How Many People Are Black and Living in Mississippi

How Many People Are Black and Living in Mississippi?The Rosa Parks essay is a classic for college football scholars. To answer the question, 'How many people are black and living in Mississippi?' The best answer to this question is four hundred sixty-eight black people and, therefore, there are four hundred sixty-eight people in Mississippi who are black and living in Mississippi.Students in my English class recently read a post-college essay on the life of Rosa Parks by Marsha Moore. When the assignment was due, I asked my students to read the essay, then respond with their own questions about the essay and the topic.In their response, students were allowed to quote as many of the quotes from Marsha Moore as they wanted. Students were also encouraged to use their own words in writing their own answers to the question, 'How many people are black and living in Mississippi?'The most popular quote from Marsha Moore's essay was: 'I couldn't help thinking about the hundreds of little peop le out there, the poor souls, the lonely, hopeless souls.' I have no doubt that most of my students read that quote and thought about the poor souls they see in their neighborhoods and in their small towns all over the world.However, I also think that many of my students did not feel as strongly about the poor souls out there as they felt about those who are rich and famous. Because they did not feel as strongly about the poor and lonely, they were able to write an essay which answered the question 'How many people are black and living in Mississippi?'The other favorite quote from Marsha Moore's essay was this one: 'We must always remember that some things are never lost, but in spite of themselves.' My students are getting very good at comparing real life and fiction, especially when it comes to literature. It is a lesson well learned by my students; however, some of them did not get the whole point of the essay by simply reading only one of the four quotes that accompanied the ess ay and only referring to one of the four topics, which were Mississippi, poverty, loneliness, and the term 'never lost.' So, I decided to invite them to come up with their own questions to answer the question, 'How many people are black and living in Mississippi?'By doing so, my students have taken the first step toward becoming a football scholar and an essayist. Perhaps, in time, they will follow in the footsteps of Marsha Moore and become more than mere readers.