Read the book, Abina and the Important Men: A Graphic History (Part I: the Graphic History, Part II: The Transcript, & Part IV: The Reading Guide) then answer the following questions:
“Using the questions that Magistrate Melton asks Abina, explain how they illustrate his conception of “slavery” and “rights” vs Abina’s claims that she was unlawfully enslaved. What then is Abina’s “truth” according to the author? Do you agree or disagree? Read through the trial and identify points where Abina misunderstands, is unable to answer, or contradicts the questions asked by Melton, Davis, and Brew. Why are these moments so important to hearing Abina’s perspective? What do they tell us about the different ways in which each participant understood slavery?” Finally, what message do you take away from Abina’s story? What did you learn from her trial? Do you see her as representative of other slaves or as unique? Explain your answer.
All margins should be set at 1 inch.
You must staple the paper or you will lose 5 points.
You must have a cover page with your name, date, course prefix, and paper title. Do
not put your name on any page except for the cover page.
*You must cite your sources properly using either parenthetical citations or footnotes.
When using parenthetical citations to quote your sources you will cite the author (Getz) and page number.
Ex) “As a direct result of her insistence on going to court, and with a little luck, we can now hear her” (Getz, 120).
You do not need to provide a bibliography/works cited page.