I will introduce this story with a pre-reading activity, to which students will respond in writing and then share responses with the class: First, they will answer the question, “What are some qualities or characteristics about yourself are you proud of?” Then they will write about an experience when someone judged them unfairly, strictly on the basis of race. Students will have the option of sharing or not sharing their experiences with the class.
In Nicholasa Mohr’s “An Awakening...Summer, 1956,” the central character is a young Puerto Rican woman who has chosen to leave her homeland, where for over than ten years she had worked at a church school. This young woman makes her choice, seeking a new life. To start her new life with a support system, she has been invited to spend the summer in Texas with a good friend, Ann, and her family. When she arrives at the bus station earlier than anticipated and when she cannot reach Ann, the young woman must wait several hours to be picked up.
Despite Ann’s letter with the warning, “Now, please wait at the bus depot, don’t wander off,”21 the young woman walks down the street to a convenience store/cafe to buy a cold drink and rest. She had not noticed the sign next to the door, “No Coloreds, No Mexicans, No Dogs Will Be Served on This Premises.”22 Her encounter with the proprietor forces her to confront the racism that she had never anticipated. Rather than backing down and going away, she forces the issue and stands up for herself. In her defiance, the young woman refuses to submit to racism and fully affirms her own self-worth and power. This can be the topic for a stimulating discussion, asking students to share an experience when they stood up for their or for someone else’s rights.
Later, we learn that, after working in the community with her friend, the community embraces her. But this initial experience with racism, and her ability to stand up for herself, marks a life-changing event. The young woman realizes that her future must involve working with those involved in the struggle for civil rights and fighting oppression. It also affirmes her self-identity, as illustrated in the statement, “Consciously for the first time in her life, the young woman was proud of all she was, her skin, her hair and the fact that she was a woman.”23
Making Connections
This story illustrates the extent to which one event can change a person’s life and it provides opportunities to discuss issues about human rights and problems that exist today, even as we approach a new millennium. Students will be encouraged to envision their roles in making society better, after discussing several questions, including:
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What values are necessary to make our society one where all people are treated with dignity and respect?
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What are some ways that an individual can contribute to making life better for all people?
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What are some of the obstacles? What are some of the rewards?
After participating in this discussion, students will complete an informal writing assignment in which they imagine themselves making a contribution to society by working to solve a problem that exists today. They will identify first the problem and explain why they consider it important. Then they will explain what role they might take in finding a solution. Finally, they will explain some of the obstacles they might face and the rewards they might gain from the experience.
Another story by Nicholasa Mohr, “The Wrong Lunch Line,” also explores issues of racism and exclusion. This story could be used as a supplemental reading. In addition, the poem, “Child of the Americas,” by Aurora Levins Morales, could be used to extend discussion about pride in one’s heritage, self-determination, and the issue of color.