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Racial Literacy - Final Lessons Grade 8
Racial Literacy - Final Lessons Grade 8
GRADE 8
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©2019 Pollyanna, Inc. - Racial Literacy Grade 8 | Monique Vogelsang, Primary Contributor pollyannainc.org | 1
LESSON 1
UNDERSTANDING RACISM: HOW IT MANIFESTS
ACROSS INDIVIDUAL AND SYSTEMIC LEVELS
Grade: 8 | Suggested Time: 60+ minutes (teacher may extend)
Unit: Racism as a Primary “Institution” of the U.S. – How We May Combat Systemic Inequality
Related Subject(s): Reading/Literacy; Social Studies; Sociology
Background
OBJECTIVES
• To understand the difference between racism and prejudice.
• To understand the different “forms” of racism, such as individual levels of racism and systemic levels of racism.
• To discuss and understand individual levels of racism, including internal racism and interpersonal racism.
• To discuss and understand systemic levels of racism, including institutional racism and structural racism.
• To create a working definition of “racism,” that encompasses the aforementioned levels.
MATERIALS
• “What Discrimination Looks Like in America,” video by Now This World. Available here: https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=qwIjKuitlu8
• “Sociology of Racism,” academic article by Matthew Clair and Jeffrey S. Denis for the International
Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Available here: https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/matthew-
clair/files/clair_denis_2015.pdf
• For more information about the differences between racism and prejudice, consider reading, “How Is Racism
Different From Prejudice,” interviews of scholars for Race: The Power of an Illusion. Available here: http://www.
racepowerofanillusion.org/qa/how-is-racism-different-from-prejudice
• The following video may be helpful to aid in class discussion. If time allows, show: “Moving the Race
Conversation Forward,” video produced by Race Forward. Available here: https://www.raceforward.org/re-
search/reports/moving-race-conversation-forward
ESSENTIAL IDEA
• As the underlying goal of this unit is to review race as a primary “institution” of the United States, this first
lesson will unpack the various forms of racism. While the scholarship of racism is wide, we’ve chosen a
• particular view that asserts racism can happen on either an “individual” or “systemic” level. Examples of
individual racism include internalized racism and interpersonal racism. Examples of systemic racism include
institutional and structural racism. More information, including definitions of each, is including in the lesson
notes below.
VOCABULARY
• Consider reviewing and/or defining the following terms referenced in the suggested materials for this lesson:
idiosyncratic, bias, colonialism, discrimination, immigration, inequality, micro-level, macro-level,
macrohistorical, macrostructural, microsocial, prejudice, psychology, race, racism, sociology, social psychology,
stereotyping, stratification, etc.
• In the lesson, in order to differentiate the two ideas, we’ll compare racism to prejudice. For definitions of
“prejudice” and “racism,” consider the following ideas, as described by historian George Fredrickson:
• Prejudice: “is a matter of feeling; it’s a hostile or dismissive attitude, a feeling toward people we find
different from ourselves in some way, and some way that we take as significant.”
• Racism: “whole set of beliefs about that which justifies [prejudice] feelings and tries to make the case for
differences that we find are innate, permanent, and are the basis for action; the basis for discrimination,
or even for an institution that will be based on these differences; a kind of inequality or hierarchy based
on these ideas.”
OPENING
• Ask the class: What is racism? Is racism real? (This is an intentionally provoking question. Please note that this
curriculum agrees that racism is “real.”) What is prejudice? Is there a difference between racism and prejudice?
• Read both George Fredrickson and Audrey Smedley’s descriptions of racism and prejudice (included in the
Background section). Based on those descriptions, as a class, create working definitions for prejudice and
racism.
• Now that we understand the differences between prejudice and racism, we’ll take a look at the ways racism
manifests in U.S. society.
• According to many scholars, there are different “levels” or “forms” of racism, such as individual levels and
systemic levels. The “Individual Level” of racism includes internalized and interpersonal racism. The
“Systemic Level” of racism includes institutional and structural forms of racism. Either draw a concept map
on the board, or distribute ready-made concept maps, or graphic organizers, to students. If using a graphic
organizer, illustrate racism as the overarching idea at the top of the page, and from that label, two “subtitles”
emerge: Individual Levels (of Racism) and Systemic Levels (of Racism). Underneath “Individual Levels,” include:
“Internalized Racism” and “Interpersonal Racism.” Underneath “Systemic Levels,” include: “Institutional
Racism” and “Structural Racism.” Either now, or printed ahead of time, write in definitions for each.
(Definitions have been included in the Background section).
• Tell students that this indeed may seem like a lot of information to digest all at once. To help us understand
examples of racism, which includes most of these “levels” or “forms,” we’re going to watch a video.
GUIDED PRACTICE
• Introduce the video, “What Discrimination Looks Like in America.” (Link is referenced in the Materials section.)
Mention that the video speaks to “systemic” racism by focusing on the generalized experiences of mostly
Black Americans compared to White Americans. While this is a somewhat limited view, the data presented is
rather illuminating. Show the video.
• After watching, have a brief discussion. Tell the class: In the video, the narrator states that racism, especially
Background
OBJECTIVES
• To explore the social, legal, political, and economic advantages given to White Americans throughout U.S.
history.
• To understand how such “racial preferences” created and reinforced an unnatural hierarchy of race, creating
the structure of “white privilege.”
• To conceptualize “white privilege” as a system of built-in advantages that favor or privilege White people over
other racial groups.
• To question and reject these systems of inequality as natural.
• To understand that while not all White people have high levels of socioeconomic status, being perceived as
White often carries legal, political, and social rights that may be denied to other racial groups.
• To realize that some people, despite great obstacles like systemic racism, have used agency (and sometimes
the support of White allies) to seek and receive a form of equality.
MATERIALS
• As the content of this lesson represents mature and sophisticated topics, as always, please pre-screen and
pre-read all materials to ensure it is appropriate for your classroom.
• “A Long History of Racial Preferences: For Whites,” article by Larry Adelman for Race: The Power of an Illusion.
Available here: http://www.racepowerofanillusion.org/articles/a-long-history-of-racial-preferences-for-whites
• Excerpts from White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, Chapter
2, “Racism and White Supremacy.” Please note that we do not recommend reading the entire book, or even
the entire chapter with students as some language and concepts may not be fully appropriate for an eighth
grade audience. We do, however, recommend the introduction and the following subsections of Chapter 2,
for a powerful read: “Social Constructions of Race in the United States,” “The Perception of Race,” “Racism,”
“Whiteness as a Position of Status,” and the first-half of “White Supremacy” (we recommend
stopping just after the list of the “people who control our institutions”).
• “What Was the Dred Scott Decision?” video by PBS. Available here: https://www.pbs.org/video/american-
experience-what-was-dred-scott-decision/
• “Dred Scott Decision,” article and video on History.com. Available here: https://www.history.com/topics/
black-history/dred-scott-case
• For an additional resource about racism in the U.S., consider: “American Racism in the ‘White Frame,’”
interview by George Yancy of Joe Feagin for The New York Times. Available here: https://opinionator.blogs.
nytimes.com/2015/07/27/american-racism-in-the-white-frame/
ESSENTIAL IDEA
• The United States is a country founded on racist ideology. From the colonial era onward, privileges have
been granted to White Americans at the expense of people of color, starting with Native Americans and Black
Americans. With the founding of racist ideology in the colonial era, the perpetuation of inhumane systems of
labor like slavery, the forced relocation of Indigenous people, and the creation of a legal status of “white,” the
VOCABULARY
• Consider reviewing and/or defining the following terms referenced in the suggested materials for this lesson:
prejudice, discrimination, racism, white privilege, white supremacy, de facto, de jure, etc.
• For definitions of these terms, consider the ideas presented in Robin DiAngelo’s text:
• Prejudice: “pre-judgment about another person based on the social groups to which that person belongs;
thoughts and feelings, including stereotypes, attitudes, and generalizations that are based on little or no
experience and then are projected onto everyone from that group; all humans have prejudice.”
• Discrimination: “action based on prejudice; these actions include ignoring, exclusion, threats, ridicule,
slander, and violence; [it also includes] subtle, even harder to detect [actions].”
• Racism: “occurs when a racial group’s prejudice is backed by legal authority and institutional control; this
authority and control transforms individual prejudices into a far-reaching system that no longer depends
on the good intentions of individual actors; it becomes the default of the society and is reproduced
automatically; racism is a system.”
• White privilege: “a sociological concept referring to advantages that are taken for granted by whites and
that cannot be similarly enjoyed by people of color in the same context (government, community,
workplace, schools, etc.).”
• White supremacy: “a descriptive and useful term to capture the all-encompassing centrality and assumed
superiority of people defined and perceived as white and the practices based on this assumption; in this
context does not refer to individual white people and their individual intentions or actions but to an
overarching political, economic, and social system of domination.”
Lesson Procedure
BACKGROUND
• Race is a powerful social construct. In the United States, race has systematically denied and/or granted
privileges and advantages to different racial groups. Because of this engineering, there is a long history of
institutional privileges for White people in the U.S. that must be analyzed to better understand current society,
such as gaps in wealth and unequal access to opportunities.
OPENING
• Tell the class that today we are going to dive into challenging, yet important topics: white privilege and white
supremacy.
• When speaking of racism, much of the attention is focused on analyzing how it negatively impacts people of
color. While this is important to consider, we must also analyze the way racism benefits White people. As we
know, race is a social construction, it had to be engineered — created and reinforced — over time. But why
was “race” created? Did race or racism come first? We’ll unpack ideas about race, racism, and systems of
privilege throughout this lesson.
GUIDED PRACTICE
• Tell students: The creation of race was an intentional effort by the ruling White elite, from the colonial era
through the formation of a U.S. government. According to academic Robin DiAngelo, “Race is an evolving
social idea that was created to legitimize racial inequality and protect white advantage. The term “white” first
appeared in colonial law in the late 1600s. By 1790, people were asked to claim their race on the census, and
by 1825, the perceived degrees of blood determined who would be classified as Indian. From the late 1800s
through the early twentieth century, as waves of immigrants entered the United States, the concept of a white
race was solidified.”
• In order to better understand the concept of white “advantage,” or “white privilege,” let’s consider the
definition offered by sociologist Robin DiAngelo. (Definitions are referred in the Vocabulary section of the
lesson.) Review the definition for “white privilege.” Ask the class: Do we agree with the definition? If not,
can we add anything to it?
Extension Activities
SUGGESTIONS
• A subsequent lesson may trace the rise of white supremacy in the U.S. As early as the colonial era,
a form of white supremacy has existed in U.S. society. As Kat Chow writes for NPR, “As long as the
United States has existed, there’s been some version of white supremacy. But over the centuries,
the way white supremacy manifests has changed with the times. This includes multiple iterations
of the infamous Ku Klux Klan.” Many historians and sociologists note that social gains for people of
color usually contribute to a rise of white supremacy. According to sociologist Kathleen Blee: “The
Klan first surfaced in large numbers in the 1860s in the aftermath of the Civil War, then again in the
1920s, and yet again during the Civil Rights era.” To understand more, consider reading: “What the
Ebbs and Flows of the KKK Can Tell Us About White Supremacy,” article by Kat Chow for NPR.
Available here: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/12/08/671999530/what-the-ebbs-
and-flows-of-the-kkk-can-tell-us-about-white-supremacy-today
• For another resource about the emergence or creation of white supremacy, consider listening to:
“Henry Louis Gates Jr. Points to Reconstruction As the Genesis of White Supremacy,” article for NPR.
Available here: https://www.npr.org/2019/04/03/709094399/henry-louis-gates-jr-points-to-recon-
struction-as-the-genesis-of-white-supremacy
• To better understand the benefits of white privilege, consider reading: “White Privilege:
Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” the groundbreaking article and list by Peggy McIntosh. Available
here: https://nationalseedproject.org/images/documents/Knapsack_plus_Notes-Peggy_McIntosh.
pdf
Background
OBJECTIVES
• To understand that efforts of racial control permeated the personal realm, including marriage and self-
identification.
• To understand that interracial marriage was banned by many states for centuries.
• To understand and analyze the one-drop rule, or hypodescent, and blood quantum.
• To explore and analyze how ideas of “racial inferiority” and “racial superiority” were created to justify unequal
treatment.
MATERIALS
• “‘One-Drop Rule’ Persists,” article by Steve Bradt for The Harvard Gazette. Available here: https://news.harvard.
edu/gazette/story/2010/12/one-drop-rule-persists/
• “So What Exactly Is ‘Blood Quantum,” article by Kat Chow on NPR. Available here: https://www.npr.org/sec-
tions/codeswitch/2018/02/09/583987261/so-what-exactly-is-blood-quantum
• “Loving v. Virginia,” article and video on History.com. Available here: https://www.history.com/topics/civ-
il-rights-movement/loving-v-virginia
ESSENTIAL IDEA
• Race is a social construction. Because of this, the way racial categories are perceived fluctuate over time.
One idea that has remained rather consistent, however, is the core definition of “Blackness.” How has the
one-drop rule, or hypodescent, defined Blackness in the U.S.? How is blood quantum, an idea imposed on
Native Americans, different than the one-drop rule? How is the history of banning interracial marriage, and
other forms of unions, serving to protect “White” interest in the United States?
• (To better understand the construction of “Whiteness,” and how different groups of European Americans
entered an homogenized racial category of “White,” please see Grade 6, Lesson 4.)
VOCABULARY
• Consider reviewing and/or defining the following terms referenced in the suggested materials for this lesson:
amalgamation, miscegenation, interracial, marriage, Jim Crow laws, one-drop rule, hypodescent, hyperdescent,
blood quantum.
OPENING
• Revisit the concept of race. In the previous lesson, we spoke about white supremacy and the long history
of advantages that were given to White people in the U.S. But how was “Whiteness” defined? As a physical,
social identity, how does society conceptualize or see “Whiteness”? As historian Nell Irvin Painter asserts (as
referenced in Grade 6), “Whiteness [is] defined, as before, primarily by what it isn’t: Blackness.” Therefore, in
order to understand “Whiteness,” and individual and systemic efforts to keep this identity “pure,” we have to
understand how “Blackness” (and eventually other racial groups) has been defined.
• Introduce the concept of the one-drop rule and blood quantum. Provide an explanation of both, such as by
reading the notes in the Background section of the lesson.
GUIDED PRACTICE
• Given the history of racism in the U.S., why would Black people and Native Americans have unique rules
applied to them when society was forming the conceptualization of their racial category? For guidance in
answering this question, consider how chattel slavery emerged as an inherited system in the U.S., meaning the
children of enslaved women were enslaved at birth. Since slavery eventually became synonymous with
Blackness, who benefited from the one-drop rule? How was it used to create a larger enslaved population?
In contrast, in an effort to seize more land, White settlers and White Americans would benefit from the
application of blood quantum, as the U.S. government’s goal was to eradicate Native Americans and occupy
their homeland. While these racial ideas based in “blood” have racist roots, can there possibly be unintended
positive outcomes of such rules? For guidance, think about former President Barack Obama, who is considered
to be the first Black president. With a White American mother and a Black Kenyan father, Barack Obama is
“half-White” and “half-Black.” Yet, because of the one-drop rule, his presidency was considered
groundbreaking. In short, can the one-drop rule help create a larger community? However, given its racist
history, should these rules be abolished? Moreover, with growing numbers of multiracial births, especially in
the U.S., should we begin to conceptualize race in a different way? If so, how?
• To better understand both the one-drop rule and blood quantum, we are going to read two articles: “‘One-
Drop Rule’ Persists,” and “So What Exactly Is ‘Blood Quantum’.” (Links are referenced in the Materials section
of the lesson.)
Extension Activities
SUGGESTIONS
• To hear voices of couples who are in interracial marriages, consider watching, “Loving in
America,” video produced by Vice News. Available here: https://news.vice.com/en_us/arti-
cle/bjdanm/interracial-couples-50-years-after-loving-v-virginia
Background
OBJECTIVES
• To learn about racist housing policies that gave social and economic advantages to White people, and created
disadvantages for people of color.
• To question and analyze the role of various forms of individual and systemic racism in creating racial
geographic segregation.
• To understand how housing discrimination compounded the racial wealth gap, and negatively impacted other
institutions like education, health, and policing.
• To understand the interconnectedness between race, wealth, and life opportunities in the U.S.
• To realize that racial segregation continues to grow.
MATERIALS
• As the content of this lesson represents mature and sophisticated topics, as always, please pre-screen and
pre-read all materials to ensure it is appropriate for your classroom.
• “Why Are Cities Still So Segregated?” video by journalist Gene Demby for Let’s Talk, NPR. Please note that
because of language, the first fifteen seconds of this video is not suitable for students, consider showing at the
0:16 seconds mark. The rest of the six-minute video is powerfully informative. Available here: https://www.
npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/04/11/601494521/video-housing-segregation-in-everything
• “The Racist History of Chicago’s Housing Policies,” video by AJ+. Link available here: https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=LN_8KIpmZXs
• “Segregated Housing and the Racial Wealth Gap,” article by Larry Adelman for Race: The Power of an Illusion.
Available here: http://www.racepowerofanillusion.org/articles/segregated-housing-and-the-racial-wealth-gap
• To learn more about how housing discrimination compounded the racial wealth gap, consider watching,
“The Racial Wealth Gap,” episode one of season one of Explained. Available on Netflix.
• For an additional resource, consider reading: “Racial Preferences for Whites: The Houses That Racism Built,”
article by Larry Adelman for Race: The Power of an Illusion. Available here: http://www.racepowerofanillusion.
org/articles/racial-preferences-for-whites-the-houses-that-racism-built
• To better understand housing discrimination and the racial wealth gap in another city, specifically
Baltimore, view: “Why the Place You Grow Up Can Limit Earning Power for Life,” by PBS NewsHour. Available
here: https://www.pbs.org/video/why-the-place-you-grow-up-can-limit-earning-power-for-life-1437953925/
ESSENTIAL IDEA
• Systemic racism is rampant in U.S. society. To better understand the effects of racism, this lesson will analyze
how “redlining” created racially segregated neighborhoods in the U.S., and how housing discrimination further
compounded the racial wealth gap between White Americans and people of color, and negatively impacted
other institutions like education, health, and policing.
VOCABULARY
• Consider reviewing and/or defining the following terms referenced in the suggested materials for this lesson:
redlining, segregation, exacerbate, compounded, (racial) wealth gap, egalitarian, etc.
OPENING
• Tell the class: In the last lesson, we explored rules that were meant to limit people of color’s rights in U.S.
society, including the one-drop rule, blood quantum, and laws that banned interracial marriage.
• For this lesson, we are going to analyze the way housing discrimination exacerbated racial and economic
inequality in the U.S.
• To introduce the history of housing discrimination, such as the practice of “redlining,” consider showing, “Why
Are Cities Still So Segregated?” video by journalist Gene Demby for Let’s Talk, NPR. (Link is referenced in the
Materials section of the lesson.) Please note that because of language, the first fifteen seconds of this video
are not suitable for students, consider showing at the 0:16 seconds mark. The rest of the video is powerfully
informative. After watching the video, craft a working definition of “redlining.” Then ask: What was the Fair
Housing Act of 1968? How was it ineffective? How does housing discrimination and inequality impact
education? How does school performance impact the property value of homes? How does this connection
— of housing discrimination and educational inequality — reinforce a continuous cycle of systemic racism?
How does housing discrimination negatively impact health? Given the effects of housing discrimination and its
impact on policing, how can “racial profiling” be viewed as “spatial profiling”?
GUIDED PRACTICE
• Let’s now focus on a city in the U.S.: Chicago, one of the “most racially divided cities in the United States.”
Show the video, “The Racist History of Chicago’s Housing Policies.” (Link is referenced in the Materials section
of the lesson.)
• After the video, have a discussion. In the video, journalist Natalie Moore said, “Segregation is like air and
water. We just live it, we just breathe it. We don’t really think about it, it’s just sort of how things are.” What
may she have meant by that statement? How is Chicago racially segregated? How was “geographic”
segregation engineered over the last century? What was “redlining”? What steps were taken that stopped real
estate agents from selling homes to Black families in white neighborhoods? How did some real estate agents
“cheat” both White and Black families? How did some people use threats and violence to stop real estate
agents, like Frank J. Williams, from racially integrating communities? In what ways did “public housing” fail?
• Introduce the article, “Segregated Housing and the Racial Wealth Gap.” (Link referenced in the Materials
section of lesson.)
• Begin by reading the first paragraphs out loud, which states: “In the United States, buying a home is the key to
achieving the American Dream. Forty-two percent of the net worth of all households consists of equity in their
homes — that means for most Americans, their homes are their single largest asset. Homeownership provides
families with the means to invest in education, business opportunities, retirement and resources for the next
generation.” Ask the class: Is homeownership a right? Is it fair to employ racial discrimination in the housing
market?
Background
OBJECTIVES
• To learn about racist educational practices that created disadvantages for people of color.
• To question and analyze the role of various forms of individual and systemic racism in unfair educational
practices.
• To understand the ramifications of racial discrimination in education, such as the “school-to-prison” pipeline.
• To understand the interconnectedness between race, wealth, and life opportunities in the U.S.
• To realize that despite legislation, such as Brown v. Board of Education, racial segregation continues to grow.
MATERIALS
• As the content of this lesson represents mature and sophisticated topics, as always, please pre-screen and
pre-read all materials to ensure it is appropriate for your classroom.
• “American Kids and the School-To-Prison Pipeline,” video by AJ+. Available here: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=04pcSyzwoTg
• “The School-to-Prison Pipeline, Explained,” video by Vox. Please note that this video features images of
“School Resource Officers’ assaulting children. Available here: https://www.vox.com/identi-
ties/2016/1/11/10749266/school-to-prison-pipeline-video
• “Preschool Suspensions Really Happen And That’s Not OK With Connecticut,” article by Cory Turner for NPR.
Audio file accompanies article. Both available here: https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/09/05/490226345/
preschool-suspensions-really-happen-and-thats-not-okay-with-connecticut
• “Why White School Districts Have So Much More Money,” article by Clare Lombardo for NPR. Available here:
https://www.npr.org/2019/02/26/696794821/why-white-school-districts-have-so-much-more-money
• “The Promise of Integrated Schools,” article by Melinda Anderson for The Atlantic. Available here: https://www.
theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/02/promise-of-integrated-schools/462681/
• For an additional resource, consider reviewing: “$23 Billion,” an interactive report created by EdBuild.
Available here: https://edbuild.org/content/23-billion
• For an additional resource, consider reading: “The School-to-Prison Pipeline, Explained,” article by Libby
Nelson and Dara Lind for Vox. Available here: https://www.vox.com/2015/2/24/8101289/school-discipline-race
• For an additional resource, consider viewing, “Can School Integration Make a Comeback,” video on The
Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/498941/school-integration-comeback/
ESSENTIAL IDEA
• Systemic racism is rampant in U.S. society. Beyond housing discrimination, another key example of racial
discrimination is the unequal treatment of students of color, compared to White students. This lesson will
explore the unequal treatment of students in the U.S. based on race, and will consider ideas to curtail such
individual and systemic forms of racism.
VOCABULARY
• Consider reviewing and/or defining the following terms referenced in the suggested materials for this lesson:
school-to-prison pipeline, school resource officers, etc.
OPENING
• In the previous lesson, we explored how housing discrimination compounded the racial wealth gap. For this
lesson, we will explore education. Ask the class: Do you think schools should be institutions that promote
equality? Why or why not? Elicit student feedback.
• Tell the class that we will explore the ways schools in the U.S. are impacted by individual and systemic forms
of racism. First, we’ll begin with unfair systems of “punishments.”
GUIDED PRACTICE
• Show two videos, “American Kids and the School-To-Prison Pipeline,” followed by the video, “The School-
to-Prison Pipeline, Explained.” (Links referenced in the Materials section of the lesson.) While watching, ask
students to note: the tone of the two videos, how they present information differently, and what core
messages or ideas they have in common. (Please note that the second video features images of “School
Resource Officers’ assaulting children. As always, please pre-screen materials to ensure they are appropriate
for your particular classroom.)
• After watching the videos, have a discussion. Consider the following to help guide the discussion: According
to the second video, “The School-to-Prison Pipeline, Explained,” when did the “school-to-prison pipeline”
begin? What are “zero tolerance” policies? What was the “hope” of this policy, and how is it different from
the eventual result? What are School Resource Officers, or SROs? What was their intended goal, and how is
it different from the eventual result? What schools are more likely to have an SRO on campus? As stated in
the second video, in the 2010-2011 school year, “one in six public school students in the U.S. were Black, but
they accounted for one in three arrests in school.” How does this unjust phenomenon begin in preschool? For
example, the video states that: “eighteen percent of preschoolers are Black, but of all preschoolers suspended
more than once, forty eight percent are Black.” Additionally, even though Black students and White students
may be sent to the principal’s office at similar rates, Black students are more likely to receive a “serious”
punishment. How are these examples forms of individual and systemic racism? Who is more likely to be
suspended for “proveable” offensives compared to “subjective” offenses? What accounts for the mentioned
disparities? In regard to systemic and individual forms of racism, why may this happen? Why are students who
are suspended more likely to enter the criminal justice system? What is restorative justice? Why are the results
of this alternative form of “punishment” encouraging? How is restorative justice an anti-racist solution?
GROUP WORK
• Tell students: Inequality in education is a large concept. In order to best tackle this, we are going to work in
small groups. (The teacher should consider assigning groups ahead of time.) Each group will read a different
resource and report to the class about the main idea and key details.
• Assign the following articles, one for each group: “Preschool Suspensions Really Happen And That’s Not OK
With Connecticut,” article by Cory Turner for NPR; “Why White School Districts Have So Much More Money,”
article by Clare Lombardo for NPR; and “The Promise of Integrated Schools,” article by Melinda Anderson for
The Atlantic. Each resource touches upon different, yet related, themes and aspects of education. (Additional
resources are suggested in the Materials section of the lesson, if more groups and/or content is preferred.)
• While students read, the teacher should circulate to assist as needed. While students work together,
encourage them to describe the problem mentioned in the article, and to offer potential solutions.
Extension Activities
SUGGESTIONS
• To explore the myth of meritocracy, and how it can negatively impact students of color,
consider reading, “Why the Myth of Meritocracy Hurts Kids of Color,” article by Melinda
Anderson for The Atlantic. Available here: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/ar-
chive/2017/07/internalizing-the-myth-of-meritocracy/535035/
• A subsequent lesson may trace the racial inequalities in regard to health care. Consider
the following resources to enhance teacher understanding and/or guide class discussions:
• “Racial Health Inequalities in the USA: The Role of Social Class,” paper by M.N. Oliver
for the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Available here:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2614883/
• “Decoding Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care,” series of video lectures
produced by the University of Pennsylvania. Available here: https://ldi.upenn.edu/
news/decoding-racial-and-ethnic-disparities-health-care
Background
OBJECTIVES
• To understand the rise of mass incarceration in the U.S. and how it feeds the prison industrial complex.
• To understand that people of color, especially Black men, are incarcerated at disproportionate rates.
• To analyze the role individual and systemic racism plays in disproportionate incarceration rates.
• To consider the larger impact mass incarceration has on both individuals and social groups, such as families
and communities.
• To explore ways to curb the rise of mass incarceration.
MATERIALS
• As the content of this lesson represents mature and sophisticated topics, as always, please pre-screen and
pre-read all materials to ensure it is appropriate for your classroom.
• “Mass Incarceration, Visualized,” an animated interview of sociologist Bruce Western for The Atlantic. Available
here: https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/404890/prison-inherited-trait/
• “Ways to End Mass Incarceration,” article by James Cullen for Brennan Center for Justice. Available here:
https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/how-end-mass-incarceration
• “Kids Meet a Death Row Exoneree,” video produced by Cut. Available here: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=lzvcPrbVBNc
• For more resources, consider reviewing: “Mass Incarceration,” article and other resources created by Equal
Justice Initiative. Available here: https://eji.org/mass-incarceration
• For a comprehensive report, consider viewing: “Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2019,” article and statistics,
including pie charts, created by Wendy Sawyer and Peter Wagner for Prison Policy Initiative. Available here:
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2019.html
• For another resource, consider reading: “The Case for Capping All Prison Sentences at 20 Years,” by German
Lopez for Vox. Available here: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/2/12/18184070/maximum-pris-
on-sentence-cap-mass-incarceration
ESSENTIAL IDEA
• Some cite the ratification of the thirteenth amendment as the key moment that “ended” slavery in the United
States. However, in many aspects, it simply rebranded slavery, as the amendment allowed for slavery as a
form of incarceration. Unfortunately, in the last few decades, incarceration levels in the U.S. have risen,
especially for people of color, leading to the growth and expansion of the prison industrial complex. This
lesson will focus on mass incarceration and how it impacts people of color — especially Black men — at
disproportionate rates, compared to White Americans.
VOCABULARY
• Consider reviewing and/or defining the following terms referenced in the suggested materials for this lesson:
mass incarceration, prison industrial complex, exoneree.
Lesson Procedure
BACKGROUND
• According to Bryan Stevenson, founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, “Mass
incarceration has been largely fueled by misguided drug policy and excessive sentencing. [Unfortunately], the
internment of hundreds of thousands of poor and mentally ill people has been a driving force in achieving our
record levels of imprisonment. It’s created unprecedented problems.”
• Stevenson notes the following reasons as to the rise of mass incarceration in the U.S.: the creation of laws that
made petty or minor property crime “an offense that can result in life imprisonment” (which resulted in
“hundreds of thousands of nonviolent offenders [being] forced to spend decades in prison”); the abolishment
of parole in many states; the eradication of rehabilitation, education, and services for the imprisoned, as it’s been
“rationalized” that “providing assistance to the incarcerated is apparently too kind and compassionate;” the
institutionalization of policies that “reduce people to their worst acts,” permanently labeling them as ‘criminal’
and the like; the collection of “terrible mistakes” that have been made, evidenced by the “scores of innocent
people that have been exonerated after being sentenced to death and nearly executed,” and the “hundreds
more that have been released after being proved innocent of noncapital crimes through DNA testing;” and the
amount of money being spent on jail, as “spending on jails and prisons by state and federal governments has
risen from $6.9 billion in 1980 to nearly $80 billion today.”
• Stevenson describes this rise of the prison industrial complex, as he writes: “Private prison builders and prison
service companies have spent millions of dollars to persuade state and local governments to create new
crimes, impose harsher sentences, and keep more people locked up so that they can earn more profits. Private
profit has corrupted incentives to improve public safety, reduce the costs of mass incarceration, and most
significantly, promote rehabilitation of the incarcerated. State governments have been forced to shift funds
from public services, education, health, and welfare to pay for incarceration, and they now face
unprecedented economic crises as a result. The privatization of prison health care, prison commerce, and a
range of services has made mass incarceration a money-making windfall for a few and a costly nightmare for
the rest of us.”
• As a result of such efforts, mass incarceration has reached unprecedented levels in the United States.
Individual and systemic forms of racism are central to this rise.
OPENING
• In the previous lesson, we explored the various ways individual and systemic forms of racism manifest in
schools and throughout the educational system. For this lesson, we will explore incarceration, or more
accurately, the rise in mass incarceration and the creation of the prison industrial complex. We’ll also analyze
solutions to curbing incarceration levels.
• First, let’s unpack these concepts. What is mass incarceration? What is the prison industrial complex? Review
the definitions provided in the Vocabulary section of the lesson.
GUIDED PRACTICE
• Show the video, “Mass Incarceration, VIsualized,” by The Atlantic. Ask students to take notes while watching
the film. To guide them, encourage students to pay attention to increasing levels of incarceration rates, as well
as who is greatly impacted by the growth of incarceration?
• After watching, review key ideas and statistics presented in the film, such as: The rate of incarceration is now
five times higher than it was around 1940; per 100,000 residents of the U.S., 698 are incarcerated. This is
overwhelmingly larger than other countries, as the country with the second highest rate — a combined
“England and Wales” — had only 148. Based on data from 2010, per these 100,000 people, 380 were White,
966 were Latino, and 2,207 were Black. A Black man born after 1970 who dropped out of high school has a
near seventy percent chance of serving time in state or federal prison in their lifetime. 1.2 million Black
Extension Activities
SUGGESTIONS
• In a subsequent lesson, consider reviewing the interconnectedness of police brutality, and
racism and/or racial profiling.Consider the following videos to inspire class discussion. The
first video features advice some Black parents give their sons, in regard to how to conduct
themselves around police officers. The second video features voices of police officers,
speaking to why they chose the profession and how individual and internalized racism
manifests in their interactions with the public, including Black youth:
• “A Conversation with My Black Son,” video and brief article by Geeta Gandbhir and Blair
Foster for The New York Times. Available here: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/17/
opinion/a-conversation-with-my-black-son.html
• “A Conversation with Police on Race,” video and brief article by Geeta Gandbhir and
Perri Peltz for The New York Times. Available here: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/
opinion/a-conversation-with-police-on-race.html
• To enhance teacher understanding, consider reading: “Why Mass Incarceration Defines Us As
a Society,” article by Chris Hedges for Smithsonian. Available here: https://www.smithsonian-
mag.com/people-places/why-mass-incarceration-defines-us-as-a-society-135793245/
• To better understand how slavery did not end, but “evolved,” watch “Slavery to Mass
Incarceration,” animated video by Equal Justice Initiative. Available here: https://eji.org/vid-
eos/slavery-to-mass-incarceration
• To learn more about how the thirteenth amendment rebranded slavery, watch: 13th,
documentary by Ava DuVernay. Available on Netflix.
Background
OBJECTIVES
• To explore the idea that accounts or stories of oppression, such as genocide and racism, should also be viewed
with a lens of “complexity and depth.”
• To recognize the significance of concepts like hope, courage, survival, adaption, and strength.
• To embrace a humanistic approach.
MATERIALS
• “Author David Treuer On Rewriting the Native American Narrative,” interview on PBS NewsHour. Available
here: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/author-david-treuer-on-rewriting-the-native-american-narrative
• “2020 Vision,” essay by David Treuer for Harper’s Magazine, adapted from his book The Heartbeat of Wounded
Knee. Available here: https://harpers.org/archive/2019/01/the-heartbeat-of-wounded-knee-david-treuer-ojib-
we/
ESSENTIAL IDEA
• While it is important to understand the systemic creation and reification of racism and white supremacy,
especially when reviewing inequality, it is also important to recognize examples of survival and, perhaps even
more important, stories of those who exercised agency. This lesson will consider viewing history with a lens of
“complexity and depth,” as historian David Treuer calls for in his work.
VOCABULARY
• Consider reviewing and/or defining the following terms referenced in the suggested materials for this lesson:
agency, complexity, depth, etc.
Lesson Procedure
BACKGROUND
• Much of history focuses on stories of White conquest, and the resulting “defeat” of people of color. While it is
important to underscore how racism was and continues to be a primary “institution” of the United States, it
is also important to recognize our own agency. In an interview on PBS NewsHour, author and historian David
Treuer said, “I’m not interested in the tragic narrative, I’m not interested in the story of hope, I’m interested in
the story of complexity and depth.” This lesson will explore this core idea.
OPENING
• Tell the class: In previous lessons, we explored how forms of racism created unequal, even horrifying,
experiences for individuals and large groups of people, especially people of color.
• For this lesson, we will apply a lens of “complexity and depth” to underscore the importance of recognizing
our own agency.
Extension Activities
SUGGESTIONS
• To better understand the early colonial and U.S. government’s imperialistic use of violence
against Native Americans, read, “Indian Removal,” article created by PBS. Available here:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2959.html
• To enhance teacher understanding of the history and ideology behind U.S. imperialism,
consider listening to, “The Story of American Imperialism,” audio report on NPR Fresh Air.
Available here: https://www.npr.org/2019/02/14/694728435/the-story-of-american-impe-
rialism
• Also consider viewing, “Spanish American War,” video by PBS. Please be aware that this
video does contain unpleasant, troubling images, such as prisoners of war. Available here:
https://www.pbs.org/video/latino-americans-spanish-american-war/
• When learning about this history, remind students to look for stories of “complexity and
depth.”
Background
OBJECTIVES
• To identify and research a topic within the scope of racial and/or social justice that matters to them.
• To create a plan of action, outlining the end-result goal, or the “change” goal, and identifying who in the
community has the ability to facilitate the end-result, and how to contact and/or address them.
• To follow through on the plan of action, whether it be with conversations, letters, meetings, proposals,
demonstrations, or other activities.
• To conclude their endeavor with a review and reflection on successes, challenges, and ways to continue effort
and growth in the future.
MATERIALS
• Access to books and materials used in previous lessons, as well as library resources.
• Art and writing material for students, including software to create presentations.
• “10 Ways Youth Can Engage in Activism,” article created by the Anti-Defamation League. Available here:
https://www.adl.org/education/resources/tools-and-strategies/10-ways-youth-can-engage-in-activism
• “Chicago Students Protest Gun Violence In March for Peace,” audio podcast by NPR. Available here: https://
www.npr.org/2017/06/20/533698452/chicago-students-protest-gun-violence-in-march-for-peace
• Before the lesson, the teacher should read, “Can Teenage Defiance Be Manipulated for Good?” article by
Amanda Ripley for The New York Times. Available here: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/upshot/
can-teenage-defiance-be-manipulated-for-good.html
• The following was used as a guide, when crafting this lesson: “Ideas for Student Civic Action in a Time of
Social Uncertainty,” by Steven Zemelman for The New York Times. Available here: https://www.nytimes.
com/2017/05/18/learning/lesson-plans/guest-post-ideas-for-student-civic-action-in-a-time-of-social-uncer-
tainty.html
ESSENTIAL IDEA
• Throughout the unit, we introduced ideas to explain how individual and systemic racism provided social,
economic, political, and legal advantages to White Americans. As a result, students reviewed racial
discrimination across housing, education, and school. They were also encouraged to consider approaching
such stories with a lens of “complexity and depth.”
• For a culminating activity, students will identify and research a topic within the scope of racial and/or social
justice that matters to them. Such “problems,” or areas of concern, may be local, such as within the
community or city of the student body, or may reach broader, such as to the national level and beyond.
After research, students will create a plan of action, outlining who to approach and how to approach them,
resulting in a goal-oriented action plan.
• If available, consider teaching this lesson in conjunction with the school librarian, as well as a civics teacher.
VOCABULARY
• Consider reviewing and/or defining the following terms referenced in the suggested materials for this lesson,
such as “appreciative inquiry,” or the practice of finding existing solutions that worked for a different group
of activists and applying it to new plans of action.
• Identify: Through experience, past lessons, and research of current topics, students identify an issue they
believe should change. Local issues may be within their school community. Local and/or school
community issues are a great parameter to consider, as there is an increased likelihood that students will
successfully influence change. Students may start with a broader, national or international issue and, if
possible, find a way to engage this topic locally. For example, students may identify a national trend of
food deserts in low-income urban neighborhoods, but can focus on the needs of a specific neighborhood
within their own city, or even approach their entire city or town. In short, finding an issue with personal
meaning to the students is highly encouraged. To begin, the class may want to brainstorm a list of issues
together, or in small groups to present to the whole class. Additionally, students may want to take
personal time to individually quick-write and identify their topics.
• Plan: Students interpret their research and their outcome goals, to create a plan of action. At the top of
their plan of action, students should write their goal for change in detail. It does not need to be more than
three sentences, but should be specific. The plan of action should then list measures to be taken to reach
their desired goal. Steps include identifying individuals, people, or organizations with the ability to help
make change, and how to most effectively approach these identified leaders, such as through letter-
writing, requesting meetings, crafting policy proposals, or organizing community awareness events, PSAs,
or demonstrations. While donating money and holding fundraisers are a valid method of helping, students
are encouraged to engage their communities with the principles of education, knowledge, and policy to
create change that has a probable impact, even a ripple effect. Consider reading this article as a class,
“10 Ways Youth Can Engage in Activism.” (Link referenced in the Materials section of lesson.) On another
note, if students require additional resources, such as needing technological equipment and/or assistance,
having the support of other teachers and community members and access to equipment would be ideal.
However, when possible, try to simplify the process so students are capable of completing their work
individually or in groups.
• Act: Students carry out their plan of action, catering to the specific needs of their cause. It is important
students take assertive steps to best learn and understand their ability to successfully communicate and
engage civically within their school and broader communities. As Zemelman writes, “It’s not enough to
just talk about change, practice mock legislatures, or serve in a soup kitchen (as valuable as these
activities may be). Only when students see adults listening to them with respect, do they realize they have
a voice and can make a difference in their world. Their efforts may not always succeed, but in being heard
they come to value studying, reading, writing, and planning what they have done.”
• Reflect: Students individually write reflections on their experiences with this project. What worked? What
was particularly challenging? How do they plan to continue to learn and work more towards their goals?