Which of the following statements is true about how African American writers struggled with themes that dealt with the past and to establish a new identity? Question 15 options: African Americans could not gain an understanding or embrace their African heritage; thus, they could not develop a new identity. African Americans who had left the South were no longer connected to their rural past and so could no longer relate to their family or friends still living in the south. African Americans' tragic past and experiences of injustice continued to shape their reality.