Read the following passage written by a teen hero: I want to be a vocal advocate for nature.
I reject the idea that I am too young to make a difference.
I recently helped a group with a river cleanup.
I was mortified to see the destruction of animals and plants.
When I got home, I composed a letter to my state politicians and asked them to allocate more money to the local river cleanup effort.
I believe my vocation is to help citizens see that we are at a junction.
We can decide to subject nature to abuse, or we can decide to be a benefactor to nature.
I won't let obstacles detract from my mission.

What is the meaning of the word "detract" as it is used in sentence 8?
To join together
To pull in the opposite direction
To make or do the opposite
To step back

The harlem renaissance dawned in an era of pervasive racism and segregation. although legally "free," many african americans were still bound by ideas that had their roots in the slavery of earlier centuries. identity and freedom are important ideas presented in many of the poems from the harlem renaissance. furthermore, the values of identity and freedom are not unique to particular times and places. as hughes expresses in "dream variations," all humans want to be able to develop their identities in freedom. what role does freedom play in the poems you read in this unit? what is required of a society to enable each individual to be true to his or her identity and be free to live by that identity? write about at least three of the poems, describing how the poet uses imagery to depict freedom and identity, the lack of it, or the desire for it.