EnglishClub

Pre-listening vocabulary

• activist: someone who brings attention to an issue and fights for change
• protest: to publicly express disapproval of a law, policy, or action
• segregation: a policy of keeping different groups of people separate from each other
• integrate: to bring people of different races together
• supremacist: someone who believes a particular group of people is superior to other groups
• widespread: in many different areas

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:10 — 1.1MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. The goal of the Freedom Riders was to protest
   a. American war efforts
   b. racial segregation
   c. gender discrimination
   
2. One way they protested was by
   a. giving speeches
   b. crowding government buildings
   c. entering segregated bathrooms
   
3. In November 1961,
   a. the original Freedom Riders were arrested for the first time
   b. racial segregation became illegal on interstate buses
   c. white supremacists in Alabama set one of the buses on fire

Discussion/essay questions

1. Have you ever protested something that you thought was wrong? What are some changes you’d like to see in the world today?

Transcript

The Freedom Riders were a group of civil rights activists who took bus trips through the American South to protest racial segregation. The rides began on May 4th, 1961. There were 13 original Freedom Riders, and most of them were students. They protested by sitting in integrated groups and entering segregated bathrooms in transit stations. On May 14th, when the Freedom Riders reached Alabama, a group of white supremacists set one of the buses on fire. The activists were often beaten, and some were arrested by local police. This led to widespread media attention. Hundreds of people began to join the Freedom Riders’ cause. The protest was eventually effective. In November 1961, racial segregation became illegal on interstate buses.

Answers to comprehension questions

1b 2c 3b

Pre-listening vocabulary

• literature: written works, especially creative ones
• fiction: a type of literature that tells imagined stories
• traumatic: emotionally harmful
• censor: to remove parts of a book that might be offensive or uncomfortable
• controversial: causing many people to disagree with each other

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:17 — 1.2MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

Discussion/essay questions

1. Toni Morrison’s books are often banned even today. Why do you think people ban books?
2. Why is it so important to talk about censorship?

Transcript

Toni Morrison was an American author. She was born in 1931 in Lorain, Ohio, originally named Chloe Anthony Wofford. Morrison spent a lot of time around books throughout her life. She studied literature in university and later worked as a fiction editor at a publishing company. In 1970, Morrison published her first novel, The Bluest Eye. One of her later novels, Beloved, won multiple literary awards. Her stories often explored the traumatic experiences of Black Americans in an uncensored way. This made her writing very controversial. However, in 1993, Morrison won the Nobel Prize in Literature. She also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. Morrison died in 2019, at age 88.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• slavery: the practice of owning other people and forcing them to work
• commemorate: to celebrate something
• abolition: the act of ending something
• freedom: the ability to live without being enslaved
• senate: a group of people who can make laws for a country

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:11 — 1.1MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

Discussion/essay questions

1. What is the significance of making Juneteenth a national holiday?

Transcript

June 19th, or Juneteenth for short, is a holiday that many Black Americans celebrate every year. The day commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. U.S. President Lincoln first announced the abolition of slavery on January 1st, 1863. However, the news did not arrive in Texas until June 19th, 1865 – almost two and a half years later. That day, around 250,000 enslaved people gained their freedom. Freed Black people in Texas began to celebrate June 19th every year after that. Over the years, people across the country joined in the celebrations. In 2021, the United States Senate voted to make Juneteenth a national holiday.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• activist: a person who stands up for a certain cause
• slavery: a situation where a person owns another person
• network: an organized group or system
• illegal: not allowed by law
• mission: a journey to complete a task
• abolish: to end something

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:20 — 1.2MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

Discussion/essay questions

1. In the United States and Canada, February is Black History Month. Tubman’s story is often taught in schools during this time. Why is it so important to learn stories like hers?
2. Can you think of some other people in history who fought for human rights?

Transcript

Harriet Tubman was an American activist who helped to free hundreds of people from slavery. She was born into slavery herself around 1820, and she escaped in 1849. A network of people called the Underground Railroad helped Tubman make the journey to the North, where slavery was illegal. However, once Tubman gained her freedom, she decided that she wanted to help other people gain theirs. She began to work with the Underground Railroad. Her job was to rescue enslaved people and bring them to the North, where they could live freely. She went on many missions over eight years. When the American Civil War began in 1861, Tubman joined the army to work as a nurse. She eventually got to lead a raid in South Carolina that freed hundreds of enslaved people. Even after slavery was abolished in the United States, Tubman continued to fight for the rights of Black Americans and women. She died in 1913, at about 90 years old.