The 1967 release of Harold Cruse’s book The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual isolated him from almost all other scholars and activists of the American Civil Rights Movement—though many of those thinkers disagreed with each other, he nonetheless found ways to disagree with them all. He thought that activists who believed that Black people such as himself should culturally assimilate were naïve. But he also sharply criticized Black nationalists such as Marcus Garvey who wanted to establish independent, self-contained Black economies and societies, even though Cruse himself identified as a Black nationalist.

Question

The 1967 release of Harold Cruse’s book The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual isolated him from almost all other scholars and activists of the American Civil Rights Movement—though many of those thinkers disagreed with each other, he nonetheless found ways to disagree with them all. He thought that activists who believed that Black people such as himself should culturally assimilate were naïve. But he also sharply criticized Black nationalists such as Marcus Garvey who wanted to establish independent, self-contained Black economies and societies, even though Cruse himself identified as a Black nationalist.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
Choose 1 answer:
Choose 1 answer:
(Choice A)   It indicates that Cruse’s reputation as a persistent antagonist of other scholars is undeserved.
A
It indicates that Cruse’s reputation as a persistent antagonist of other scholars is undeserved.
(Choice B)   It describes a controversy that Cruse’s work caused within the Black nationalist movement.
B
It describes a controversy that Cruse’s work caused within the Black nationalist movement.
(Choice C)   It describes a direction that Cruse felt the Civil Rights Movement ought to take.
C
It describes a direction that Cruse felt the Civil Rights Movement ought to take.
(Choice D)   It helps explain Cruse’s position with respect to the community of civil rights thinkers.
D
It helps explain Cruse’s position with respect to the community of civil rights thinkers.

GPT 3.5 · Answer

(Choice D) It helps explain Cruse’s position with respect to the community of civil rights thinkers.

The underlined sentence helps to illustrate Cruse's unique and challenging position within the Civil Rights Movement, as he managed to disagree with both assimilationists and Black nationalists despite identifying as a Black nationalist himself. This sentence sheds light on Cruse's critical stance towards other scholars and activists in the movement.