Learning for Justice
The Color of Law: Creating Racially Segregated Communities
It is pointed, powerful, and painful! The first of three lessons about laws and practices that support inequality looks at how government policies created and reinforced segregated communities. Young social scientists read excerpts from...
Teaching Tolerance
Jim Crow as a Form of Racialized Social Control
Just because slavery was illegal doesn't mean it went away ... Jim Crow Laws took its place. An eye-opening lesson focuses on how Jim Crow Laws were used as a form of racial social control against African Americans in the United States....
Curated OER
In the 1960s, Why Were Boston’s Schools Racially Segregated?
High schoolers explore the implications of segregation. In this Civil Rights instructional activity, students investigate what equal education is as they discover the state of Boston schools in 1960. High schoolers define civil rights...
K20 LEARN
The Bank Of Justice: Civil Rights In The US
To launch a study of racial segregation and integration, young historians first watch a news video about a prom in Georgia that was first integrated in 2013. They then compare the goals in Lincoln's Gettysburg Address to King's "I Have a...
Facing History and Ourselves
BPS Civil Rights
Include moments of heroism in a social studies module that includes three units. Focusing on the murder of Emmett Till, the movement of nonviolent resistance, and segregating schools in Boston, the units explore key events of the civil...
Curated OER
How Often Do You Interact with People of Another Race or Ethnicity?
Is interacting with people from different backgrounds part of a well-rounded education? A big question awaits young readers as they explore two New York Times articles that discuss modern-day segregation, population statistics, and...
Curated OER
Recognizing and Combating Segregation in U.S. Schools Today
Students explore the prevalence of racism and statistical segregation in America's schools. They design a project to investigate how the racial makeup of their school compares to other schools. In addition, they evaluate their design...
Curated OER
Fifty Years: From the Little Rock Nine to the Jena Six
Students discuss how the issues surrounding school integration have changed since the Little Rock Nine entered Central High School. They discuss the recent events in Jena, Louisiana. Students write a letter to a school administrator...
Curated OER
Bases Divided: Segregation And Discrimination in Baseball
Students view video and conduct research on how baseball has reflected the social context of American history. They work in groups to investigate outstanding minority baseball players, including racial minorities and women, and develop...
EngageNY
Studying Conflicting Interpretations: Perspectives on Plessy v. Ferguson: Part 3
Scholars closely read Justice John Marshall Harlan's dissenting opinion in the Plessy v. Ferguson case, seeking to understand why he disagreed with the court's decision that racial segregation laws for public spaces were constitutional....
EngageNY
Launching the Text: Building Background Knowledge of the Jim Crow South
Pictures and photographs help build background knowledge about a topic. Scholars participate in a gallery walk to learn more about the Jim Crow era of US history and the desegregation of schools following Brown v. Board of Education....
Curated OER
The Real Monopoly: America's Racial Wealth Divide
High schoolers explore America's racial wealth divide. In this Teaching Tolerance lesson, students play a "rigger" version of the game Monopoly and reflect on the game and economic injustice in the United States.
Curated OER
Racial Inequality: Remnants of a Troubled Time
Middle schoolers watch the Discovery program "Racial Inequality: Remnants of a Troubled Time" then examine the ratification of the 14th Amendment and the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. They research one of three events that tested Brown...
Curated OER
Responses to Racially Imbalanced Schools
Students explore the implications of segregation. In this Civil Rights lesson, students investigate what equal education is as they discover the state of Boston schools in 1960. Students define civil rights and discrimination as they...
Teaching Tolerance
Mass Incarceration as a Form of Racialized Social Control
Mass incarceration: A result of a tough stance on crime or racial discrimination, you decide. Academics explore the history and reasons behind mass incarcerations in the United States and its impact on ethnic communities. The...
Curated OER
"Jazz is About Collaboration": Jim Crow Laws And Segregation
Students explore development of jazz music in the 1930s by forming imaginary jazz bands which tour several cities in Depression-era America. Jazz band members create imaginary identities for themselves, develop publicity for their tour,...
Curated OER
How Rosa Parks Sparked Change
Rosa Parks proves that one person, no matter their race, can make a difference.
Curated OER
Schools of Thought on Segregation
Students read a New York Times article in order to explain how American courts and communities are dealing with the unanimous Supreme Court decision to end "separate but equal" education. They analyze how this affects the nation's youth.
Curated OER
Birmingham Blues
Young scholars investigate racial inequality and prejudice in American history through the words of Langston Hughes, an American black poet. They develop and share thoughtful collages and presentations inspired by the words of Langston...
Curated OER
Only the Ball Was White
Tenth graders analyze how government policies on segregation effected the game of baseball. They evaluate how baseball and sports became a microcosm of the United States. They evaluate court decisions that lead to the segregation laws in...
Curated OER
The Past Half Century: Achieving Equality
Young scholars analyze reactions to the Brown vs. Education decision of 1954. In this segregation lesson, student look at the actions that were taken in the education world as a result of the Brown decision. They watch a CD, examine...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Confronting Unjust Practices
A powerful photograph of the Freedom Riders of 1961 launches an examination of the de jure and de facto injustices that the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s addressed. Young historians first watch a video and read the Supreme...
Curated OER
Exploring Racial and Ethnic Diversity
Students explore and examine racial and ethinic diversity in the metropolitan areas of the United States. They examine data from the US Census Description of Race and Ethnic Categories. Students explore the population by race and...
University of Richmond
Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America 1935-1940
Redlining—or the practice of racial discrimination in housing loans—directly led to today's segregated living patterns in America. Using data from the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation, classmates visualize the impact of policy on...