The Struggle Continues: Stony the Road (1896-1941)
Guiding Question:
To what extent did the Founding principles of liberty, equality, and justice become a reality for African Americans in the first half of the twentieth century?
Objectives:
- Students will analyze the application of Founding principles of liberty, justice, and equality in this time period:
– Analyzing ideas and actions regarding equality and justice by examining primary source documents.
– Examining the ways in which legislation and policy, the courts, and individuals and groups were complementary in the quest to fully realize equality and justice for all and the ways in which these methods of change were in conflict. - Students will reflect on the ideas, institutions, and individuals in history to evaluate how we might apply the lessons gleaned from this period to today.
Note that some of the primary sources in this lesson use terms that would be considered offensive or derogatory today. These terms have been retained in their original usage in order to present them accurately in their historical context for student learning, including understanding why they are not acceptable today.
The following lesson asks students to look at primary source documents as they consider the following question: To what extent did the Founding principles of liberty, equality, and justice become a reality for African Americans in the first half of the twentieth century? The documents come from a variety of actors in the American republic: legislators and policymakers, the courts, and individuals and groups. As students go through the documents, encourage them to think not only about the principles of liberty, equality, and justice, but also about the ways in which these groups interact with each other in creating or stalling change.
The main activity in this lesson requires students to conduct primary source analysis. Two sets of primary sources are included with this lesson: a longer set and an abbreviated set. The abbreviated documents have been selected for learners with lower reading levels or for classes wishing to explore the guiding questions for this lesson that cannot dedicate as much time to it. Questions have been provided for each primary source. Teachers may choose to use the provided questions as scaffolds for students or remove them as best suits their teaching situation. Graphic organizers have been provided to use as an additional tool alongside the questions accompanying each document or in place of them.
For primary source analysis, students may work individually, in pairs, or in small groups as best fits your classroom. Additionally, primary sources can serve as the basis for a stations or jigsaw activity.
Have students complete the Introductory Essay and accompanying questions.
Distribute the primary source: Song Analysis: “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” James Weldon Johnson, 1900
Read the lyrics before listening to the song. Many versions are available online; a few suggestions are provided below.
- Kirk Franklin (first stanza): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHn2SSzZszU
- Alicia Keys (first stanza): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS60luWpBe0
- Evergreen Baptist Association of American Baptist Churches Virtual Choir (full song): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRtY3RBD2pc
Discuss responses to the three questions about the song. Ask students to connect this song to the Founding principles. What is the artist’s message?
Students will analyze the primary sources using the questions. They can work individually, in pairs, or in small groups as best fits your classroom. Use the provided questions as scaffolds for students or remove them as best suits your teaching situation.
A graphic organizer can also be used as an option for document analysis.
Once students have completed the primary sources, distribute the Concluding Analysis. Sorting the documents into the three groups can be done as a class, individually, in pairs, or small groups as best fits your classroom. Note that students may place a document in more than one category. If this happens, encourage them to explain their reasoning to generate discussion.
Have students reflect on and answer the following question:
Identify a historical moment whose significance struck you, or a person whose words or actions resonated with you. What lesson did this moment or person teach you? How might we apply that to the present day?
- Using the primary sources in this lesson, have students create an annotated timeline of important events during this time period. Direct them to include a written response to the essential question, “To what extent did the Founding principles of liberty, equality, and justice become a reality for African Americans in the first half of the twentieth century?” on their timelines.
- Assign students one or more documents contained in this primary source set and have them create a brief report or presentation on the context of the document, including the time and place it was created, the author and the audience, and important phrases and arguments from the full text.
- Have students research the history behind the poem turned song “Strange Fruit.” Have students share their response to the song. Discuss how music can play a role in demanding justice.
- Have students research the founding of The Crisis. Whom was it intended to serve? What stories did it tell? How did it contribute to the story of African Americans’ struggle for equality in this time period?
- Have students research more deeply the events in the Tulsa Race Massacre. Consider:
- Why was the neighborhood known as “Black Wall Street”?
- What role did economics play in the massacre?
- How should students today and in the future learn about this event?
- Have students view the panels of Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series on the Phillips Collection site. How does this work reflect the story of the Great Migration? How do this work and its artist, Jacob Lawrence, fit into the context of the Harlem Renaissance and Black pride?
- Have students research various figures associated with the Harlem Renaissance. What was the role of these artists in celebrating Black culture?
- Suggested figures (Note that this list is illustrative but not exhaustive):
- Writers: Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay
- Musicians: Louis Armstrong, Eubie Blake, Duke Ellington
- Visual artists: Aaron Douglass, Jacob Lawrence, James Van Der Zee
- Suggested figures (Note that this list is illustrative but not exhaustive):
Student Handouts
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