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Learn. Adapt. Uplift.: How Civil Rights Movements Inspire Communities

GRADE LEVEL: 10-12

SUBJECT: Social Studies, US History, World History

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

  • How do race, ethnicity, nationality, and culture (among others) shape our personal identity? 

  • How can examining experiences that have shaped our identities further develop our knowledge and love of self?

CENTRAL QUESTIONS/BIG IDEAS:

  • Injustices that are imposed on an ethnic/minority/marginalized group are injustices that can/will occur to other groups.

  • Acknowledging the movements and frameworks that have been pioneered by one group and how by learning from these successful movements we gain to understand not just the framework of the movement(s) but also the intentions and history of the people being modeled.

  • Think about the circumstances that occurred that striped away the autonomy, rights, and possessions of native peoples and non-white Americans. What are the factors that caused these injustices? Are there ways to rectify these mistakes and stop them from happening again?


CONTENT OBJECTIVE:

Knowledge

  • Awareness of different civil rights movements in history and how they are connected to each other. How communities of color organize to seek justice, apology, reparations, and a course correction of the misinformation and atrocities they have endured. 

  • Fred Korematsu. Japanese American redress. 

  • African American reparations. Black Power/Freedom Movement.

Skills

  • Investigate the ways American laws were manipulated to single out and exploit different communities of color. 

  • Identify the similarities between the Redress Movement and Reparations Movement and also distinguish the differences for each. 

Habits

  • Listen, read, and review provided content and classroom discussions before making a personal assessment. 

  • To allow others to speak their truths and understanding and listen/respond with empathy. Think flexibly about the people/circumstances/situations that may not apply to their own personal identity


GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT AREA STANDARDS:

  • 12.2 Students evaluate and take and defend positions on the scope and limits of rights and obligations as democratic citizens, the relationships among them, and how they are secured.

  • 12.3 Students evaluate and take and defend positions on what the fundamental values and principles of civil society are (i.e., the autonomous sphere of voluntary personal, social, and economic relations that are not part of government), their interdependence, and the meaning and importance of those values and principles for a free society.


CA ELD STANDARDS:

Reading closely literary and informational texts and viewing multimedia to determine how meaning is conveyed explicitly and implicitly through language. (W.11—12.1—10; WHST.11—12.1—2, 4—10; L.11—12.1—6)


IEP/504 ACCOMMODATIONS:

School laptops/computers available to view online content. Printouts of content available upon request. Links to materials available for outside viewing. Printouts of outsheets. Slides.


INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS:

  1. Slides (link)

  2. Dale Minami Oral History (1:42:25 >> 1:45:54)

  3. Redress Movement (link)

  4. Black Power Movement/Black Liberation Movement (link)

  5. African American Reparations (link)

  6. Venn Diagram (link)


LESSON IMPLEMENTATION SEQUENCE:

Step 1: Warmup

Duration: 20 minutes

Purpose: To gather data/information from the interview and clues that help tie into the lesson.

Connecting to a larger and longer history of civil rights movements that have occurred in America. Movements that are built upon each other and connected.

Review terms, people, and names of events/movements


Implementation:

Go over the lesson agenda, essential questions, big ideas and questions.

Watch the video/read the transcription of Dale Minami’s interview. Ask students to reflect on the content and then write down terminology, themes, and big ideas they found or need help explaining.


Step 2: Discussion

Duration: Warmup Continuation


  • Have students express what they found from the reading. Have them bring up what Dale said about how African Americans helped to inspire the Japanese American/Asian Americans in their own fights for justice.

  • Show slides for Fred Korematsu and The Black Power/Freedom Movement. Explain the significance of each and how Dale puts it, build upon each other to influence people/communities beyond America to take action (e.g. Jeju massacre)


Resources/Materials:

  • Slides 1-13

  • Dale Minami Oral History


Assessment: Classroom discussion

Step 3: Instructional Activity

Duration: 15 minutes

Purpose: To have a firm understanding of these movements and how they inspired and built upon each other and their relationship.


Implementation:

Have students review the links to the Redress Movement, Black Power/Liberation Movement, and African American Reparations


Resources/Materials:

  • Slide 14 

  • Redress Movement Website

  • Black Power Movement/Black Liberation Movement Archives

  • African American Reparations Website


Assessments: N/A

Step 4: Group Work

Duration: 15 minutes

Purpose: Allow students to read through historical events that have a profound effect on today’s world.

Students will read about movements that relate to one another and the nature of their existence regarding POC social justice initiatives and righting the wrongs that were inflicted on certain communities of color and their ancestors.


Implementation:

Have students pair up or form small groups to discuss what they read. Ask students to use the venn diagram handout to list the similarities and differences between African American Reparations and the Redress Movement.

Propose these questions:

  1. What were some of the elements that made the Redress Movement possible? What was given? What was restored to the Japanese Americans who were affected and their families?

  2. In what ways are the asks from the National African American Reparations Commission similar? What makes them different in context to the history of the people affected (African Americans) and how they were treated in America? Using the Redress Movement as a model, do you think it will be long before Reparations are implemented? Why or why not.


Resources/Materials:

  • Slides 15-16

  • Venn Diagram


Assessment: Venn diagram, questions

Step 5: Reflection

Duration: 10 minutes

Purpose: This exercise will allow the students to summarize what they learned and how it applies to them and the world


Implementation:

Have students write down a paragraph (or more) summarizing what they learned from today’s lesson. Make sure students use terms, people, names of events found in the lesson to reinforce their thoughts.

Bonus: If they can bring any recent events and/or affected communities who are facing the same set of challenges into their reflection. 

To be turned in at the end of the class.


Resources/Materials:

  • Slides 17-18

  • Sheet of paper


Assessment: Personal reflection