Answer:
The correct answer to the question: What issue is the minister in the preceding excerpt addressing is: C: Who freedmen should look to for leadership.
Explanation:
After the end of slavery, within the states that had been at war during the Civil War, through the Emancipation Proclamation, one of the big questions was, whether real changes would take place. And concern for many, especially abolitionists and activist in favor of rights for African Americans, was, that the now freed men could be persuaded to support or choose, under pressure, especially in the South, leaders that would in some way, further the cause of slavery, in indirect ways. In this excerpt, what this minister is thus trying to do, is to show people, most likely his African American congregation, that it is of utmost importance for them to choose leaders wisely, lest they suddenly become supporters of furthering slavery, or supporting the violation of the rights of freed slaves.
