Unit2: A Brief History of the USA and the Race Issue in America:


Intro:

In this Unit, we will study American history through the lens of the race issue. After reviewing a few landmarks in American history and culture, we will try and see what the situation is like for African-Americans (and other communities) today. In other words, we will reflect on the following question: has MLK's dream come true at last? The documents below will help you go further into the theme and practice. 

Survival kit:

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EC1 Unit2 Survival kit by Nicolas, Sinan and Damien
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Step1: US History "for dummies"!



Step2: The Civil Rights Movement:

<- doc2a (cf lesson p3-4)

  • MLK and the Civil Rights Movement:

MLK's biography (Biography.com)

History.com

MLK's 'I have a dream' speech (Transcript, AmericanRhetoric)

Civil Rights Movement Timeline (History Learning Site)

Civil Rights Movement Timeline (InfoPlease)

50th anniversary of MLK's dream (Time)

Quizzes: link1, link2, link3

The NAACP

  • 6t1st anniversary of the March on Washington/60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act:

"Looking forward and back as the Civil Rights Act turns 60" (USA Today) Doc2b

Fortnite celebrating MLK and the anniversary of the March on Washington (Time)

  • The race issue through the lens of "art":

"The Problem we all live with" (Norman Rockwell, doc2b)

"42" (biopic about Jackie Robinson): movie review, find out more about Jackie Robinson (Biography.com)



Step3: Recent events:

  • BLM, Black shootings and the George Floyd riots:

Black Lives Matter (doc3a)

Trayvon Martin (Biography.com)

The George Floyd riots (doc3b) ------------------------------------------->

a timeline (NY Times)

The George Floyd protests: a rebellion against an unjust system (The Guardian)

          Know their names (aljazeera)

  • White supremacists and the Confederate flag controversy:

The controversy about the Confederate flag (The Telegraph) (doc3e1)

7 state flags that still have ties with the design of the Confederate flag (doc3e2)

 

"Stand up by sitting: Kaepernick and Rosa Parks"
"Stand up by sitting: Kaepernick and Rosa Parks"


Step4: A few extra dark signs and a few glimmers of hope: Towards a "post-racial" American society?

Amanda Gorman reads Inauguration poem "The Hill We Climb":



Go further:

  • A few other key notions we will come across:

Affirmative action :  Affirmativeaction.org, Vox

American Civil Liberties Union

 

  • Movies or tv series about the "race issue" in the US:

Colin in Black and White (2021) -------------------------------------------->

Locked up in the land of the free (2020)

Blackkklansman (2018)

Selma (2015)

The Help (2011)

a famous poem written by Langston Hugues: "I, too"  --------------------->



Practice!


Quizlet games created by Inès, a former student: