TKAM - Ch. 12 - Visiting Calpurnia’s Church

The Black Church helped teach African-Americans to read and write in the late 19th and early 20th century. Why did black people need to learn these skills in the church? How specifically did they learn reading and writing in the church?

What was the role of music in the Black Church, and what effect did the music of the Black Church have on culture around the world?

How did the Black Church influence politics in the United States during the 20th century, and how does it continue to influence politics today?

Why is the Black Church “the single most important institution in African-American culture,” according the Henry Louis Gates, Jr.?

Write a paragraph, using best practices for embedding quotations.

The Rev. Al Sharpton: “The black church was more than a spiritual home. It was the epicenter of black life. Out of it came our black businesses, our black educational institutions...”

Oprah Winfrey: “The black church gave people a sense of value, belonging and worthiness. I don’t know how we could have survived as a people without it.”

Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: “And despite all the trials and tribulations that Black people have had to suffer, the church has survived, it's grown, it's morphed, it's transformed, and we're still here.”

What is “code-switching”?

How do you use code-switching? Describe an example of how your language is different when you address different people or groups of people. Why does your language change? Are you conscious or unconscious of the change?

Describe how — and why — Calpurnia uses “code-switching” (although she’d never call it that).

Write a paragraph, using best practices for embedding quotations.