Jazz-inspired movie with archival footage

The movie is an invented story about the jazz scene, but it is interspersed with archival footage and photographs of famous poets and singers of the time.

In this context, what is the meaning of “archival”?

Yet the Philadelphia clubwoman is ashamed to say that her race created it and she does not like me to write about it. The old subconscious “white is best” runs through her mind. Years of study under white teachers, a lifetime of white books, pictures, and papers, and white manners, morals, and Puritan standards made her dislike the spirituals.

And now she turns up her nose at jazz and all its manifestations—likewise almost everything else distinctly racial. She doesn’t care for the Winold Reiss portraits of Negroes because they are “too Negro.” She does not want a true picture of herself from anybody.

Which best describes Hughes’s chief concern in this excerpt?

A play by Langston Hughes, Tambourines to Glory, was considered a failure. Some reviewers accused Hughes of creating caricatures of black life, with one-dimensional characters and too much humor.

In this context, what is the meaning of “caricatures”?

Based upon “Introduction to the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement,” what was the difference between the political goals and strategies of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X?

But, to my mind, it is the duty of the younger Negro artist, if he accepts any duties at all from outsiders, to change through the force of his art that old whispering “I want to be white,” hidden in the aspirations of his people, to “Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro—and beautiful!”

In this excerpt, Hughes is expressing the idea that

Which best describes Hughes’s purpose in “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain”?

To these the Negro artist can give his racial individuality, his heritage of rhythm and warmth, and his incongruous humor that so often, as in the Blues, becomes ironic laughter mixed with tears.

In this context, what is the meaning of “incongruous”?

But, to my mind, it is the duty of the younger Negro artist, if he accepts any duties at all from outsiders, to change through the force of his art that old whispering “I want to be white,” hidden in the aspirations of his people, to “Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro—and beautiful”?

In this context, what is the meaning of “aspirations”?

According to “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” Hughes believes that young African American artists should

According to “Introduction to the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement,” why was Brown v. Board of Education significant?

According to “Introduction to the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement,” the 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education marked the beginning of the

According to “Introduction to the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement,” which was one effect of the first wave of the Great Migration?

Which best describes Hughes’s purpose in “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain”?

And now she turns up her nose at jazz and all its manifestations—likewise almost everything else distinctly racial.

In this context, what is the meaning of “manifestations”?

But jazz to me is one of the inherent expressions of Negro life in America; the eternal tom-tom beating in the Negro soul—the tom-tom of revolt against weariness in a white world, a world of subway trains, and work, work, work; the tom-tom of joy and laughter, and pain swallowed in a smile.

How does Hughes inject elements of jazz into the excerpt?

The speaker in “Harlem” contemplates

If we must die—let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
Making their mock at our accursed lot.
If we must die—oh, let us nobly die
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
Oh, Kinsmen! We must meet the common foe;
Though far outnumbered, let us still be brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!
What though before us lies the open grave?
Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but—fighting back!

What sentence best conveys the speaker’s message?

He made that poor piano moan with melody.
O Blues!
Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool
He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.
Sweet Blues!
Coming from a black man’s soul.
O Blues!
In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone
I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan—
“Ain’t got nobody in all this world,
Ain’t got nobody but ma self.
I’s gwine to quit ma frownin’
And put ma troubles on the shelf.”

What is the effect of repeating the phrase “piano moan” in the poem?

Read the excerpt from “Harlem.”
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-
like a syrupy sweet?

Read the excerpt from “The Weary Blues.”
Droning a drowsy syncopated tune
Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon

In both poems, Hughes uses the imagery to

Ain’t got nobody in all this world,
Ain’t got nobody but ma self.
I’s gwine to quit ma frownin’
And put ma troubles on the shelf.

What is the effect of repeating the phrase “ain’t got nobody” in the poem?

The speaker’s tone in “Harlem” is best described as

He made that poor piano moan with melody.
O Blues!
Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool
He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.
Sweet Blues!
Coming from a black man’s soul.
O Blues!

The phrases “O Blues!” and “Sweet Blues!” are examples of

In what way are the lines of “The Weary Blues” similar to the lyrics of a blues song?

Making their mock at our accursed lot.
If we must die—oh, let us nobly die,
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
Oh, Kinsmen! We must meet the common foe;
Though far outnumbered, let us still be brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!
What though before us lies the open grave?
Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but—fighting back!

Which best describes the speaker in this poem?

The speaker’s role in “Harlem” is to

Mrs. Turner, like all other believers had built an altar to the unattainable—Caucasian characteristics for all. Her god would smite her, would hurl her from pinnacles and lose her in deserts, but she would not forsake his altars. Behind her crude words was a belief that somehow she and others through worship could attain her paradise—a heaven of straighthaired, thin-lipped, high-nose boned white seraphs.

How does Zora Neale Hurston use Mrs. Turner to present a cultural criticism?

Tea Cake felt sorry for him without knowing why. So he didn’t blurt out the insults he had intended. But he couldn’t hold in everything. They talked about the prospects for the coming season for a moment, then Tea Cake said, “Yo’ wife don’t seem tuh have nothin’ much tuh do, so she kin visit uh lot. Mine got too much tuh do tuh go visitin’ and too much tuh spend time talkin’ tuh folks dat visit her.”

Which best describes Tea Cake’s intent in mentioning Janie and Mrs. Turner to Mr. Turner?

Which excerpt from Their Eyes Were Watching God is the best example of regional dialect?

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston uses dialect when Tea Cake speaks in order to

For instance during the summer when she heard the subtle but compelling rhythms of the Bahaman drummers, she’d walk over and watch the dances. She did not laugh the “Saws” to scorn as she had heard the people doing.

Which phrase from the excerpt is the best example of nonstandard English?

He claimed that she had been shaped up by a cow kicking her from behind. She was an ironing board with things throwed at it.

Which phrase from the excerpt is the best example of nonstandard English?

“Thanky Ma’am. Ah hates dat woman lak poison. Keep her from round dis house. Her look lak uh white woman! Wid dat meriny skin and hair jus’ as close tuh her head as ninety-nine is tuh uh hundred! Since she hate black folks so, she don’t need our money in her ol’ eatin’ place. We kin go tuh dat white man’s place and git good treatment. Her and dat whittled-down husband uh hers! And dat son! He’s jus’ uh dirty trick her womb played on her. Ah’m telling her husband tuh keep her home.”

What do Tea Cake’s words reveal about his intentions?

“Mah wife takes time fuh whatever she wants tuh do. Real strong headed dat way. Yes indeed.” He laughed a high lungless laugh. “De chillun don’t keep her in no mo’ so she visits when she chooses.”

Mr. Turner’s words reveal his

Which sentence from Their Eyes Were Watching God contains an example of dialect?

Which is a feature of dialect?

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston uses dialect when Tea Cake speaks in order to

The season closed and people went away like they had come—in droves. Tea Cake and Janie decided to stay since they wanted to make another season on the muck. There was nothing to do, after they had gathered several bushels of dried beans to save over and sell to the planters in the fall. So Janie began to look around and see people and things she hadn’t noticed during the season.

Which aspect of early twentieth-century society in the South is illustrated in this excerpt?

Finally she was gone and Janie hurried to her kitchen to put on supper and found Tea Cake sitting in there with his head between his hands.
“Tea Cake! Ah didn’t know you wuz home.”
“Ah know yuh didn’t. Ah been heah uh long time listenin’ to dat heifer run me down tuh de dawgs uh try tuh tole you off from me.”
“So dat whut she wuz up to? Ah didn’t know.”
“Course she is. She got some no-count brother she wants yuh tuh hook up wid and take keer of Ah reckon.”
“Shucks! If dat’s her notion she’s barkin’ up de wrong tree. Mah hands is full already.”

Through Janie’s dialogue in this excerpt, it is reasonable to infer that she is

Which sentence from Their Eyes Were Watching God contains an example of dialect?

Mrs. Turner finally rose to go after being very firm about several other viewpoints of either herself, her son or her brother. She begged Janie to drop in on her anytime, but never once mentioning Tea Cake. Finally she was gone and Janie hurried to her kitchen to put on supper and found Tea Cake sitting in there with his head between his hands.
“Tea Cake! Ah didn’t know you wuz home.”
“Ah know yuh didn’t. Ah been heah uh long time listenin’ to dat heifer run me down tuh de dawgs uh try tuh tole you off from me.”

How does Hurston convey her own cultural experiences?

Which excerpt from Black Boy best demonstrates the idea that Wright’s family feels frustrated and trapped in their financial situation?

A quarter of a century was to elapse between the time when I saw my father sitting with the strange woman and the time when I was to see him again, standing alone upon the red clay of a Mississippi plantation, a sharecropper, clad in ragged overalls, holding a muddy hoe in his gnarled, veined hands—a quarter of a century during which my mind and consciousness had become so greatly and violently altered that when I tried to talk to him I realized that, though ties of blood made us kin, though I could see a shadow of my face in his face, though there was an echo of my voice in his voice, we were forever strangers, speaking a different language, living on vastly distant planes of reality.

Which best explains Wright’s assertion that he and his father “were forever strangers”?

Which excerpt from Black Boy best illustrates the effect that society has on Wright’s father?

Then my father was called; he came forward jauntily, smiling. He tried to kiss my mother, but she turned away from him. I only heard one sentence of what he said.
“I’m doing all I can, Your Honor,” he mumbled, grinning.
It had been painful to sit and watch my mother crying and my father laughing and I was glad when we were outside in the sunny streets. Back at home my mother wept again and talked complainingly about the unfairness of the judge who had accepted my father’s word.

What societal norm of the early twentieth century does this excerpt reflect?

My mother fell ill and the problem of food became an acute, daily agony. Hunger was with us always. Sometimes the neighbors would feed us or a dollar bill would come in the mail from my grandmother. It was winter and I would buy a dime’s worth of coal each morning from the corner coalyard and lug it home in paper bags. For a time I remained out of school to wait upon my mother, then Granny came to visit us and I returned to school.

Through his personal experience, which social issue is Wright emphasizing?

Which excerpt from Black Boy best explains Wright’s childhood perspective of his father?

Finally I heard my mother’s name called; she rose and began weeping so copiously that she could not talk for a few moments; at last she managed to say that her husband had deserted her and her two children, that her children were hungry, that they stayed hungry, that she worked, that she was trying to raise them alone. Then my father was called; he came forward jauntily, smiling. He tried to kiss my mother, but she turned away from him.

Which best describes the author’s purpose in including this anecdote?

He asked easy, drawling questions about me, his other son, his wife, and he laughed, amused, when I informed him of their destinies. I forgave him and pitied him as my eyes looked past him to the unpainted wooden shack. From far beyond the horizons that bound this bleak plantation there had come to me through my living the knowledge that my father was a black peasant who had gone to the city seeking life, but who had failed in the city; a black peasant whose life had been hopelessly snarled in the city, and who had at last fled the city—that same city which had lifted me in its burning arms and borne me toward alien and undreamed-of shores of knowing.

Which statement best describes how Wright’s cultural perspective influences his decision to forgive his father?

We left. I had the feeling that I had had to do with something unclean. Many times in the years after that the image of my father and the strange woman, their faces lit by the dancing flames, would surge up in my imagination so vivid and strong that I felt I could reach out and touch it; I would stare at it, feeling that it possessed some vital meaning which always eluded me.

Based on this excerpt, how did Wright feel about his final boyhood encounter with his father?

I realized that, though ties of blood made us kin, though I could see a shadow of my face in his face, though there was an echo of my voice in his voice, we were forever strangers, speaking a different language, living on vastly distant planes of reality.

Which best describes Wright’s attitude toward his father in this excerpt?

Based on this excerpt, which best describes how being a sharecropper impacts Wright’s father?

Through his personal experience, which social issue is Wright emphasizing?

Which excerpt from Black Boy best explains Wright’s childhood perspective of his father?

What societal norm of the early twentieth century does this excerpt reflect?

What does the excerpt most clearly demonstrate about Wright’s attitude toward his father?

Which details from the excerpt best indicates that Wright was fairly young when this event takes place?

Which excerpt from Black Boy best demonstrates the idea that Wright’s family feels frustrated and trapped in their financial situation?

Which excerpt from Black Boy best illustrates the effect that society has on Wright’s father?

Which best describes Wright’s realization in this excerpt?

Which best explains Wright’s assertion that he and his father “were forever strangers”?

How does this relate to the premises of Brown v. Board of Education?

How does the excerpt relate to the premises of Brown v. Board of Education?

This excerpt suggests that the Supreme Court Justices

Why does the Supreme Court make this distinction?

Based on this excerpt, The Supreme Court chose to consider the case due to

How does this relate to the premises of Brown v. Board of Education?

Why did the Supreme Court decide to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson, as explained in Brown v. Board of Education?

The Supreme Court cites these cases because it seeks to

Why does the Supreme Court assert this fact?

What is the plaintiffs’ main concern about the state of public schools in Brown v. Board of Education?

What is the plaintiffs’ main concern about the state of public schools in Brown v. Board of Education?

How does the excerpt relate to the premises of Brown v. Board of Education?

Why did the Supreme Court take jurisdiction of Brown v. Board of Education?

Which movement followed the Brown v. Board of Education decision?

Why does the Supreme Court describe these considerations?

How does the excerpt relate to the premises of Brown v. Board of Education?

In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist.

King includes this sentence to

You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern.

How does King rebut his critics’ claim?

But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest.

Why does King use this allusion?

Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.

What is the author’s purpose for including this sentence?

I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

What is King’s purpose for including this sentence?

Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice.

Why does King use this allusion?

In that dramatic scene on Calvary’s hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime—the crime of extremism.

Why does King use this allusion?

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

How does King support this claim?

Just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town.

Why does King use this allusion?

We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.

King includes this sentence to

Algebra is a precursor for calculus because it will help students to be successful in the latter course.

Which word is closest in meaning to the underlined word?

As the contractor looked at the dilapidated structure that stood on the empty lot, he noticed the cracks and holes in the roof and realized he had a great deal of work to do.

Which word is closest in meaning to the underlined word?

As the trumpet blared a jarring noise, everyone quickly covered their ears!

Using the context clues, what is the meaning of the underlined word?

The investors could not handle the ups and downs so they removed their funds from the fluctuating market.

Using the context clues, what is the meaning of the underlined word?

The largest of the linen tents, erected at the campsite to protect the team of conservationists from the relentless African sun, housed the leader of the expedition, Dr. Aidan Hamilton. His round spectacles framed his slender face and complimented his gray hair as he sat outside his tent, mapping the day’s journey.

Julissa is most likely writing with the purpose of

In the Yellowstone the animals seem always to behave as one wishes them to! It is always possible to see the sheep and deer and antelope, and also the great herds of elk, which are shyer than the smaller beasts. In April we found the elk weak after the short commons and hard living of winter.

What is the closest meaning of the underlined phrase as it used in the excerpt?

Since the budget for the groundbreaking elephant-behavior-studies program has been cut—just as it was beginning to make progress—wildlife conservationists and their supporters are asking that people from all over the world promote the program by encouraging local agencies and community members to donate time and funds to secure the future of the amazingly gentle and intelligent African elephant species.

Darryl is most likely writing with the purpose of

It is the height of rudeness for young people not to go and shake hands with an older lady of their acquaintance when they meet her away from home, if she is a hostess to whose house they have often gone. It is not at all necessary for either young women or young men to linger and enter into a conversation, unless the older lady detains them, which she should not do beyond the briefest minute.

Which best describes the style and tone of the passage?

The mission of the Blanche Anti-Bullying Organization is to promote integrity, self-esteem, and respect for all people; therefore, as we pursue our mission, we the founders do respectfully promise to uphold these values for ourselves and all of our participating members.

What is the tone of the passage?

My Fellow-Citizens: When a man hears himself somewhat misrepresented, it provokes him,—at least, I find it so with myself; but when misrepresentation becomes very gross and palpable, it is more apt to amuse him.

What is the closest meaning of the underlined phrase as it used in the excerpt?

Students participating in school athletics should be required to maintain a 2.0 in all academic courses. Most of Douglas High’s varsity athletes prioritize their schoolwork; but, there are a few who ignore their responsibilities.

Which transition word would best replace the underlined word?

Students at Glenmore High demand an increase in the number of advanced placement classes. In order to compete with other college-bound students, we must have access to more rigorous courses. I mean, if we can’t show that we took tough courses, colleges will turn us down.

How can the final sentence best be revised for this argument?

When addressing a counterclaim in an argumentative essay, it is important to

In the conclusion of an argumentative essay, the author should

Which correctly demonstrates MLA formatting?

Which of these best strengthens a factual argument?

Students attending schools with mandatory uniform policies experience less pressure than do students who must choose their wardrobes. This is because school uniforms allow students and their parents to save money and time. The financial investment in uniforms at the beginning of the school year is far more economical than the purchase of an entire wardrobe of designer clothes and trendy styles. Students who do not have to deliberate what to wear each morning are able to invest their time in more productive ways, such as studying for tests or finishing homework. Uniforms may stifle students’ self-expression, but there are many other ways to reveal one’s individuality at school.

Which sentence addresses a counterclaim?

Students attending schools with mandatory uniform policies experience less pressure than do students who must choose their wardrobes. This is because school uniforms allow students and their parents to save money and time. The financial investment in uniforms at the beginning of the school year is far more economical than the purchase of an entire wardrobe of designer clothes and trendy styles. Students who do not have to deliberate what to wear each morning are able to invest their time in more productive ways, such as studying for tests or finishing homework. Uniforms may stifle students’ self-expression, but there are many other ways to reveal one’s individuality at school.

Which of the following statements best supports the author’s claim?

The only way to avoid plagiarism in an argumentative essay is to

We probably couldn’t go to all the stars because they’re too far away. It would take a long time to get there.

The sentences need to be revised for this type of essay because they

Students attending schools with mandatory uniform policies experience less pressure than do students who must choose their wardrobes. This is because school uniforms allow students and their parents to save money and time. The financial investment in uniforms at the beginning of the school year is far more economical than the purchase of an entire wardrobe of designer clothes and trendy styles. Students who do not have to deliberate what to wear each morning are able to invest their time in more productive ways, such as studying for tests or finishing homework. Uniforms may stifle students’ self-expression, but there are many other ways to reveal one’s individuality at school.

Which sentence addresses a counterclaim?

Students attending schools with mandatory uniform policies experience less pressure than do students who must choose their wardrobes. This is because school uniforms allow students and their parents to save money and time. The financial investment in uniforms at the beginning of the school year is far more economical than the purchase of an entire wardrobe of designer clothes and trendy styles. Students who do not have to deliberate what to wear each morning are able to invest their time in more productive ways, such as studying for tests or finishing homework. Uniforms may stifle students’ self-expression, but there are many other ways for them to reveal their individuality at school.

Which fact best supports the author’s position?

We probably couldn’t go to all the stars because they’re too far away. It would take a long time to get there.

The sentences need to be revised for this type of essay because they

Students at Glenmore High demand an increase in the number of advanced placement classes. In order to compete with other college-bound students, we must have access to more rigorous courses. I mean, if we can’t show that we took tough courses, colleges will turn us down.

How can the final sentence best be revised for this argument?

Which topic would prompt an argumentative essay?

Our county government has neglectfully ignored a national trend in child safety and must enact a bicycle helmet law immediately to right this wrong.

Which best describes the tone?

The thesis statement, or claim, of an argumentative essay should

(1) Space: the final frontier! (2) Many people see space as a true frontier. (3) They are excited by both the exploration of space and the potential of space. (4) Not everyone agrees with this. (5) Some people think that the money would be better spent solving Earth’s problems. (6) However, the truth is that the money spent on space exploration is critical to solving our problems on Earth.

Which of the following is the thesis statement?

Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then he sang some more.

The repetition of the word “thump” is an example of what literary device?

Which source would best support an argumentative essay on the importance of protective gear for those playing sports?

Students attending schools with mandatory uniform policies experience less pressure than do students who must choose their wardrobes. This is because school uniforms allow students and their parents to save money and time. The financial investment in uniforms at the beginning of the school year is far more economical than the purchase of an entire wardrobe of designer clothes and trendy styles. Students who do not have to deliberate what to wear each morning are able to invest their time in more productive ways, such as studying for tests or finishing homework. Uniforms may stifle students’ self-expression, but there are many other ways to reveal one’s individuality at school.

Which revision would best strengthen the author’s main argument?

Which excerpt from Black Boy best reflects the way in which Wright’s knowledge of history and culture influence his views on his father?

The question of whether or not to allow cell phones in school is an important one. Cell phones are a monumental distraction to young people whose attention should be focused on learning. However, they do serve a purpose in that phones allow students to communicate with their parents. Plus, cell phones are great for taking pictures with friends. In all, cell phone use at school must be carefully regulated.

Which best explains the inconsistency in writing used in this paragraph?

New York’s bad manners are often condemned and often very deservedly. Even though the cause is carelessness rather than intentional indifference, the indifference is no less actual and the rudeness inexcusable.

What is the closest meaning of the underlined phrase as it used in the excerpt?

Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application.

How does King support this claim?

According to “Introduction to the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement,” which was one reason for the first wave of the Great Migration?

Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Why does the Supreme Court conclude that the plaintiffs have been denied their rights?

Langston Hughes was extremely versatile. He wrote poetry, published essays, and even authored a commissioned history of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

In this context, what is the meaning of “versatile”?

Competitive sports are valuable activities for young people today. They emphasize the importance of being part of a team and working toward a common goal. Competitive sports give today’s youth an advantage as athletes tend to be more confident in themselves and their abilities. Participation in competitive sports is strongly recommended for our students.

Which strategy does the author use in her choice of language to convey her message?

I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth.

How does King support this claim in the rest of his letter?

What can readers infer about Hurston from her voice in Their Eyes Were Watching God?

[T]here are findings below that the Negro and white schools involved have been equalized, or are being equalized, with respect to buildings, curricula, qualifications and salaries of teachers, and other “tangible” factors.

The Supreme Court is most likely interested in these findings because it hopes to determine whether

The speaker in “The Weary Blues” is most likely

Which topic would prompt an argumentative essay?