Lesson Plan 2

Title: Disenfranchisement of African-Americans

Grade: 8

Time Requirement: 120 minutes

Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Understand Robert F. Kennedy's position on desegregation of public schools.
• Understand how one person or a group of people can influence the government to bring about change.

New York State Learning Standards:

• Social Studies Standard 1: History of the United States and New York state KI 3, PI 3; KI 4, PI 4
• Social Studies Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship and Government KI 1, PI 4; KI 2, PI 5
• English Language Arts Standard 1: Information and Understanding Grade 8 Reading, PI 3-4, 6, 10, 12; Grade 8 Writing, PI 2, 5, 7-8, 10
• English Language Arts Standard 3: Critical Analysis and Evaluation Grade 8 Writing, PI 1; Grade 8 Speaking, PI 1
• English Language Arts Standard 4: Social Interaction Grade 8 Reading, PI 1; Grade 8 Writing, PI 1

SOCIAL STUDIES CORE CURRICULUM

• Grade 8: United States and New York state History
• Unit 11, Section I C. Civil rights movement placed focus on equality and democracy (p. 87)

SKILLS

• Thinking skills – drawing inferences and making conclusions; evaluating
• Research and writing skills – interpreting information; analyzing information; supporting a position
• Interpersonal and group relation skills – cooperating to accomplish goals; assuming responsibility for carrying out tasks
• Sequencing and chronology skills – understanding the concepts of time, continuity and change

CONCEPTS

• Change
• Choice
• Civic values
• Government
• Human rights
• Justice
• Power

Technology Requirement

• Real player, other software/hardware, flip charts, computer lab with Internet access or classroom computers, Microsoft Powerpoint

Background

In 1896, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in the Plessy v. Ferguson decision that separate but equal facilities in public transportation was permissible. This ruling disenfranchised African-Americans in all aspects of public life. In 1951, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) challenged segregation by filing a complaint against the Topeka, Kan., school district for assigning students of color to different schools from white students, citing that practice as unconstitutional.

Relevance to Current Issues

Many Americans are still disenfranchised in the United States even though they are guaranteed equal protection under the law by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Student Activities

Procedures:

• The class will be divided into cooperative learning groups for this lesson.

Anticipatory Set

Ask the following questions and discuss with students:

• Have you ever been in a situation where you didn't fit in? How did you feel? What did you do to change the situation or what could you have done?
• Pass out copies of Robert F. Kennedy's speech.
• The students will listen to the speech given by Robert F. Kennedy at the University of Georgia, www.bobby-kennedy.com. End the speech after the line: "By facing this problem honorably…" Discuss with students the guiding questions after listening to the speech.

Guiding Questions

• What happened in 1954?
• What imprint did this have on the United States?

Activity 1

Students will read each activity and answer the scaffolding questions following the document.

Document 1: Complaint against Board of Education of Topeka, Kan., Feb. 26, 1951

• www.eisenhower.archives.gov/dl/Civil_Rights_BrownvsBoE/BrownvsBOEfiles.html

"The question of whether the denial to infant plaintiffs, solely because of race, of educational opportunities equal to those afforded white children at the Sumner school and other schools similarly situated in the city of Topeka, Kansas, is in contravention of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution as being a denial of the equal protection of the law." (Page 2)

• What equal educational opportunities do you think the infant plaintiffs were denied?
• When was the 14th Amendment to the Constitution ratified? Why would this be used as a defense?

Document 2: Brown v. Board of Education, 347U.S. 483 (1954) (USSC+)

• www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0347_0483_ZS.html

Decided May 17, 1954

"We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. This disposition makes unnecessary any discussion whether such segregation also violates the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment."

• What Constitutional rights did segregation violate?
• What statement in the quote reversed the "separate but equal" clause of Plessy v. Ferguson?

Document 3: RFK Law Day Address

• http://www.rfkmemorial.org/lifevision/universityofgeorgialawschool/

University of Georgia Law School, Athens, Ga., May 6, 1961

"I cannot believe that anyone can support a principle which prevents more than a thousand of our children in one country from attending public school - especially when this step was taken to circumvent the orders of the court. Our position is quite clear. We are upholding the law. Our action does not threaten local control. The federal government would not be running the schools in Prince Edward County any more than it is running the University of Georgia or the schools in my state of Massachusetts. In this case - in all cases - I say to you today that if the orders of the court are circumvented, the Department of Justice will act. We will not stand by or be aloof. We will move.

"I happen to believe that the 1954 decision was right. But, my belief does not matter - it is the law…"

• What decision is referred to in the speech?
• Why would Robert F. Kennedy support that decision?
• What was the fear of the local governments if they did not follow the rule of law?

Document 4: Desegregation in the South from 1954 to 1988

Source: Equal Justice Society, Fall 2007 e-Newsletter, Erwin Chemerinsky

www.equaljusticesociety.org/newsletter11/story3.html

• What conclusion can you draw from the information provided in the chart regarding racial desegregation of southern schools from 1954-88?
• What event most affected desegregation of public schools in the South?

Document 5: Little Rock Nine:

• http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11912932&ft=1&f=1013Document 6

One of the "Little Rock Nine" students says after she signed up to go to Central High School, she skipped home, unaware of what was to come. She said her innocent belief that if the white students got to know her everything would work out was shattered the day the soldiers stopped her from entering the school. The former Little Rock, Ark., student talks to Alex Chadwick.

• What action did Alex Chadwick take that would change U.S. history?
• Why would soldiers stop her from entering the high school?

James Meredith letter to attorney Thurgood Marshall

• www.jfklibrary.net/meredith/jm_01fr.html

"I am submitting an application for admission to the University of Mississippi… I am a native Mississippian. All my elementary and secondary education was received in this state, except my last year of high school, which was completed in Florida. I spent nine years in the United States Air Force (1951-60), all of which were honorable. I have always been a "conscientious objector" to my "oppressed status" as long as I can remember. My long-cherished ambition has been to break the monopoly on rights and privileges held by the whites of the state of Mississippi." Meredith, Three Years in Mississippi, 1966, p. 55-56.

Guiding question:

• What was the problem faced by James Meredith and other African-Americans in Mississippi?

Culminating Activity:

Throughout the course of United States history, African-Americans have been disenfranchised. Using information from the documents and your knowledge of United States history, write an essay in which you will:

• Describe one way in which Robert F. Kennedy or a specific group tried to correct the disenfranchisement.
• Discuss the extent to which their actions corrected the problem.

Extension:

As an extension activity, introduce students to the story of Barbara Jones, an 11th grader who led students at R.R. Moton High School in Farmville, Va., in a strike protesting educational conditions. This courageous act led to the involvement of the NAACP and became a precursor to one of the cases(Davis v. Prince Edward County) argued before the Supreme Court that ultimately resulted in the Brown decision. To engage students, go to http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/4-five/farmville-virginia-1.html for documents and photos.

Presidential contender Bobby Kennedy stops during campaigning to shake hands with delighted young African-American child. Photo by Bill Eppridge//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images.