African American history

Primary Source Analysis Paper:

The African American Debate Over Armed Resistance

Goal:

The goal of the primary source analysis research paper is to draw on primary sources to engage a

specific topic or issue covered in the class. You will analyze and interpret the primary sources

by exploring both sides of the debate. Your paper should adhere to the following guidelines: 8

pages, double-spaced, Times New Roman and 12-point font. DUE: 11:59 pm on May 3. Late

papers will not be accepted.

Steps:

1) Read and analyze the primary sources related to the debate over armed resistance that animated the Civil Rights and Black Power eras. Except for the Angela Davis interview,

which can be found on YouTube, please find all primary sources on Blackboard.

2) Present one side of the debate using the primary sources. Then, focus on the other side of the debate. For this paper, you must use at least four primary sources (two sources for one

side of the debate and two sources for the other side of the debate).

a. Do not rely on Wikipedia or websites. b. Do not state your opinion. Keep in mind that the aim of the paper is to examine

the primary sources. Be sure to identify and restate the arguments found in the

text(s).

c. Use half of the paper (4 pgs) to explore one side of debate. Then, use the second half of your paper (4 pgs) to explore the other side of the debate.

3) Once the paper is completed, please submit it as a MS Word document to Blackboard. a. Be sure to add your name and page numbers. b. Please do not email or upload the paper as a PDF or Google Doc. c. Be sure to submit your paper by 11:59 pm on Monday May 3, 2021.

Sources:

1) MLK: My Pilgrimage to Nonviolence (1958) a. Published in: Henry Louis Gates and Jennifer Burton. Call and Response: Key

Debates in African American Studies (New York: WW Norton and Company,

2012).

2) Ella Baker: Report of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (1960) a. Ella Baker, “Report of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee,” May

13, 1960, crmvet.org

3) Ella Baker: Bigger Than a Hamburger (1960) a. Source: Ella J. Baker, "Bigger Than a Hamburger." Southern Patriot 18 (1960).

Excerpted in Manning Marable and Leith Mullings, eds. Let Nobody Turn Us

Around: Voices of Resistance, Reform and Renewal (Oxford: Rowan &

Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1999).

4) Malcolm X and Bayard Rustin: A Choice of Two Roads (1960) a. Published in: Henry Louis Gates and Jennifer Burton. Call and Response: Key

Debates in African American Studies (New York: WW Norton and Company,

2012).

5) Malcolm X: Message to the Grassroots (1963) a. Published in: Henry Louis Gates and Jennifer Burton. Call and Response: Key

Debates in African American Studies (New York: WW Norton and Company,

2012).

6) Howard Zinn: The Limits of Nonviolence (1964) a. Published in: Henry Louis Gates and Jennifer Burton. Call and Response: Key

Debates in African American Studies (New York: WW Norton and Company,

2012).

7) The Black Panther Party: What We Want/What We Believe (1969) a. Published in: Henry Louis Gates and Jennifer Burton. Call and Response: Key

Debates in African American Studies (New York: WW Norton and Company,

2012).

8) Barry Callaghan Interviews Angela Davis in California Prison (1970) a. Published on YouTube. See the link here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sLIDscuc-M