Document for SP16 American Studies Pedagogy for International Audience as the University of Illinois.

1. love, Harlem,
6/23/1932
It has been two weeks since we last
met, and I can still hear your soothing
voice and the enchanting sound of your
music in my ears. For you have cast a
spell on me. And I relish in that
thought. In secret, away from the
petty words of the world around us.
Alas! I know. We must keep our
romance secret, or we may both get
lynched in a nearby tree. Our love is
forbidden. And we act dangerously
when meeting like fugitives in the
darkness.

2. Why is it then that we can’t love in
sincerity?
I am dreaming of a day when I can walk
down fourth avenue, holding your hand,
showing off my pride and joy, my
hopefulness after reading Hughes’s
poetry on your lap after a long day’s
work.
I am proud that people call me a
flapper. And I am proud of you because
your strong hands and those of your
people have made this land what it is.
And yet you cannot savor the fruit of
freedom.

3. a. What information do you get about the writer and the
recipient of this letter?
b. Find one aspect of the US history or culture that is related to
the following words from the letter:
lynched
fugitives
flapper
moonshine
c. How is the struggle for gender and racial equality related to
this letter?
d. Is society’s reaction to interracial relationships in your country
nowadays different from that in 1930s US? Has it always been
this way?
e. This letter was found torn in half. Can you finish it?