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Subject

English Language Arts (2005), Social Studies

Learning Context/ Introduction

Using readings from African American Perspectives, 1818-1907, students prepare a 60 Minutes-style news program.

Activity One: Readings on Racial Violence

1. Lesson Preparation: Print out 4 - 8 copies of each of the following five articles:
   • The Average Congressman - What He Don't Know from The Voice of the Carpet Bagger.
   • Lynch Law in Georgia by Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931).
   • Clippings From Some of Our Leading Southern Newspapers. "Mob violence is inexcusable and all matters should be determined in a lawful assembly" from A Sermon on Lynch Law and Raping by Emanuel K. Love (1850-1900).
   • A Protest Against the Burning and Lynching of Negroes by Booker T. Washington.
   • To the Members of the Anti-Lynching Bureau by Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931).
2. Explain to the students that they are going to read and discuss a selection of news clippings, sermons, and narratives that depict the continued struggle for equality and mistreatment of African American citizens.
3. In American Memory, open African American Perspectives: Pamphlets from the Daniel A.P. Murray Collection, 1818 - 1907 and read the Introduction.
4. Divide the class into groups of 10 students each and have the students within each group pair off.
5. Pass out paper copies of the five articles from African American Perspectives.
6. Assign one of the five articles to each pair of students in each group. Explain to the students that each pair will read the assigned article and discuss it with their partners.
7. Students will have one day to read and discuss the assigned article with their partners. Each pair should become thoroughly familiar with the assigned reading and prepare to share their knowledge with the class. Additional research on the background of the article may be necessary. Students should carefully note other sources consulted.

Activity Two: In the News

1. Each student pair presents the information they have compiled about their assigned article to their group.
2. Each group plans a "60 Minutes"-style news program reporting events from the struggle for equality as depicted in the readings. The program should include the following:
   • A lead-in to the program including an original title.
   • Feature stories on authors of the selected reading.
   • Complete credits for works consulted.
   • Feature stories on the "Race Problem."
   • Feature stories on potential solutions to the "Race Problem."
   • Historical background to the "Race Problem."
   • Students may choose to video tape the production and add visuals and music. (Optional)
3. On the final day of the project, each group presents its news program to the class.

Activity Three: Literary Response

1. Lesson Preparation: For classroom distribution, photocopy the poem "Strong Men" by Sterling Brown. The poem is available in Collected Poems of Sterling A. Brown. Evanston, Ill.: TriQuarterly Books, 1996.
   For immediate access, click here for a full text page of the poem available online.
2. Distribute copies of the poem to the students.
3. Read the poem, both silently and aloud.
4. Complete the Reader's Guide for "Strong Men."
4. Reader's Guide for "Strong Men"

Duration

5 - 6 class periods

Author

Kathleen Prody and Nicolet Whearty

Source

This lesson was originally an extension activity in the learning experience "To Kill a Mockingbird: A Historical Perspective." Reproduced from the Library of Congress web site for teachers. Original lesson plan created as part of the Library of Congress American Memory Fellows Program.

Related Academic Standards

New York State

RI.11-12.8 Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses).

RI.11-12.9 Analyze seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century foundational U.S. documents of historical and literary significance (including The Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address) for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features.

RH.9-10.3 Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.

RH.9-10.7 Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.

RH.9-10.8 Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claims.

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