Divide students into small groups for a Jigsaw experience. Begin by giving each small group one of the following primary sources. Each primary source gives an account of a formerly enslaved person’s experience with emancipation. (Note that some of the sources use the n-word, and you should use discretion and provide a content warning for students before distributing them.)

• Interview with Felix Haywood
• Interview with Fred James
• Interview with Simon Phillips
• Interview between Garrison Frazier and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and General William T. Sherman 
• Song, “Many Thousand Gone”

Each group should read their assigned source and prepare a single slide with answers to the following questions:

• What is the main idea of your source?
• What is the most important quotation from your source? Why did you select that passage?
• What opportunities did Black Americans gain as a result of emancipation, as shown in your source? What were the dreams associated with emancipation?
• What challenges or obstacles did Black Americans face as a result of emancipation, as shown in your source? What was the reality of emancipation?
• What questions do you have about emancipation after reading this source?

Have groups share their slides with the class to share out. Conclude with a full class discussion on the following questions:

• What opportunities and what obstacles did formerly enslaved people face in reunifying their families and gaining government support?
• To what extent did emancipation’s promise match its reality for Black Americans?