Black Emancipators of the Nineteenth Century
Beryl Bailey and Marcella Flake
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Give FeedbackBLACK HISTORY RAP
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Refrain: To the B, B, black , black, to the B, Black History.
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Verse 1: Said Harriet Tubman, the number one woman, the one who set us free, first in the South, then to the North, and then to victory.
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Verse 2: Said Nat, Gabriel, and Denmark those men who once were slaves, they got together and had revolts against America’s so called braves.
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Verse 3: We are the people from Africa, brought here to America. We are the people from the richest land, brought here against our plan.
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Verse 4: We say to yall not in the fields, the ones of you who like to yield, stop those blacks from pickin’ those crops, stop those oppressors from runnin’ our shops.
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Verse 5: In 18-63 Lincoln said that were free, but we, knew that, Harriet Tubman proved that fact.
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Verse 6: There was no time in this ol’ land till Banneker came along. Then a tick tock a tickety tock came Benjamin’s ol’clock.
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Verse 7: Now what you hear is not a lie. It’s nothing but the truth. ‘cause we of (school’s name) have studied our history through.
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Verse 8: Have you ever been to a public school and could not learn a thing. I mean you learn George Washington, but not Martin King. So your mind starts steamin’ and your eyes start streamin’ the moment it’s time to read. And you say to your teacher, I don’t want to read this. I want to learn my history.
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Verse 9: There is a special edition to this song and we’d like you all to sing along. These teachers think their slick, try to bribe us with their tricks with a hip hop and it just won’t stop we’d rather hear more about the four black tops. Now there’s Martin King, the dreaming man. Malcolm X the man with the plan. Jesse Owens the running brave and Harriet Tubman freed the slave. Now these four tops they got down, teaching blacks to get around, with a hip hop and it just won’t stop, until we have reached the top.
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Verse 10: Somebody scream (Black History-sing 4 times)
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Verse 11: Malcolm X the man with the plan was born on May 19th. He fought hard. He fought long. Until they killed him viciously.
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Verse 12: Now that’s the end of Black History Rhyme. The rhyme that will always sharp your mind. READ, READ, READ, READ, . . . BLACK HISTORY
Beryl Bailey ’80
AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY CONTEST
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1. Who were the first people to create the sciences, medicine, dentistry, mathematics, shoes, cloth, the alphabet, and the first library?
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Answer: Africans.
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2. African women were the first creators of what?
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Answer: Architecture.
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3. Who did the Africans teach math to? Answer: The Greeks.
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4. Africans educated people from all over the world. Where did they educate them?
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Answer: At the University of Sankore.
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5. In what city was the University of Sankore located?
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Answer:Timbuktu.
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6. Who was Esop?
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Answer: Esop was an African philosopher who lectured to the Greeks, influenced the thinking of Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, and many others.
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7. Before the discovery of America, where did much of the world’s gold come from?
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Answer: Ghana.
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8. Gao is the capital of Songhay, true or false?
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Answer: true
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9. Who was the African who led a rebellion on the slave ship Amistad?
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Answer: Joseph Cinque.
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10. Africa was always considered to be underdeveloped and uncivilized. Compare Europe and Mali, an African State, in the 14th Century.
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Answer: In the middle of the 14th Century Europe was just beginning to feel the effects of her commercial revolution. Her states had not achieved anything resembling national unity; but Mali, under King Mansa-Musa and his successor enjoyed a flourishing economy with good international trade relations. King Mansa Musa could point with pride to a stable government extending several hundred miles from the Atlantic to Lake Chad.
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11. During the 14th Century were Africans uncivilized?
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Answer: No. The people adhered to a state religion that had international connections and learning flourished in the many schools that had been established.
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12. What King ruled Songhay from 1493-1529?
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Answer: Askia Mohammed, Songhay’a most brilliant ruler.
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13. Describe the empire of Songhay.
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Answer: It was the largest and most powerful state in the history of West Africa.
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14. Describe Ring Askia.
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Answer: King Askia was the equal of the average European monarchs of the time and superior to many of them. King Askia sought to improve every area of his empire.
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15. What area did King Askia give the most attention?
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Answer: The area of education. Schools were established everywhere. Gao, Walata, Timbuktu, and Jenne became intellectual centers where the most learned scholars of West Africa were concentrated. Scholars from Asia and Europe came for consultation and study.
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16. What were some of the courses taught at the University of Saukore in the town of timbuktu?
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Answer: black and white youth studied grammar, geography, law, literature, and surgery.
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17. Who discovered the use of iron?
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Answer: The Africans are said to have discovered the use of iron. Africans were using iron when Europeans were still in the Stone Age. Africa exported iron for many years and blacksman and other workers in iron were found in many parts of Africa.
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18. Where in Africa were freed slaves from England and America settled?
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Answer: Descendants of African slaves in Britain liberated after the Somerest case in 1772 and others settled in Sierra Leone, West Africa, in 1787. This settlement pioneered the way for the founding of Liberia, to ex-slaves of the United States were sent.
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19. What was the underground railroad?
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Answer: The underground railroad was the most systematic method for taking slaves from the South to points north.
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20. When was the underground railroad organized:
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Answer: 1720
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21. What was the triangular trade route?
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Answer: Sugar from the West Indies was sent to New England. The sugar was used to make rum. Rum was sent to Africa and exchanged for slaves. The slaves were then taken to the West Indies.
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22. Name the slave who staged a rebellion on August 22, 1831.
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Answer: Nat Turner
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23. On what date did Sojourner Truth escape slavery?
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Answer: July 4, 1827.
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24. What were Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s feelings about slavery?
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Answer: “Slavery is mean because it tramples on the feeble and weak.”
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25. Quote Frederick Douglass regarding his feelings on his learning to read.
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Answer: As I read and contemplated the subject, behold that very discontentment which Master Hugh had predicted would follow. My learning to read had already come, to torment and sting my soul to unutterable anguish. As I writhed under it, I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out. In moments of agony I envied my fellow slaves for their stupidity . . . The silver trump of freedom had roused my soul to eternal wakefulness.
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26. Quote Harriet Tubman on the subject of freedom.
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Answer: There is two things I’ve got a right and these are Death and Liberty. One or the other I mean to have. No one will take me back alive; I shall fight for my liberty.
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27. How did William Still hope to unite slaves that had been separated from their families?
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Answer: By documenting the narratives of the slaves who passed through the underground railroad in Philadelphia.