From Slave to Man: January 11, 2019

Focus: How does a person reclaim power?

1. Warming up with a fun Friday recap of empathy: Empathy clip

2. Exploring a painting by a different Douglas: "Into Bondage," by Aaron Douglas

*Make yourself a document for "In-class Thoughts" and place it inside your "Race and Power" folder.

Which part of the painting is your eye drawn to? In other words, what's the focal point? Why?

How would you describe the patterns of color in this painting?

If this painting tells a story, what's the story?

Describe one aspect of the painting you find symbolic and explain what you think it symbolizes.

Which figure in this painting best captures Frederick Douglass before his battle with Mr. Covey? How so? Find one line from Chapter 10 that shows your thinking here.

Which figure in this painting best captures Douglass after his battle with Mr. Covey? How so? Find one line from Chapter 10 that shows your thinking here (be ready to read your line out loud).

3. Understanding how Douglass empowered others: Check out what he did after he escaped!

History (video)

Bio (video)

Frederick Douglass Honor Society (website--scroll down a little)

4. Observing the life of a female slave: Reading Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" and marking up lines that reveal anything about power dynamics:

• How is Harriet (the narrator) disempowered? 
• Why is she disempowered?
• How are the master and mistress empowered? How are they disempowered?
• According to Jacobs, "Slavery is bad for men, but it is far more terrible for women." What do you think she means by this? How does her narrative compare to Douglass's?

HW:

For MONDAY: Please finish reading and annotating Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl". Since we're not keeping blogs or having graded discussions on these excerpts, you will have a short reading quiz on the Douglass and Jacobs narratives on MONDAY.