Consider Cooper’s writing in relation to the context of the late 19th century. What does it reveal for the state of African Americans in the post-Reconstruction era? Why did Cooper urge the community to take action?

Analyze the book’s value as a part of the activism of the period. How does Cooper’s writing enhance the advocacy of African Americans? How does the text connect to the women’s movement and the civil rights quest after the emancipation of Black people?

Throughout the book, Cooper illustrates the traumatic legacy of slavery. How does she connect the enslavement of Black people to the new forms of oppression in the South? In what ways do facets of slavery still exist despite the fact that it was abolished by the time of the book’s publication?