Classroom Activity 4
Topic- Various Legacies of Slavery & Racism in America/Forms of Resistance Today
Background- Racist ideas have been perpetuated by those in power to maintain their power which results in legacies of slavery such as redlining, police brutality and mass incarceration. As Critical Race Theory helps us understand, “...race is a social construct, and that racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies” (13). Today, resistance to these legacies is prevalent in society through a plethora of movements such as Black Lives Matter.
“The challenge throughout has been to tell what I view as the truth about racism without causing disabling despair. For some of us who bear the burdens of racial subordination, any truth - no matter how dire - is uplifting” (14). -Derrick Bell
Rationale- This activity provides students with opportunities to learn about the various legacies of slavery and racism that exist today as well as how those legacies are trying to be dismantled. Students need to see connections between what they are learning and their realities. They need ways to understand the world around them. Understanding the history and truth behind injustice is the first step to taking action against it.
Guiding Questions- What are legacies of slavery and racism in America? What does resistance to legacies of slavery and racism in America look like today?
- Warm Up: Pose the following question to students, give them time to think and write about it individually and then have them share their thinking with the class. What is a legacy?
- Activity: Students will be broken up into groups to learn about and then share their findings on various legacies of slavery and racism in America today as well as forms of resistance against them. Before this happens, the class will explore the link between slavery and mass incarceration, a legacy of slavery. They will do this by utilizing a Newsela article called “The 1619 Project: Why American prisons owe their cruelty to slavery” (link available in the Resources section below) as well as a video titled “Slavery to Mass Incarceration” by the Equal Justice Initiative (link available in the Resources section below). Students will then answer the following questions:
- How is mass incarceration a legacy of slavery and racism in America? Describe the connection.
- What does resistance to this legacy look like today? Describe at least one example.
- Students will repeat this same process for their chosen additional topic. Those topics come from the Legacies of American Slavery Project by the Council of Independent Colleges (link available in the Resources section below) and are as follows. They are accompanied by possible resources; however additional research may need to be done to help students locate resistance to these legacies.
- Commemoration and Memory - Newsela article “Georgetown University will recruit students descended from its slaves” (link available in the Resources section below)
- Economic Disparities - Newsela article “The 1619 Project: How America's vast racial wealth gap grew: by plunder” (link available in the Resources section below)
- Contested Citizenship - Newsela article “House passes bill to restore key parts of Voting Rights Act” (found in the Resources for Teachers and Students section below)
- Cultural Creativity - Newsela article “The 1619 Project: Forged in bondage, black music is the sound of freedom” (link available in the Resources section below)
- Racial Violence and Resistance - Newsela article “Ferguson's police and courts targeted African-Americans, report says” (link available in the Resources section below)
- Race, Place, and Migration - Newsela article “Redlining prevents minority families from becoming homeowners” (link available in the Resources section below)
- Environmental Justice - Newsela article “Racist housing policies have created some oppressively hot neighborhoods” (link available in the Resources section below)
- Race, Health, and Medicine - Newsela article “The 1619 Project: How false beliefs in physical racial difference still live in medicine today” (link available in the Resources section below) and/or Newsela article “The 1619 Project: Why doesn't America have universal health care? One word: race” (link available in the Resources section below)
- Closing/Reflection: Lastly, students will be asked to reflect on their new learning by responding to their choice of 3 or more of the following questions:
- How did this new learning make you feel? Explain your answer.
- What are your thoughts about this new learning?
- What surprised you? What was surprising about it?
- What did you find the most interesting? Why?
- How did this new learning challenge or confirm your understanding of slavery and/or racism?
- What are you wondering after this new learning?
- This can be done using a variety of teaching strategies. Below are a couple of potential options. More details about each option can be found in the “Teaching Strategies” section of Facing History and Ourselves (link available in the Resources section below).
- Option 1: Journals
- Using journals allows students to discuss their thoughts and feelings about what is being studied individually. It can help them process and deepen their understanding of what is being learned. Journals can provide a safe place for students to share their thinking and can provide opportunities for relationship building between teacher and student through reading and providing comments.
- Option 2: Graffiti Boards
- Using graffiti boards allows students to discuss their thoughts and feelings about what is being studied as a collective. This allows students to hear each other’s ideas and can help in building a classroom community.