This unit is designed to provide the student with a working knowledge of Black literature by using two eras of Black history which produced some of the best protest literature of Black people of America. The two eras are the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s, and the Black Revolutionary period of the 1960’s. The theme for the unit comes from a poem written by one of the Renaissance poets, Countee Cullen; the title of the poem is “Yet Do I Marvel.” This poem speaks to the paradox of the Black man in America.
By comparing and contrasting the two eras the student will gain an increased awareness of American history in general, and Black history in particular. Students will also gain an historical perspective about Black life, a sense of time and sequence of events in history, and the ability to compare and contrast events in history, finding some causal relationships. Hopefully this course will improve racial relationships by offering information and insight about Black motivation and lifestyle.
(Recommended for 9th-12th grade English and 11th and 12th grade United States History.)
Key Words
Literature Harlem Renaissance History Afro-American Sixties