors are gender and location. In this essay, discuss how gender and location created different experiences for the enslaved. For location, be sure to go beyond the generalizations of North and South. In addition to these factors, select one additional factor of your own choosing to analyze. In total, your essay should address THREE factors: gender, location, and a factor that you select on your own.

2. Historian David Levering Lewis coined the term “civil rights by copyright” to analyze the ways in which black writers of the Harlem Renaissance era (1919 – 1940) used their pens (both consciously and unconsciously) to challenge racial inequality. Though Lewis focuses on writers, one can also extend this idea of “civil rights by copyright” to other other artists of his period, including musical and visual artists. As a whole, the works of these artists reflected varying strategies for advocating for the advancement of blacks in American society. Select three African American artists of the Harlem Renaissance era and discuss how their artistic work combated American racism. At least one of the artists selected should be a writer.

3. Movement is an important and enduring theme in the study of African American history. Black migration and immigration, both voluntarily and involuntarily, have shaped not only the African American community but the entire nation in transformative ways. Beginning with the Middle Passage and extending your analysis to the Great Migration, discuss how black migration and immigration have shaped African American history. In addition to the Middle Passage and the Great Migration, identify at least one other period in American history covered during Weeks 1 to 4 in this course that is characterized by an important shift in the migration and/or immigration of people of African descent.