Answer: A) They celebrated the exploits of black heroes and "bad men".
Explanation:
Ballads are understood as musicalized poetry, and emerged in the 14th century.
African American ballads of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries celebrated the exploits of black heroes and bad men 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.