Friday, November 30, 2018

Civil Rights, Day 9 - Class Recap


Me and my friends Scott and Clarke, in 2009 at a Portland Trail Blazers Playoff game. The Moda Center (then the Rose Garden) was built on land that was formerly part of the Albina neighborhood.

Hi everyone,

Today in class we wrapped up our viewing of Lift Ev'ry Voice and I introduced the Activism Project. Here's what happened in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:
Behavior LT 1: I can self direct my learning.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Knowledge LT 16: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place, or region.
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the role and impacts of social hierarchies.

Soundtrack: "We Shall Overcome" by Pete Seeger. Selected for today because it became a song that rallied many people together during the Civil Rights Movement. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 11/30/18:
News Brief – Emma H.
Finish Lift Ev'ry Voice
Discussion
Activism Project

Homework: Read the blog. Continue working on your Activism Project! Next news brief: Megan.

News Brief: Emma H. had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - Drug and suicide deaths rise as US life expectancy drops. After discussing the story, we also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class over the weekend.

Megan was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Lift Ev'ry Voice: Next, we finished watching an excellent documentary from OPB, called Lift Ev'ry Voice. If you want to watch again, share, or get caught up, it is here:


Here is the worksheet that goes along with the documentary:


As students were watching, I tried to pause and explain more of what was going on with maps and background information. I hope this was helpful in understanding!

Discussion: After the documentary, we went through the questions together as a class and had a discussion about the film. For the most part, I find that students generally have no idea about Portland's racial history and current issues, so I am glad that this unit allows for some connections to be made locally. I then collected the response questions, which will be entered in the gradebook as a behavior target.

Activism Project: Finally, I introduced the main project for the Civil Rights unit, which is where students choose to identify a cause that they care about and create a poster or brochure explaining why and how people could be involved. Here's the assignment sheet that I passed out in class:


This assignment will be due the last day we meet before break, December 20th. If you are leaving before that day for break, you will need to turn it in before.

Generally, students can choose almost anything that they want to, but I do want to hear about the issue before embarking on too much work. We will set aside a fair amount of class time before the break to do this, and I will provide large sheets of paper, but if a student wants to go above and beyond in working on the project at home or with a poster board, that is obviously great as well.

Thanks for your continued work and engagement with the Civil Rights unit! We will keep at it next week. Here's the schedule for our next few classes until break:

November 30 (above): Lift Ev’ry Voice (behavior grade) / Assign Activism Project (graded)

December 4: Little Rock Nine (graded) / Work Time on Activism Project (poster analysis activity)

6 (substitute): Children’s March (What Would You Do?) / Work Time on Activism Project

11: Music as Activism (graded) – partner assignment

13 (Wednesday): Share Music/Work time on Activism Project

15: MLK vs. Malcolm X – Whose Ideas Were Best?

19: Activism Project Work Time (final day)

21: Activism Project presentations/gallery walk/Unfinished Business with Civil Rights
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Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Civil Rights, Day 8 - Class Recap


We continued watching the documentary "Lift Ev'ry Voice" today in class, which goes over how the creation of the Memorial Coliseum and Moda Center impacted the African-American community in Portland. Photo taken in 2009.

Dear class,

Another quick Wednesday together, as we continued talking about Civil Rights in Portland. Here's what happened in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:
Behavior LT 1: I can self direct my learning.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Knowledge LT 16: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place, or region.
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the role and impacts of social hierarchies.

Soundtrack: "Alabama" by John Coltrane. Selected for today because Coltrane composed this in response to a bombing at a church in Alabama in 1963 that killed four African-American girls. Learn more here.

AGENDA 11/28/18:
News Brief – Dahson
Kelly on Vanport
Lift Ev'ry Voice
Discussion

Homework: Read the blog. Know your grade and how to improve it, if possible! Next news brief: Emma H.

News Brief: Dahson had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - A California man was shot 8 times and died after checking on concerned neighbor's house. After discussing the story, we also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Emma H. was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Kelly on Vanport: At the start of this unit, Kelly Simonsen, who is an instructional aid in Period 1 and 3, asked me if we would be talking about Vanport in class, as she wrote a paper in college about it! So, I asked if she would be willing to share parts of the paper with the class, which she did as a reminder as to what happened with Vanport (as seen last class in the first part of the documentary). Here's the paper, with parts highlighted that she shared in class:


Thank you Kelly, for sharing your research and paper with everyone!

Lift Ev'ry Voice: For the rest of class, we continued watching an excellent documentary from OPB, called Lift Ev'ry Voice, and ended class about 1:05 in. If you want to watch again, share, or get caught up, it is here:


Here is the worksheet that goes along with the documentary:


I think it is super important that we understand our own history regarding race in Portland, especially as I think there are some common assumptions that are just not true. As such, I was glad to see that almost everyone was glued to this in class. Thanks for your focus and willingness to learn about our own history! We will finish this next class and then turn our attention back to national level issues with the Civil Rights movement.
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Monday, November 26, 2018

Civil Rights, Day 7 - Class Recap


The famous "White Stag" building sign in downtown Portland. Photo taken over Winter Break, 2015.

Hi everyone,

Welcome back from your Thanksgiving Break! We now have 4 full weeks together before we break for the end of the year, and lots to do! Here's what happened in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:
Behavior LT 2: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Knowledge LT 16: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place, or region.
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the role and impacts of social hierarchies.

Soundtrack: "Come Rain or Come Shine" by Billie Holliday. Selected for today because of the rainy weather over the weekend and the desire to keep a positive attitude about coming back to school! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 11/26/18:
News Brief – Johann
Oregon's Racist History
Lift Ev'ry Voice
Discussion

Homework: Read the blog. Know your grade and how to improve it, if possible! Next news brief: Dahson.

News Brief: Johann had the news brief today and selected an article about this story: Space.com - NASA's InSight Mars Lander Reaches Mars Today! Here's What to Expect. We also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class over the long weekend. It was great to rest up and relax!

Dahson was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Oregon's Racist History: As I tried to point out today, there is a LOT of history in our own community of racism, that I think students do not typically know about. But, there is a reason that Portland is one of the whitest major cities in the United States. A few links for curious students to check out:




I also wanted to be sure that we talked about the laws that prevented people of color from owning property in places like Lake Oswego and throughout Oregon. Here is an example:


We also watched the first 4 minutes or so of this video, to help set the stage for the main documentary I wanted to show in class:



Lift Ev'ry Voice: For the rest of class, we started watching an excellent documentary from OPB, called Lift Ev'ry Voice, and ended class about 41 minutes in. If you want to watch again, share, or get caught up, it is here:


Here is the worksheet that goes along with the documentary:


I think it is super important that we understand our own history regarding race in Portland, especially as I think there are some common assumptions that are just not true. As such, I was glad to see that almost everyone was glued to this in class. Thanks for your focus and willingness to learn about our own history! We will continue to watch this next class!
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Monday, November 19, 2018

Civil Rights, Day 6 - Class Recap


The Supreme Court of the United States. Photo taken in 2010.

Dear class,

Only one day of class together this week, due to Thanksgiving! We continued our focus on Civil Rights today, and specifically looked at segregation and the process of integration. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 2: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Knowledge LT 16: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place, or region.
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the role and impacts of social hierarchies.

Soundtrack: "Thank You" by Led Zeppelin. Selected for today because this is the week of Thanksgiving. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 11/19/18:
News Brief - Rachel
Separate but Equal
PowerPoint
Brown v. Board of Education

Homework: Read the blog. Make sure you turn in your Early Struggles response if you have not already.

The next news brief is assigned to: Johann.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Rachel, who selected an article about this story: KDVR.com - New Jersey couple killed in fiery crash driving to their wedding. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class over the weekend.

Johann was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Separate but Equal: To begin this part of class, I passed out candy to everyone! Hooray! Except: some rows in the class got to pick their candy from a nice assortment of good candy, and some rows were given the worst, lamest candy I could find. But hey, you all got candy! Obviously, there was some controversy here, which was my point. Is "separate but equal" truly equal? We had a good conversation about this in class. Then, yes, everyone was able to select from the good candy.

PowerPoint: Next, I wanted to show some more effects of the Plessy v. Ferguson decision by the Supreme Court, which allowed segregation laws (known as "Jim Crow" laws) in states. Here's the PowerPoint we went through in class (only to slide 17 - Brown v. Board of Education) as students took notes and made observations:


Hopefully this was interesting and enlightening! After the Thanksgiving break, we will look and see how separate but equal has been the law in the past in Oregon, as well.

 Brown v. Board of Education: To end class before Thanksgiving, I introduced the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson in the realm of public schools (which was eventually extended to most other areas of public life), Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954). Here's the case:


The rest of class was spent reading through the case and answering the questions on the back side, on a separate (but equal!) sheet of paper. We then answered the questions as a class at the end of the period. Have a great Thanksgiving break, everyone! I am so thankful for you all!
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Thursday, November 15, 2018

Civil Rights, Day 5 - Class Recap


Part of the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C. The inscription at the base of this monument reads "From the Civil War to Civil Rights and Beyond." Photo taken in 2010.

Hi everyone,

We continued learning about the history of the Civil Rights movement in the United States and what happened after our initial look at Plessy v. Ferguson. It was more of a reading and work day after all of the fun last time - back to business! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 2: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Knowledge LT 16: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place, or region.
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the role and impacts of social hierarchies.

Soundtrack: "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye. Selected for today because it is a song about the struggle for peace, especially as a part of the Civil Rights Movement. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 11/15/18:
News Brief - Zion
Courageous Conversations
Jim Crow
Early Struggles

Homework: Read the blog. Your revised Writing for Justice narrative is due today if you did not already turn it in.

The next news brief is assigned to: Rachel.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Zion, who was not in class at the start, so I filled in and selected an article about this story: CNN.com - Bill Nelson needs a miracle in Florida. It likely won't come.. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class over the weekend.

Rachel was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Courageous Conversations: Before asking the class if there was anyone who wanted to share their Writing for Justice narrative with everyone, I went over the Courageous Conversations agreements and protocols, which is something the staff at Westview uses in our own work, and I used last year in Diversity and Social Justice a lot. Here's the compass:


With this in mind, I asked if there were any student that felt like they wanted to share their narratives with the class. Thank you for respecting this process, everyone! I am very much looking forward to reading all of these, and I am grateful for your willingness to engage with what some students described as a challenging assignment.

Jim Crow: Next, I showed this video of an overview of the Jim Crow laws (especially in the South of the United States, but also prevalent in Oregon, which we will learn more about soon):



This was to remind students about the laws that made segregation and lack of civil rights a fact. A few classes ago, we analyzed the United States Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson, which helped to implement these laws.

Early Struggles: Next, we defined the term hierarchy as a class, as: a system or organization in which people or groups are ranked one above the other according to status or authority.

Then, I passed out a class set of a reading called "Early Struggles" from a book called Free At Last. Here is the reading if anyone needs an electronic copy to access:


As a part of understanding the reading, we continued to talk about the idea of a "hierarchy" in society, in terms of different levels. The assessment that goes along with the reading can be found here:


The rest of class was devoted to work time in reading the chapter, understanding it, and writing responses. If we had time in class, we went over the responses together, before turning them in.

Have a great weekend - see you next Monday for our only class of the week, due to Thanksgiving!
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Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Civil Rights, Day 4 - Class Recap


This is one of my favorite ever photos I have taken, at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Today in class, we held our own version!

Dear students,

Welcome back from your extended weekend! It was so great to see you all today and to have a little fun after the stress of progress reports and grades by opening the walls with Mr. Puterbaugh next door. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 2: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Knowledge LT 16: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place, or region.
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the role and impacts of social hierarchies.

Soundtrack: "You Are My Sunshine" by Ray Charles. Selected for today because I was listening to this song on the flight home from Chicago and it reminded me of how much I missed you all! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 11/13/18:
News Brief - Gaby
DBQ Grades
Narrative Writing/Peer Review
Work Time
Olympics

Homework: Read the blog. Your revised Writing for Justice narrative is due on Thursday, November 15 at the start of class.

The next news brief is assigned to: Zion.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Gaby, who selected an article about this story: NBCNews.com - Death toll in California wildfire rises to 42, marking worst in state history. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class over the weekend.

Zion was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


DBQ Grades: Next, Mr. Puterbaugh and I talked about how we graded the Native American DBQs and what we were looking for with each learning target. These scores were included in your progress report grades. We hope these make sense! If you have any questions about your DBQ, please come by to see one of us in Lower North Teacher Cluster during lunch, Study Hall, or after school. Please also remember that you have multiple other opportunities on each of these learning targets this semester.

Narrative Writing/Peer Review: Last week, we did an activity of identifying the roles of Ally, Bystander, Perpetrator, and Victim in a narrative story that had something to do with the idea of justice. The stories that we analyzed are here:


The first page in the linked document is what students were filling out as we read the stories and thought about times in their own lives that they had been one of the roles in the stories. Here was the assignment that students had due today (this is also posted in Google Classroom):


Today in class, we continued working on this narrative writing by looking at a check list that Mr. Puterbaugh had most students work with last year, found here:


We wanted students to see ways to revise their Writing for Justice assignment and had students have their narrative peer reviewed with a partner or group. Please remember that these stories are sometimes challenging to tell and hear, and so confidentiality is very important.

Work Time: The rest of the first period was devoted to working on revising the Writing for Justice narratives. I must say that I have *really* enjoyed reading these first drafts and I am so proud of the work students have already put into these. 

Olympics: For the second half of the combined class, we wanted to have some fun, realizing that we have not done some community building for a while and that students were understandably stressed with progress report grades. So, Mr. Puterbaugh and I created various group activities that we called the Olympics! Thank you for your good humor and participation in these! It's so great to come to class and work with all of you. See you Thursday - remember to complete your revised Writing for Justice narrative before class!
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Civil Rights, Day 3 - Class Recap

Note: There will not be the usual recap today, as I am traveling to Chicago for 9th Grade Success work. Students in class were working with the guest teacher on their Writing for Justice narratives (minimum two pages, double spaced), which will be due at the start of class, next Tuesday. Links to this assignment and explanations about what to do are in the previous blog post.

Please make sure to turn in any missing work you want to count towards this Progress Report by tomorrow (Thursday)! Have a great long weekend, everyone!
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Monday, November 5, 2018

Ciivl Rights, Day 2 - Class Recap


Photo posted to the Westview High School Facebook account on March 14, 2018. Taken during the student walkout against gun violence.

Hi everyone,

As we continue the start of the Civil Rights unit, I wanted to talk about race, racism, and activism in modern context, so students could understand a bit more about what happened in history. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 2: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Knowledge LT 16: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place, or region.
Knowledge LT 19: I can explain the role and impacts of social hierarchies.

Soundtrack: "I Can See Clearly Now" by Jimmy Cliff. Selected for today because of the work we did regarding bias in class. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 11/5/18:
News Brief - Kyle
Implicit Bias
Who Do I Belong To?
Bystander Activity

Homework: Read the blog. Be good for Mr. Beach on Wednesday (I will be in Chicago on a 9th Grade Success trip for a night).

Any late/missing work needs to be turned in by Thursday for the first Progress Report.

The Writing for Justice narrative is due on Tuesday, November 13 at the start of class.

The next news brief is assigned to: Emma A (Wednesday) and Gaby (next Tuesday).

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Kyle, who selected an article about this story: NYTimes.com - Utah Mayor Killed in Afghanistan Wanted to Serve ‘However I Can’. We discussed this story for a bit (especially with Veteran's Day and the 100 year anniversary of the Armistice of World War I) and then moved on.

We also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class over the weekend.

Emma A. was selected to do the next news brief (Gaby will have the news brief next Tuesday).

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Harvard Implicit Bias: The next part of class was devoted to defining the term "implicit bias" as well as taking the Harvard Implicit Bias test on Race, which can be selected here:


The goal here was to learn a little bit more about our own personal attitudes and biases, as we continue with this work. We asked that you share your results in small groups around you. Did you find anything especially interesting or surprising about your results?

After delving into how we might be biased in one way or another, I then showed this overview regarding active and covert racism:


The point here is to identify that there are certain socially unacceptable forms of racism, but that there are also all sorts of socially acceptable forms of passive racism. We talked about cultural appropriation during the Native American unit, as well.

Here were the terms we defined in class today as students took notes:

Racism: prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.

Overt and Covert Racism: see slide

Implicit Bias: Implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. 

Not for notetaking: These biases, which encompass both favorable and unfavorable assessments, are activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control.

Ally: a person who is a member of an advantaged social group who takes a stand against oppression, works to eliminate oppressive attitudes and beliefs in themselves and their communities, and works to interrogate and understand their privilege.

Bystander: a person who is present at an event or incident but does not intervene or take part.

Perpetrator: a person who carries out a harmful, illegal, or immoral act.

Victim/Target: a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action.

Who Do I Belong To?: Next, I read from an article that my Diversity and Social Justice class co-teacher last year had published (so cool!):


Students were asked to listen and again, write down what they were thinking and any questions that they had.

I then showed this video of Ta-Nehisi Coates talking about why white people should not use the 'n' word, even in the context of singing along with hip-hop songs:



Bystander Activity: At the end of class, we did an activity of identifying the roles of Ally, Bystander, Perpetrator, and Victim in a story. The stories that we analyzed are here:


The first page in the linked document is what students were filling out as we read the stories and thought about times in their own lives that they had been one of the roles in the stories. Here was the assignment that we ended class with and students will be working on in class on Wednesday (this is also posted in Google Classroom):


This assignment will be due in class on Tuesday, November 13th, so students have about a week to complete it. Please let me know if you have any questions I can answer - I will definitely still be available via blog comments or emails on my trip!
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Thursday, November 1, 2018

Civil Rights, Day 1 - Class Recap


Welcome to a new unit! This is the sign at New Orleans International Airport, in Louisiana. Today, students took a literacy test, used in Louisiana to stop people of color from voting. Photo taken in 2009.

Dear class,

It's always nice to start a new unit with you all, as there is so much to think about and do together! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 2: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Critical Thinking LT 5: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Knowledge LT 16: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place, or region.

Soundtrack: "A Change is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke. Selected for today because of the change to a new unit and because the song is related to the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 11/1/18:
News Brief - Kate
DBQ Debrief
Pittsburgh
Literacy Test
Plessy v. Ferguson

Homework: Read the blog. The next news brief is assigned to: Kyle.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Kate, who selected an article about this story: CNN.com - Trump shocks with racist new ad days before midterms. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class over the weekend.

Kyle was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


DBQ Debrief: Since we took most of the last two classes in both Americans Studies and Lit and Comp 10, I wanted to be sure to ask students about what their thoughts were on the assignment and the process leading up to it. This is the first time we have had an assignment that will be scored for both classes, so it was an adventure for us, as well. We will hope to have grades back to you before progress reports! It's definitely easier when the amount we have to grade is split in half.

Pittsburgh: Due to the DBQ last class, we could not have a long conversation about the shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue over the weekend, but today, I wanted to be sure to address it more in depth, especially as we are beginning a new unit on civil rights. I shared the Anti-Defamation League's Pyramid of Hate with students:


My Global Studies students from last year are probably at least a little bit familiar with this diagram, as we talked about the Rwanda Genocide. I also know that Westview administration came to all classes on Monday during Period 4 to deliver a statement about hate speech, which would be evident in the pyramid right above Biased Attitudes. Thanks for the conversation here.

Literacy Test: After this, I passed out a test and said there were only ten minutes to complete it, with every answer being correct in order to pass it. This was supposed to be impossible, by design! Here's a link to a page with the blank test on it:


It is somewhat difficult to ascertain with certainty if this actual test was used, but it does appear to be one from the State of Louisiana, used to deny people of color the right to vote. These tests were given to anyone that election officials wanted - which was typically only people of color, not whites. If you are interested in seeing the "answers" (many of which were pretty subjective) again, here they are:


I hope this was an interesting activity to start out with! I also hope the point was driven home that having some sort of standard or qualification for voting rights aside from age is discriminatory.

Here is the BuzzFeed video that we watched in class (warning: some strong language, but in context):



Plessy v. Ferguson: To start this section of class, I had students brainstorm what "civil rights" are and how to define the term. After this, I asked students to write down the LegalDictionary definition: The term civil rights refers to the basic rights afforded, by laws of the government, to every person, regardless of race, nationality, color, gender, age, religion, or disability.

To begin looking at how the United States has denied basic rights to people of color, we looked at the famous Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson. I passed out this handout in class (as a class set):


The second page has questions for students to answer about the case. We finished class by looking through the answers together. I hope you found the class interesting today! See you next week!
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