Bring students together in a large circle for a Socratic Seminar. If the class is large, consider creating two smaller circles. Explain that the purpose of a Socratic seminar is to consider an issue from different perspectives through the use of student-led questioning. In a Socratic seminar, students ask and answer questions about a given text or source, and conversation flows more organically than in a teacher-led discussion. 

For this seminar, have students read “Of the Dawn of Freedom,” a chapter from W.E.B. DuBois’s seminal text The Souls of Black Folk (pdf available in source and audio can be found on linked website). Since the text is quite lengthy, consider assigning it for homework or giving an additional class period for students to read and analyze the source prior to the discussion. Alternatively, assign each student 2-3 pages of the text and have them report out responses to the question below before doing a written reflection.

Note that this link directs you to a website that also contains audio and PDF versions of the text to differentiate for your students.

After the seminar, have students answer the following question in a written reflection:

• To what extent did emancipation’s promise match its reality for Black Americans?