My entry into Black women’s history was unexpected but agreeable ． In the preface to Black

Women in America ： An Historical Encyclopedia ， I recount the story of exactly how Shirley Herd（who，in addition to teaching in the local school system ， was also president of the Indianapolis chapter of the National Council of Negro Women） successfully provoked me into changing my research and writing focus ． Although I dedicate this volume to her and to her best friend，fellow club woman and retired primary school teacher Virtea Downey，Istill blush at the fact that I went to graduate school to become a historian In order to contribute to the Black Struggle for social justice and yet met her request to write a history of Black women in Indiana with reluctance．I had neever even thought about Black women as historical subjects with their own relations to a state’s history，and I thought her invitation and phone call extraordinarily intrusive． Only later did I concede how straightforward and reasonable had been her request to redress a historical omission．Black women were conspicuous by their absence．None of the social studies texts or state histories that Herd and Downey had used to teach their students made mention of the contributions of Black women ． Since historians had left them out ， Herd reasoned ， only a“real”historian could pue them in，and since I was the only tenured Black women historian in the state of Indiana at that time，the task was mine． Herd rejected my reservations and completely ignored my admonitions that she could not call up a historian and order a book the way you drive up to a fast － food restaurant and order a hamburger．In spite of my assertions of ignorance about the history of Black women in Indiana and my confession of habing never studied the subject in any history course or examined any manuscript sources pertaining to their lives，Herd persevered．Black women，as historical subjects and agents， were as invisiable to me as they had been toschool textbook writers． Undaunted by my response， Herd demanded that I connect （thankfully without perfect symmerty）my biology and autobiography，my race and gender，my being a Black women，to my skill as a historian，and write for her and for the local chapter members of the National Council a history of Black Women in Indiana．I relented and wrote the book，When the Truth Is Told：Black Women’s Culture and Community in Indiana，1875－1950，as requested，In the process，I was both humbled and astouned by the array of rich primary sorce materials Herd，Downey，and the other club women had spent two years collecting． There were diaries，club notes，church souvenir booklets，photographs， club minutes，brith，death，and marriage certificates，letters，and handwritten county and local histories．Collectively this material revealed a universe I never knew existed in spite of having lived with Black women all of my life…and being one myself．Or perhaps more accurately，I knew a universe of Black women existed．I simply had not envisioned its historical meaning．1 ． The primary purpose of the passage is to show how the author______． A．discovered Black women’s history when she was in graduate school B．became a historian to help Black people in America achieve social justice C．developed her research skills by undertaking a challenging project D．came to view Black women as a worthy subject for historical analysis 2．Why did the author initially respond to Herd’s request “with reluctance”？ A．Because she knew that historians should avoid controversial subjects． B． Because there were too many other projects requiring her attention． C． Because she viewed Herd’s request as irrelevant and presumptuous． D． Because she knew that Herd had not been to graduate school．3．The author compared Herd’s demanding a history book to ______to indicate that she did not generally undertake projects on request． 4． The author believed that historians should conduct research in areas in which they had expertise so she asserted that she was ______about the project． 5．Herd and the other club women spent two years collecting______to prove that Black women contributed to society historically．