Answer: A) They celebrated the exploits of black heroes and "bad men".
Explanation:
<u>Ballads</u> are understood as musicalized poetry, and emerged in the 14th century.
<u>African American ballads of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries celebrated the exploits of black heroes and bad men</u> by composing musical pieces that artistically narrated these character's personas and actions, many of them which were entangled in racial-political issues that leaded them to their tragic ends. It was a way for this community to handle the pain, claim their memories.