Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumRacial Terror and the Anti-Lynching Movement

Read the following excerpt from Ida B. Wells-Barnett's 1892 pamphlet *Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases*:

'The colored people of Memphis have done the only thing they could do... to save their lives and property from the hands of the mob. They have left the city in large numbers... those who remain are refusing to ride on the new streetcars or spend their money with white merchants. They have thus demonstrated that the white man’s pocketbook is his most sensitive spot.'

Based on the excerpt, which of the following strategies does Wells-Barnett advocate to combat racial violence?

  1. Leveraging collective Black economic power through boycotts and out-migration to pressure the white power structure.Answer
  2. B
    Appealing to the paternalistic goodwill of white merchants to convince them that lynching harmed the overall southern economy.
  3. C
    Organizing immediate and permanent emigration of the entire Southern Black population to West Africa.
  4. D
    Accepting segregation on municipal transit in exchange for legal guarantees of protection against mob violence.

Answer

Leveraging collective Black economic power through boycotts and out-migration to pressure the white power structure.
The correct answer is correct because the excerpt outlines how Black citizens of Memphis used boycotts of transit and white merchants, alongside migration out of the city, to hit the white power structure where it was most sensitive: their pocketbooks. This demonstrates Wells-Barnett's strategic focus on using collective economic pressure to combat racial terror.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus passage.
The passage describes Black citizens of Memphis leaving the city in large numbers and boycotting streetcars and white merchants to impact 'the white man's pocketbook.'
To identify the specific methods and rationale Wells-Barnett is describing.
2
Evaluate the options against the stimulus findings.
The option advocating leveraging collective economic power matches the actions (boycotts, migration) and the goal (targeting the pocketbook).
To match the historical evidence in the text with the correct historical analysis.
3
Eliminate the incorrect options based on historical context and the text.
Options proposing paternalistic appeals, emigration to West Africa, or passive acceptance of segregation are eliminated as they misrepresent the active economic leverage described.
To ensure distractors are systematically ruled out based on the source material.

Key Concept

Organizational tactics and economic leverage in the anti-lynching movement
Rate this question

Topics

Racial Terror and the Anti-Lynching Movement

More questions from this topic