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:
Download this file and add what you think is important (vocabulary, historical or cultural facts, grammar, ....)
Here are 20 key dates in US History. Try and note them down in chronological order.
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)
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)
- 59th anniversary of the March on Washington:
The March on Washington, History.com
Fortnite celebrating MLK and the anniversary of the March on Washington (Time)
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- 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)
-
The NFL kneeling down protest. What
does it mean? (Metro) (doc3c)
- Japanese-American tennis player Naomi Osaka made sure that Black Lives matter(ed) at US open (andscape) (doc3d)
Know their names (aljazeera)
-
White supremacists and the Confederate flag controversy:
The controversy about the
Confederate flag (The Telegraph) (doc3e1)
New Mississippi flag (ABC News) (doc3e2)
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":
- Negative signs/ Is there still a long way to go before reaching 'racial' equality?
Timeline of black deaths and protests (BBC)
"A decade of watching people die" (NPR)
Police shootings database (The Washington Post)
11 facts
about Racial Discrimination in the US (Do Something)
US black and white inequality in 4 charts (CNN)
Interesting charts (CSMonitor.com)
"Blacks and whites in the US: two nations" (The Economist)
"Has MLK's dream been realized?" (Truth Out)
"Racial equality in the US: a Myth?" (BillMoyers.com)
"How big an issue is racism in America?" (BBC.news)
"Coronavirus in African-Americans and other people of color" (Hopkins Medicine)
"The disproportional impact of Covid-19 on African-Americans" (NCBI)
"VP-elect Kamala Harris ticks many firsts, but the old problem of racism still lurks" (France 24)
Know their names (aljazeera)
-
Positive signs/ Signs of progress/glimmers of hope:
"It's time for an all new Captain America: Black Captain America" (Marvel)
"A new Ariel inspires joy for young black girls" (New York Times)
"The Black Girl Books project" (Marley Dias)
"23 black leaders who are shaping history today" (CNBC)
Affirmative Action (ACLU)
"The new Congress is the most racially and ethnically diverse ever" (Pew Research)
Amanda Gorman and Michelle Obama: "The Renaissance is black" (Time) <----------------------------------- see video to the left
"Congress passes bill to counter the rise in Anti-Asian crimes", NPR
"Eric Adams is elected as NYC's second black mayor", NPR
"Chicago: the Together we heal project", Chicago.gov
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" --------------------->