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3 – Original Passages on One Topic

2 – Writing Prompts:

(1 – Informative/Explanatory

1 – Opinion/Argumentation)

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Read the “Civil Rights Activists” passage set.

Civil Rights Activists

Source 1: Madam C.J. Walker

(1) Wouldn’t it be nice to invent something that you really need? What about becoming a

millionaire in the process? Madam C.J. Walker experienced this feeling! She was one of the

first American born women to become a self-made millionaire. She achieved this through

creating and selling hair-care products.

(2) On December 23, 1867, Sarah Breedlove (later Madam C.J. Walker) was born near Delta,

Louisiana. She was the first child in her family to be born free. Her parents were born slaves,

but later gained their freedom. Unfortunately, young Sarah became an orphan at the age of 7.

She had to go live with her sister, Louvinia, and her brother-in-law. The three of them

eventually moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Sarah spent a lot of time in Mississippi picking

cotton.

(3) Sarah married early, at the age of 14, to a man named Moses McWilliams. She gave birth to

her daughter, A’Lelia , two years later. Moses died young, so Sarah and A’Lelia moved to St.

Louis, Missouri, to be with her brothers. Her brothers were working as barbers. She eventually

met and married her second husband, Charles Walker. He was in advertising.

(4) During the 1890s, she began suffering from a scalp condition that caused her to lose a lot of

hair. This bothered her quite a bit, so she decided to do something about it. She experimented

with homemade as well as store bought hair products. By 1905, she developed a whole line of

hair-care products for African-Americans. One product was “Hair Conditioning Cream” which

softened hair. She also invented a “Scalp Treatment” to control itch, dandruff, and hair loss.

Two other products include a “Wonderful Hair Grower”, and a “Vegetable Based Shampoo”.

Her husband helped her advertise her products, and encouraged her to call herself “Madam C.J.

Walker”.

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(5) Madam C.J. Walker’s profits continued to surge. By 1908, she opened up her own factory

and beauty school in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. As the years went by, her profits added up to

several million dollars. She was very interested in advancing the status of African-Americans.

In her later years, she became involved with many educational scholarship programs. She is

also famous for donating the largest amount of money, from an African-American, for the

creation of the YMCA in Indianapolis, Indiana. She died from hypertension at the age of 51, in

her home in New York.

(6) Madam C.J. Walker is gone, but not forgotten. In 1998 the United States Postal Service

issued a stamp with her portrait for their “Black Heritage” series.

Source 2: Medgar Evers

(7) Medgar Evers was born on July 2, 1925 in Decatur, Mississippi, to a farming family. Evers

left the family farm in 1943 to enlist in the United States Army. While in the army, he fought in

both France and Germany during World War II. In 1946, he received an honorable discharge.

(8) For most, this would be the ending of a great career. For Evers, this was just the beginning.

In 1948, he entered the Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College. Just a few years later, he

married fellow student, Myrlie Beasley. They eventually had three children together: Darrell,

Reena, and James.

(9) Evers relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1952. In Philadelphia, he began working as

an insurance salesman. He and his older brother, Charles Evers, also worked for the National

Association for Color People (NAACP). The NAACP is a civil rights organization formed in 1909

as a bi-racial organization to advance justice for African Americans.

(10) Eventually, Evers moved back to Mississippi. This time he chose Jackson because he

became the first state field secretary of the NAACP in Mississippi. With his position as field

secretary, he recruited NAACP members throughout the state and organized voter-registration

efforts, demonstrations, and economic boycotts of companies that practiced discrimination.

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(11) By 1955 Evers was the best known civil rights leader in Mississippi. Unfortunately, this

notoriety led to numerous threats towards him and his family, many of which were violent.

Evers became a victim of this violence on June 12, 1963, when he was assassinated in front of

his house. He was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. He was

awarded the NAACP 1963 Spingarn Medal. National outrage over Evers’ murder increased

support for legislation that would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Source 3: Maya Angelou

(12) Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was active in many

careers such as author, actress, screenwriter, dancer, poet, and civil rights activist. She is best

known for her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. It made literary history as the

first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman.

(13) Angelou wrote a poem on the same subject which includes these words:

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams

his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream

his wings are clipped and his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings

with a fearful trill

of things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird

sings of freedom.

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(14) After experiencing some health issues, Maya Angelou died on May 28, 2014, in her home

in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Former President Barack Obama issued a statement about

Angelou, calling her a “brilliant writer, a fierce friend, and a truly phenomenal woman.” He

added that Angelou had “the ability to remind us that we are all God’s children; that we all have

something to offer.”

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Writing Prompt Your social studies teacher has asked that you write a paper about civil rights leaders. Write an explanatory essay about famous civil rights activists. Your essay must be based on the ideas and information that can be found in the “Civil Rights Activists” passage set. Manage your time carefully so you can • read the passages;

• plan your response;

• write your response; and

• revise and edit your response.

Be sure to

• use evidence from multiple sources; and

• avoid overly relying on one source.

Your response should be in the form of a multiparagraph essay. Write your response in the space provided.

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Writing Prompt Write an essay for your school newspaper arguing which civil rights activist made the biggest difference for African-Americans. Your essay must be based on the ideas, concepts, and information that can be determined through an analysis of the “Civil Rights Activists” passage set. Manage your time carefully so you can • read the passages;

• plan your response;

• write your response; and

• revise and edit your response.

Be sure to • include a claim;

• use evidence from multiple sources; and

• avoid overly relying on one source.

Your response should be in the form of a multiparagraph essay. Write your response in the space provided.

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Planning Page

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