African+American+History

toc =Discrimination=

"A Class Divided" Video
This exercise can be used in a lesson to help illustrate the effects of discrimination and racism in the US. It can then be tied to students' own experiences.


 * 1) Show the first two sections of the documentary (approx. 20 minutes)
 * 2) After the film give students 10 minutes to write in their notebooks about what they're thinking / feeling after having seen the film.
 * 3) Ask students to share what they wrote. If they`re hesitant here are some possible discussion questions:
 * Did any part of the film surprise you?
 * Do you think someone of a different race, ethnicity, or religion would also find it surprising?
 * What scene do you think you'll still remember a month from now? Why?
 * What did you learn?
 * What did the children's body language indicate about the impact of discrimination?
 * How did the negative and positive labels placed on a group become self-fulfilling prophecies?
 * How is the blue eyes/brown eyes exercise related to the Sioux prayer "Help me not judge a person until I have walked in his shoes"?

"The Hurricane" by Bob Dylan
This lesson can be used to talk about how racism in the US affected one person, about the media's role, about protest etc. Give students background on the story of Rubin [|"Hurricane"] [|Carter].
 * 1) Hand out lyrics to Bob Dylan's song [|"The Hurricane"] and read them together.
 * 2) Watch the [|video] and listen to the song.
 * 3) Student Response: Choose a partner. Write 3 questions you would ask Rubin Carter in an interview. Write 3 questions you would ask Bob Dylan in an interview.

=Underground Railroad=

Using Art to Talk and Write
Show the students Jerry Pinkney's painting of [|Harriet Tubman] arriving at the Canadian boarder with people who escaped slavery along the Underground Railroad.
 * 1) Ask students questions to get them to describe what they see.
 * 2) Ask each student to choose one person in the painting and to think about the following: Who is this person? Where have she been? Where is she now? What has his life been like? What is he thinking?
 * 3) Give students time to write in their notebooks what they think the person they chose is thinking at this moment.
 * 4) Have students share their ideas.
 * 5) Use the 5 Line Poem to have students write short poems about what the person they chose must have felt/thought.