The purpose of my unit is to educate the youths about the African American roots. The unit includes how to progress toward a brighter future. My unit is geared toward giving the youths a sense of knowledge and pride about themselves, Africa, its people, and its descendants, who were born outside of Africa.
This unit is divided into sections. The first deals with a brief historical background of Africa and its people before blacks were kidnapped and brought to America. The second pertains to the enslavement of innocent black families seen through the eyes of three African men who were once forced to live as slaves. These men were Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass and Joseph Sengbe (Cinque). The third section briefly mentions other black individuals who were born after the three men mentioned above, and who accomplished and contributed priceless talents to America. Popular black individuals will also be mentioned as their prominence throughout this nation is being recalled. The fourth section entitled “Develop Your Talents”, strengthens and motivates youngsters toward a better and brighter future for themselves and for their families. This section is of vital importance to the students. The fifth section includes sample lesson plans, individual activities, group activities, field trips, suggested speakers, resources, an annotated bibliography for teachers and suggested readings for the students.
The overall strategy consists of giving the students only the truth about their past and preparing them for a useful and satisfactory future, especially since the laws, as well as the myths have prevented their ancestors from pursuing freedom and happiness for themselves and their families. Students must learn to understand and adjust their present lives by learning about the past, in order to understand the present.
(Recommended for Social Studies, Reading, Vocabulary, and Spelling classes, grades 5-12)
Key Words
Cinque Sengbe Joseph Douglas Fredrick History General Slavery Afro-American Literature Washington Booker
