With arms outstretched, the Statue of Liberty beckons the world’s tired, hungry, and poor to dine with her at the table of plenty in America. Many have graciously accepted her invitation, only to find that perhaps there was a grave misunderstanding. Upon entry to the great hall, some found that they were not invited to be partakers of, but servants at the feast.
Many “hyphenated” Americans came here to escape the persecution and trials they were forced to endure in other lands. Upon arrival in America, they experienced persecution because their skin was not white enough or because they did not practice the “right “ religion. Africans were not invited at all, but were kidnapped and enslaved in America for over two hundred years. Although their modes of entry were not the same, the “hyphenated Americans” have held fast to many of their customs and their culture.
Although America has been heralded as the great melting pot, its people are still very separated. People in America tend to separate themselves down racial and ethnic lines. New Haven, with its very diverse population, has one of the most racially segregated school systems in the country. Because we ascribe to the concept of neighborhood schools in general, whites who live with whites, attend schools with whites. African-Americans and Hispanics generally reside in the inner-city together and consequently attend the same urban schools.
As a teacher in the Talented and Gifted Program, I teach students from schools that are predominantly African-American and Hispanic such as Roberto Clemente , and predominantly white, such as Nathan Hale. Although these are students in the same school system, many of them never interact with children outside of their racial or ethnic group. This segregation promotes the type of ignorance that allows racism to thrive. It has been my experience that when children learn about other people, and gain an appreciation for their contributions and successes, the walls of bigotry and racism are weakened, and eventually crumble.
The T.A.G. program is very unique. There is a different core curriculum for each of our four grade levels. Our seventh graders, who come to our resource room on Mondays, have a core curriculum centered around the future and prejudice reduction. Our students are asked to make future projections, based on their knowledge of the past and the present. Our curriculum is very much literature based. Through the reading of autobiographies, biographies and realistic fiction, students are able to peer into other cultures. Next year’s presentation of multi-cultural plays will greatly enhance the present curriculum. My unit, “Multi-cultural Theater: A Reflection of Societal Ills and Issues,” will introduce students to the history of African-Americans and Asian-Americans in the United States.
While discussing the histories of these two groups, I will discuss plays and non-theatrical texts that directly relate to the history of the aforementioned Americans. From the African-American experience, we will explore the screenplay,
One Day When I vas Lost, The Secret Gifts,. Freedom Train, Abe Lincoln and the Runaway Slaves, Umoja Be Proud,
and
Git On Board
.
The culture of Asian-Americans , will be explored through non-theatrical as well as theatrical writings. Students will examine excerpts from,
The Wash, And the Soul Shall Dance
, and other plays by Asian -Americans.
My unit will be written with my seventh graders in mind. Next year I will have students from Roberto Clemente, Nathan Hale, Betsy Ross and Fair Haven Middle School in the same classroom. Because these students have very little interaction with people outside of their communities, my unit will serve as a basis for prejudice reduction activities. My unit will include lesson plans that encourage students to move outside of their “group” and to work with students other than those from their homebased school. I will include activities such as “Proudly Presenting”, which is both a self-esteem building and getting-to-know-you activity. In “Proudly Presenting”, students must interview a student that they do not know. Upon completion, the students switch roles and the other becomes the interviewer. All of the students come together and each child presents the student he or she interviewed to the group. Information about the students’ family, outside interests, academic achievements, likes and dislikes are made known to the group. The presenter ends by saying, “proudly presenting . . . Upon hearing his or her name, the student stands and everyone applauds.
All of my students, grades four through seven, have participated in the city-wide play writing contest sponsored by the Yale Children’s Dramat. This year, I had four seventh graders who were grand prize winners in that competition. Next year, the increased exposure to plays should improve the quality of their plays.
It is my intention to devote at least six weeks to the exploration of each of the four groups, African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans and Jewish Americans. (Please note that only African Americans and Asian Americans will be presented in this unit) I will begin teaching the unit in mid September and will bring it to completion at the end of February. The target group, my seventh graders, attend only on Mondays. Approximately one and one half hour will be devoted to the unit presentation per week. At the unit’s end, greater blocks of time will be used to ensure the completion of quality playwriting. Students will learn the country of origin and its location on a world map. Children will be encouraged to write poetry and prose that reflect the information they have acquired about the people being studied.
Students will not only seek to comprehend the plot of selected plays, but will be encouraged to explore the culture and reflections of it in the plays. Students will participate in the acting of the plays. They will toy with accents and posture in a non-offensive way. Students will participate in ongoing discussions about their cultural similarities and differences.
The final week of each six week mini-unit, will allow students an opportunity to put closure on the things they have learned. Students will have an opportunity to compare and contrast writers from the same racial or ethnic group. Students will also use evaluative skills to determine their favorite play. Students will be asked to draw a poster advertising their favorite play, to make a protest sign reflective of the issues of the group studied, to write a campaign speech for a key political figure from the group studied, to write a letter to the editor of a fictitious newspaper to express the concerns of the group, or to write a diamante poem comparing the group to others in the United States. This format will be used for each of the following groups; African-Americans, Jewish-Americans , Asian-Americans and Hispanic-Americans.
The culmination of the entire unit will be the actual writing of plays. Students will be challenged to write from the experience of a person in an ethnic or racial group other than his or her own. Students must check for historical accuracy while avoiding negative stereotypes. A student who feels uncomfortable participating in this activity may write a play that reflects his or her culture. Selected plays will be performed by the group and presented at an open house for parents. This playwriting will take approximately eight morning sessions , at one and a half hours per session.
If successful, my unit will help students embrace their similarities while celebrating their differences. Through this non-threatening medium called playwriting, students will understand that regardless of mode of entry, “hyphenated Americans” are Americans just the same. It is my hope that this introduction to multi-cultural theater will help them embrace a multi-cultural world.
The first day will begin with all students seated before a world map. I will start by explaining their core curriculum for the year, and explaining that prejudice reduction will be a large part of that curriculum. Students will be asked to define prejudice as it pertains to gender and race. We will explore the student’s views of prejudice and its possible effects on a people, a nation and the world.
Next, students will be given a small post-it note , and asked to place it on their family’s country or continent of origin. Once all post-it notes are in place, I will ask for a volunteer to explain what we see. Students will notice that we have come from all over the world, but have come to a common place, the U.S. and more particularly, New Haven. Students will be asked to share stories about early ancestors in this country. Those students who have stories to share, will find that their stories are very similar and yet different.
Students will be presented with the task of describing their ancestor’s homeland. What is it like visually? What is the economy like ? Is it modern or primitive? What type of clothing is worn? Is there a system of government? What would it be like to live there? Would you like to live there? Would life be better for you and your family there?
Upon completing these brainstorming activities, students will participate in the writing of an alphabet poem. Students will draw the shape of their country, and place the alphabet poem within that shape. For each letter of the alphabet, students will write a descriptive word about their land of origin. For example:
Africa, Beautiful, Courageous, Dancing, Endurance, Fortune, Gracious, Hippos, Industrious, Joyous, Kindred, Lonely, Motherland, Nurturing, Oneness, Purpose, Quiet, Revolts, Strong, Terrain, Unique, Vivacious, Waiting, Xcellent, Yearning, Zealous
Students will be asked to share their poems and to explain them. This should complete our unit introduction.
During the second class, we will begin to explore the history and culture of African Americans. A major flaw in the teaching of African-American history is that those who take this to task, usually begin discussing this history with slavery or with the jungles of Africa. I recall very vividly being told by a white elementary school teacher , that all negroes had come from Africa. This earth shattering news was shared after the showing of a film that depicted tribal life in Africa, with bare-breasted women dancing and men running through jungles. The film shown was so far removed from my experience, that I remember feeling so ashamed and denying any link to such a place. I did not know anything about Africa, except that I did not want any part of it. Had I been shown “ The Two Worlds Of Musembe”, a film about village and city life in Africa, I would not have experienced the shame. It was so refreshing to discover that Africa was not a continent void of knowledge and development, but a land of many firsts and possibly the motherland of all nations.
It is with this recollection that I have purposed to teach all of my students about the wonderful continent we call Africa. Students will be given a copy of a play I wrote titled, “ Umoja be Proud. “ After reading this play, students will discuss the information they learned about Africa, more particularly, pre-slavery Africa.
“Umoja Be Proud”
Characters:
Mrs. Williams / Elissa /Doron / Brian / Makeda / Peter / Umoja / James / Kenneth / Joseph / Matthew
Scene I
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Time: Monday morning, 8:15 a.m.
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Setting: Classroom at Thurgood Marshall Middle School
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The scene opens with students entering nervously on the first day of school. A few students joke with each other . They walk in and are seated. In walks a new student. The teacher walks in almost simultaneously.
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Mrs. Williams: Good morning, I’m your teacher Mrs. Williams. Before I tell you about myself, we’re going to play a name game that will help us get to know each other better. Alright, this is the way it works; each person in the class must state their name and something they like that begins with the same letter as their first name. The next person must state their name, what they like, and the names and likes of everyone who proceeded them.
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Brian : I’m sorry Mrs. Williams. I don’t get it.
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Mrs. Williams: For example: I’m Mrs. Williams and I like windows. What’s your name? (looks at Doron)
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Doron: Doron, but they call me Ronnie for short.
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Mrs. Williams: Alright Doron, what do you like that begins with the letter D?
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Doron: I guess I’d have to say donuts.
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Mrs. Williams: Then Doron would say, My name is Doron, and I like donuts; her name is Mrs. Williams, and she likes windows. Young man with the yellow X shirt, what is your name. (talking to the new student)
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Umoja: (nervously) Umoja Monk! (with effort to sound unafraid) (The class bursts into laughter)
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Kenneth: ( laughing hysterically) What are you some kind of African or something? Umoja . . . Umoja (making fun of the name. The more he says it , the funnier it becomes to him. Others join in while Mrs. Williams is trying desperately to regain control of the class.)
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Doron: What’s wrong with you? (angrily) Why do you always feel the need to “dis” other people? If you had a little knowledge, you wouldn’t be putting him down because of his name. (Umoja looks at him appreciatively)
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Kenneth: Oh shut up, Doron. You’re just sticking up for him because your name’s not much better. (he and David laugh and give each other a high five )
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Doron: I’m not ashamed of my name, It means gift of God! What does Kenneth mean, He who stepped in doggie doo?
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Mrs. Williams: (very calmly) I will not ask for your attention again. I want everyone in this class to listen very closely to what I’m about to say. It was my intention to get to know a little bit about you before you learned about me. Your actions here today have told me that you have a lot to learn about Africa and how to treat others. What you have forced me to teach you in a hurry, is that I despise ignorance and strive to eradicate it at any cost. Does anyone know what eradicate means? (all look at each other)
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Doron: Eradicate, as defined by Webster, is a verb that means to uproot or remove completely; get rid of, or to wipe out. (very briskly, and self assuredly)
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Matthew: Nerd! (sneering)
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Doron: No, smart! (points to his head, not quite bragging, but confident and proud)
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Mrs. Williams : That’s right, we are going to get rid of these negative attitudes by getting to the root of the problem, ignorance. Your homework assignment tonight is to research a segment of African history. You may choose an area of interest, and designate it on the sheet that is now being circulated. I expect everyone to come in tomorrow prepared with an oral presentation. Class is dismissed.
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(students begin to exit the class)
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Elissa: It’s all your fault Kenny! It’s the first day of school and we have homework. I don’t understand why you always get into trouble.
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Makeda: You mean get us into trouble. So what, he doesn’t have a name like Kenneth or Matthew, does that make him less of a person?
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Kenneth: Here goes another funny-named person, trying to come to the brother’s defense.
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Makeda: Funny-named? (indignantly) My dear Kenny, I am named after the Queen of Sheba.
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Joseph: Your name’s not Sheba! Do you think we’re stupid or something?
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Matthew: Yeah! (the boys begin to laugh)
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Doron: Stupid, no; ignorant, yes.
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Joseph: Well, enlighten us, oh great, intelligent one! (facetiously)
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Doron: Sheba was not the queen’s name, it was the name of her country.
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Makeda: Makeda was her name; Queen Makeda. She was one of King Solomon’s wives and was known throughout the world for her great wealth and beauty. He loved her so much, that she is recorded in the Bible. “ She is black, but comely,” he wrote.
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Doron: My father said, when he was in college, one of his professors told him that in the original Hebrew says; “She is Black, and beautiful.”
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Makeda: I hear that! One of the richest queens in the world, intelligent, beautiful and black.
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Matthew: I never knew that. (apologetically)
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Kenneth: You know, Doron and Makeda are right. We’re not stupid, we just don’t know a lot about Africa.
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Joseph: Although I’m not black, I’d still like to learn more about it.
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Peter: Yeah me too! Let’s surprise Mrs. Williams tomorrow with the best oral presentations she’s ever heard.
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Doron: Bet! See you tomorrow. (students say good-bye and exit)
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Scene 2: Students enter the classroom the next day. When Mrs. Williams walks in, everyone is seated and attentive.
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Mrs. Williams: Good morning. Are you guys always this quiet, or are you up to something?
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Makeda: You see Mrs. Williams, we’re sorry that you saw our worst side yesterday, you too, Umoja. We have been taught by our families and teachers that education is important. Our school is named after the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, Justice Thurgood Marshall. Thurgood Marshall was born in New Haven just like most of us , and grew up to be one of the most influential men in this country.
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Kenneth: We pride ourselves in being achievers and we never back down from an academic challenge. Here’s our welcome to Thurgood Marshall Middle School.
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Matthew: I’d like to begin with a brief report on the land in Africa. West Africa is believed to be the birthplace of most ancestors of African-Americans. West Africa is about five-sixths the size of the United States but, it is only twenty percent of the continent. Africa is the second largest continent in the world, and has over 2,000 miles of beaches. There are many rainforests there, and the average rainfall is from thirty to over one hundred inches per year.
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James: (stands) Many early West-Africans lived in the forest regions. Because there are so many people, tribes and countries in Africa, many find it difficult to classify its people. Some have tried unsuccessfully to group people according to their social or political beliefs. Some have even tried to classify the people according to their physical attributes. Others yet feel the best way to classify Africans, is through their language. In the forest region, one would find the Mande-speaking people. On the east coast of West Africa, known as the gold coast, live the Fanti and Ashanti, who are Akan-speaking people. In the forest region of Nigeria, one would find the powerful Yoruba in the west and the Ibo in the east. The most interesting thing I learned is that well before the fifteenth century, there were well established trading going on between the Gold Coast and the great trading centers in the Sudan. I never knew the Gold Coast was called that because Africa is rich in gold.
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Makeda: (stands) I have come to share my research about kings and queens of Africa. Prior to slavery, there existed great kingdoms in Africa. These kingdoms or “queendoms”, as I like to call them, were ruled by great African kings and queens. An astute diplomat and military leader, was Queen Nzingha, the Queen of Matamba, West Africa. Queen Amina of Zaria had a queendom that covered most of Nigeria and expanded southward to the Niger River. My favorite queen was the Queen of Sheba; Queen Makeda. She is credited with introducing judist philosophy to Africans long before the appearance of white missionaries on African soil. King Mansa Musa, reigned as king of Mali from about 1307-1332. He was said to have made a pilgrimage to Mecca, the Muslims’ holy land in 1324. On this pilgrimage, his entourage included hundreds of servants, thousands of soldiers and eighty camels carrying about twenty-four thousand pounds of gold, most of which he gave to strangers.
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Doron: That brother was really rich!
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Joseph: You got that right!
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Peter: Listen to Joseph trying to sound like a brother. (mildly teasing)
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Joseph: We are brothers, we’re just a little lighter skinned that’s all. (they all laugh comfortably, reflective of their close bond of friendship)
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Kenneth: (turns to Umoja) You know Umoja , I’m glad you moved into our neighborhood. If you hadn’t come to our school we probably would not have learned all the things we have about Africa. Because I started all of this with my negative attitude, I personally researched your name. Umoja means one, or unity. I guess when your parents named you, they knew that someday you would embrace the concepts of unity and brotherhood. Umoja, be proud. You have a wonderful name , from a wonderful continent, Africa.
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Mrs. Williams: Well so much for ignorance! You have given me the education of my life. In two short days, you have shown me such an array of feelings and behaviors and yet you’ve taught me what pride is. As a group you have decided to stand tall. You are the best students any teacher could ever have. Because you are such a “together” group, we will place the word Umoja above our classroom door to serve as a reminder of what we’ve learned, and the spirit of this class.
(Students begin to chant, “ Umoja means unity, togetherness for you and me!” All eyes focus on Umoja, who is beaming with pride.)
