In this unit, students are asked to examine literature by authors from the Harlem Renaissance and beyond through the lens of identity considering all parts of an identity including race, gender, sexuality, and others. As a part of the unit, students will consider the construction of identity and the construction of truth. Authors included in this unit are Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes as well as the work of filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. As an entry point for students, the work of Walter Dean Myers, an author born in Harlem following this time period, is included.
(Developed for Language Arts, grade 8; recommended for English, grade 9)
