Waltrina D. Kirkland-Mullins
Between mid-November through the first week in January, teachers at the Davis Street Arts & Academics Interdistrict Magnet School in New Haven, CT prepare for our annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Assembly. We collectively lay the foundation for examining the Civil Rights era and its impact on American society as we know it today. Grades Pre-K through 1 take a simplistic, developmentally appropriate look at the civil rights movement with emphasis on embracing cultural similarities and diverse peoples working and living together as a united community. Grades 2 through 3 take a generic look at Rosa Parks and the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycotts. Grades 4 through 6 briefly examine past injustices experienced by African Americans in the segregated South, including examining the story of 14-year old Emmet Till. Each of these grade levels delves into an excerpted overview of Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech, accompanied by mosaic images of myriad people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial. Emphasis is placed on Black/White relationships and individuals who fought against racial injustice during the era. Although teacher and student efforts regarding the aforementioned prove laudable, the effort is in a sense insufficient.
For years, we have taught our children about the black/white inequities encountered in the struggle for civil rights. The reality is that although African-American people were tremendously impacted by Jim Crow laws, other people of color were impacted by those laws, and they too played an integral role in the struggle for civil rights. Also to be emphasized is that students—ranging from ages 6 through adolescent years—were in the forefront of this struggle: children and their parents recognized that education was pivotal in their obtaining their share of the American Dream. During the 50s and 60s, the pursuit of quality education by disenfranchised people of color was top priority. To strive for academic excellence was respected and readily embraced by the children in elementary through middle and upper school grades. These realities cannot be overlooked: they are points to be brought into classroom instruction not only by educators at Davis, but for any school in which curriculum preparation pertaining to the civil rights era takes on a similar design.
To deliver meaningful, substantive instruction in this regard, several questions must be candidly addressed: Have we adequately conveyed that the struggle for racial equality during the civil rights era did not solely impact the African-American community? Have we highlighted specific laws that contributed to or countered segregationist practices within the U.S.? Have we emphasized that integrated classrooms and school districts experienced in America today were unheard in many places throughout the United States years ago? Have we made our students aware of courageous civil-rights activists—young and old across cultures—who helped pave the way for culturally-inclusive classrooms experienced today. Do we, like so many of our students, take our culturally-rich learning communities for granted, and if so, how do we counter this trend? My Social Studies/Language Arts/Social Development curriculum unit, Hidden Realities: School Desegregation & The Law - Brown & Black Victories During the Civil Rights Era ("Hidden Realities"), provides answers to these inquiries.
Created for students in Grade 3, but modifiable to accommodate students in Grades 4 through 5, Hidden Realities zeroes in on school segregation as it impacted African and Mexican American communities during the mid-1950s. Young researchers will explore three court cases, beginning with Plessy v. Ferguson (1896 court legislation used to legalize and support segregation practices), followed by Mendez, et al v. Westminster School District of Orange County (1946) and Brown v. Board of Education (1954). The two, latter lawsuits paved the way for school desegregation. Students will additionally discover that although Brown v. Board of Education is heralded as a landmark case, Mendez et al v. Westminster set precedent for the Brown ruling.
Through the use of visual images and related literary resources, students experience that children often played a significant role in the fight for racial equality during the 50s era. Most important, they discover that although Jim Crow laws and segregation overwhelmingly impacted the Black community, other racial groups too were affected. Diverse groups of people fought collectively against race prejudice and other social injustices. The efforts of these civil rights activists too helped lay the foundation for the diverse learning communities and opportunities that exist in our society today.
