Question

read the passage from sugar changed the world. no one interviewed the africans who labored in the sugar fields to ask them about their hard labor. they were meant to work and die. but there is one way we can hear them. the africans invented music, dances, and songs that carry on the pulse, the beat, of their lives. (to hear examples of music from the sugar lands, go to www.sugarchangedtheworld.com.) in puerto rico, bomba is a form of music and dance that the sugar workers invented. it is a kind of conversation in rhythm involving a woman, the man dancing with her, and the drummers who watch her and find the right rhythm for her movements. a master coming by would see dancing—no words of anger or rebellion. but as she moved and swayed, as the drummers “spoke” back in their beats, the workers were saying that they were not just labor, not just bodies born to work and die. instead they were alive and sneaking in. which text evidence best supports the authors’ claim and purpose that enslaved people were more than mercilessly treated workers? “bomba is a form of music and dance that the sugar workers invented.” “they were not just labor, not just bodies born to work and die.” “similarly, in brazil there is a dance called maculelê.” “people spin, jump, and seem to menace each other.”

Explanation:

The claim is that enslaved people were more than just harsh - treated workers. The text "They were not just labor, not just bodies born to work and die" directly supports this by emphasizing their humanity beyond being mere laborers.

Answer:

B. "They were not just labor, not just bodies born to work and die."