The NAACP are a highly organized, powerful legal team by this point in our study. They work with a group of African American parents in a class action lawsuit against the Topeka, Kansas School Board to challenge the Plessy verdict for "separate but equal" education which had held since the late 1800's. The resulting win in the Brown vs. Board of Education case paved the way for renewed momentum in the Civil Rights Movement. It was May, 1954. The focus was now squarely on equal education for African Americans. The focus was on the desegregation of schools. |
Intro simulation with questions: Students who do not identify as "white and Nova Scotian" are asked to stand and move to the sides of the room. Question posed to those those remaining: "How would this change your education?" "What if this was all you knew from the time you started school?" "How do things change for your classmates standing at the sides?" "Where do they go to school?" Reminder of Jackson, Mississippi divide. Simulation begins with telephone conversation between Arkansas School Board members about wholesome Southern values and banning textbooks from the North. Students should appreciate that the scope of education and curriculum is being manipulated and quickly shrinking. Brief discussion of effects and consequences. Little Rock, Arkansas summary handout.
Slide presentation of key concepts: "Little Rock. Momentum."
Slide presentation of key concepts: "Little Rock. Momentum."
Activity/discussion: Students are given a printed copy of an article from the Coast about Principal Wade Smith's comments that consider an "all-black school" as an alternative to unequal education in the current public school system, "A Matter of Principle."
Evidence of systemic inequality is presented with the lens on John Martin Jr. High relative to Bicentennial Jr. High, both of which are in North Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Questions for discussion: "Is Mr. Smith suggesting a return to segregated education?" "How are segregation and protection of culture different?" "If the school curriculum is designed for the 30% who go on to university, who is getting left out?"
Wrap Up: Back to Arkansas. Let's look at what integrated education meant for those kids. Isolation. An unhealthy learning environment. In 1968, States were instructed to "undo the harm" caused by segregation by leveraging the curriculum towards common ground. Back to Jackson. Remember Lanier High School in South Jackson with 100% African American population. Considered a second rate school, underfunded with severe neighbourhood crime and poverty issues. I hope you are beginning to notice that this is one huge web of overlapping factors. Like a web, it can feel impossible to untangle but we've learned a lot about next steps.
Next class: The Role of Martin Luther King. Jr. and the March on Washington
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