Strange Fruit – A History of Violence and in America

Listen to singing “” and fill in the blanks:

Southern ______bear ______fruit Blood on the ______Blood at the ______Black bodies swinging in the ______breeze Strange fruit hanging from the poplar ______Pastoral ______of the gallant south The bulging eyes and the twisted ______The scent of magnolia ______and fresh Then the sudden ______of burning flesh Here is a ______for the crows to pluck for the ______to gather for the ______to suck for the ______to rot for the ______to drop Here is a strange and bitter ______

Composed by Abel Meeropol (aka Lewis Allan) Originally sung by: Billie Holiday A short history of slavery in America.

The popular conception of a race-based slave system did not fully develop until the 18th century. The Dutch West India Company ______(introduce) slavery in 1625 with the importation of eleven black slaves from Africa into New Amsterdam (present-day City). All the colony's slaves, however, ______(be) freed upon its surrender to the British. Massachusetts ______(be) the first British colony to legally recognize slavery in 1641. It ______(not be) until 1662 that Virginia ______(rule) that a slave mother's children would remain slaves.

When The United states of America ______(become) independent in 1776, slaves ______(not be) freed at all.

Slaves ______(work) in fields, such as cotton crops or sugar cane crops. They ______(be) considered as livestock and ______(have) an owner. They ______(be) ill-treated and ______(be) denied any form of citizenship. Many slaves ______(try) to free themselves either by revolts or by fleeing away, but most of them ______(get) killed. Those who ______(flee) ______(go) to Canada, thanks to the Underground Railroad, ______(help) by freed slaves and white sympathisers.

In 186O, there ______(be) 3.5 million enslaved in the US due to the Atlantic slave trade. Europeans or Americans ______(trade) to Africa, captured men were then ______(sell) to the merchants who ______(bring) their 'merchandise' to the European colonies in America or the USA. It ______(be) a very profitable business. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln ______(write) the Emancipation Declaration. This act ______(make) all slaves free. It ______(not be) all a humanist decision though. Lincoln ______(sign) the act mainly because of the Civil War. The Northern and the Southern States ______(fight) in a war and the economy of the latter ______(rely) heavily on slavery. Texas ______(be) the last state to emancipate African Americans in 1865.

Even though African Americans ______(be) freed, they were still second-class citizen. After slavery, ______(experience) segregation.

I)F ind the English equivalent to:

Un esclave (l.1) Cependant (l.6) Emancipé (l.6) Une rédition (l.6) L'esclavagisme (l.8) Jusqu'à / en (l.8) Rester / persister (l.9) Les champs (l.13) La culture / la récolte (l.13 & l. 14) Du bétail (l.14) Un propriétaire (l.15) Maltraité (l.15) Nier (l.16) La citoyenneté (l.17) S'enfuir (l.18) Grâce à (l.20) À cause de (l.23) Une loi (l.29) Cependant (l.30) La guerre de Sécession (l.32) De ce dernier (l.34) Massivement (l.34) Bien que (l.37) De deuxième ordre (l.38)

II Work out the questions and find the answer in the text.

Wh-word Auxiliary Subject Verb Complement ?

1)did / The Dutch West India Company / slavery / when / introduce ______? ______

2)Massachusetts / when / slavery / did / recognize ______? ______

3)slaves / there / how many / in 1860 / were ______? ______

4)Abraham Lincoln / write / did / in 1863 / what ______? ______

5)Texas / did / when / slaves / emancipate ______? ______