Reading Comprehension

PT108 · S4 · P3 · Q16 Hammer and Hoe

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Robin D. G. Kelley's book Hammer and Hoe explores the history of communism in the U.S. state of Alabama.

Topic

The appeal and evolution of communism among African-American workers in Alabama, as explored in Robin D. G. Kelley’s Hammer and Hoe.

Framework

Highlight Noteworthy; Present Debate

Main Point

Kelley’s book argues that the success and decline of communism among African-American workers should be measured by its practical impact and cultural resonance, not just its ideology or alliances, and shows that broader historical forces, not just shifts in Communist Party policy, shaped African-American involvement. (Main point is best captured in the final paragraph and also signaled in the first paragraph’s focus on “how” the party attracted Black workers.)

P1: Kelley’s Unique Approach

Kelley isn’t worried about whether communism was theoretically sound—he wants to know how it actually worked “on the ground” in Black communities, and what made it useful for organizing African-American workers.

P2: Typical vs. Kelley’s Focus

Most historians who defend the Communist Party in this period highlight its alliances with liberal groups, but Kelley shifts the focus to the perspective of African-American organizers, where these alliances actually look less positive.

P3: Third Period vs. Popular Front

Kelley claims the earlier, more radical “Third Period” was actually a better fit for rallying Black workers. While its rhetoric sounded extreme, Black party members weren’t just grandstanding—they found strength in bold language and saw the party (with help from international movements) as a powerful ally against oppression.

16.

Which one of the following most accurately characterizes the passage's main point?

  1. By spending little time discussing

    Too Negative: fails to fully explicate

    We don't have any ammunition for a negative review of Kelley's book. The only evaluative claim the author gives us the last paragraph: "Far from claiming X was the sole reason, Kelley provides a rounded portrait of the decline". That sounds complimentary.

    3% picked this

  2. The relationship between the Communist

    Wrong Emphasis: ideological purity?

    This answer choice makes no reference to Kelley's book (which could potentially be okay, as long as the answer sounded like the book's thesis). But the book's thesis is about how the Third Period was more appealing than the Popular Front was as an organizing vehicle for African-Americans. There aren't any big ideas presented about "ideological purity being inessential to effect political change".

    4% picked this

  3. Hammer and Hoe constitutes a

    Wrong Emphasis: radicals vs. liberals

    The main thrust of the book was about how the communist party came to attract a substantial number of African-American workers and how these workers used the party as a vehicle for organizing themselves. It wasn't mainly about "models of unity between radicals and liberals".

    1% picked this

  4. The true measure of the

    Unsupported Causal Relationship

    This answer has some promise, because Kelley is definitely exploring the question of how the Communist Party was successful at organizing American workers. But the answers to that question are things like: - rhetoric regarding a "new world" resonated among African Americans - help from a powerful ally in Moscow seemed like a potential source of power - the party established itself as an ally by mobilizing against lynch law - early on, the party was willing to attack white chauvinism This answer makes it seem like the passage was saying, "it wasn't about changing thinking; it was about interacting with their culture". Our list of reasons above are a mix of changing thinking and interacting with African American culture. The author never elevated the latter over the former.

    14% picked this

  5. Correct

    Hammer and Hoe offers new

    Why this is right

    This answer is "fine", which is sometimes the best available answer. It sounds like the passage overall was a positive book review of Kelley's book, which is certainly accurate. Did the book focus on the relationship between the Communist Party and African-American workers? Definitely. The part of this answer about "offering new insights" relates to the 2nd paragraph. Whereas most scholarship about this subject has emphasized the Communist Party's attempts to draw on democratic political traditions and to enter into meaningful political alliances with liberals, Kelley's book has a distinct focus (and thus it offers different insights).

    Skill tested: Main Point · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    78% picked this

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