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On June 2, 1863 Harriet Tubman, under the command of Union Colonel James Montgomery, led 150 Black Union soldiers who were part of the U.S. Second South Carolina Volunteers in the Combahee River Raid which liberated more than 700 enslaved people. 
V. The Combahee River Collective Statement: YOUR TASKS
  1. The statement has been divided into its four parts today.  You will be grouped according to the part that you have.  Take a few moments to go back and read this part of the CRCS.  Highlight and underline what you see as significant to Black feminist rhetorics.  Jot notes on any other Black feminist, rhetor, and/or aspect of African American rhetoric that you are reminded of.
  2. Choose a facilitator (someone who has not facilitated).  Make sure you know everyone's name.  The facilitator should take notes and be prepared to respond to the whole class.
  3. As a group, discuss how this part of the CRCS embodies/does Black feminist rhetoric.
  4. As a group, discuss connections to any other Black feminist, rhetor, and/or aspect of African American rhetoric.
  5. As a group, discuss why you think they collective connected so strongly to the Combahee River and Harriet Tubman.   How is THAT rhetoric?​​
V. Looking for Connections
Is there more than just the theme of trouble that makes these two genres similar and/or overlapping?
VI. Discussion Points  
  1. What are the Blues?  
  2. What does this have to do with African American rhetoric? 
  3. What does this tell us about Black women's rhetorics?  Why the Blues? How does this connect to slavery in ways more than just the fact that slavery ended?
"Nobody Know the Troubles I've Seen" (1924)
"I Be Troubled" (1942)
Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972)
IV. The Spirituals: Listening Exercise
​As you listen, take notes on what you see as a comparison to the Blues that you were assigned for today's class (style, sound, mood, rhyme).  Be prepared to share this with your group members. ​

Sorrow Song

"Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child"
(start at 2:30)

Jubilee

"Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham"

Escape code

"Go Down, Moses"
"Wade in
​the Water"
III. The Spirituals: Introduction to the Sorrow Songs, Jubilees, and Escape Codes
  1. As you read, underline what you see as important history (click here for text)
  2. In the margins, comment on connections to African American rhetoric and/or connections to the Blues.
The blues was born behind a mule.
          ~Muddy Waters
The Chronology of Names: Black Dialect, Black Vernacular, Black English, Ebonics, African American Vernacular (AAV), African American Vernacular English (AAVE), African American English (AAE), African American Language (AAL)... and now, Black Language (BL)
*The difference between calling something a language (has a standard, written form) and a dialect (usually only spoken) is related to power/imperialism; for linguists, grammar just means rules and do no require formal/school teaching

Part Two: Conversations

In small groups, answer these questions:
  1. What do we know now? 
  2. What questions or curiosities do we have now? 
  3. What do we think of the 1996 Oakland Ebonics Resolution now?*  What do we make of the backlash (which was so bad the resolution was backtracked)? 
The 1996 Oakland Ebonics Resolution (click here) recognized BL as a language in Oakland schools (which were predominantly Black at the time--- and also the original home to the Black Panther Party Breakfast Program).  If a "language," its students/speakers are entitled to extra resources: teachers who have linguistic understanding/training of the language; curriculum that depicts BL favorably; protections for teachers who are fired or paid less because they speak BL, etc.  The backlash was so severe that the school board basically retracted and said Ebonics was basically just another dialect (no extra resources).
*Apologies for not contextualizing this before last week's assigned reading!