In “Strange Fruit,” what is being described and how does the tone of the song contribute to understanding the reality of what was taking place down South?

 What did you learn about the Reconstruction Era and why do you think it is one of the LEAST discussed eras of American history (it is even less-discussed than slavery!),

 What feelings and human condition did Dunbar’s poem call to mind? 

What historical references and patterns are illuminated in Hughes’s poem?

 In Rankine’s contemporary poem, how are every day, modern occurrences reflections of the past and the promises of post-slavery racial accord?

 

Share your own connections to the American South. Do you have any? Why or why not? Have you visited the South? What were your impressions?