Theme: A Look Into the Past
Purpose: To explore how events in North Carolina, as well as the Nation as a
whole affected evolution of St. Augustine’s College from an academic home for
slaves to its current status as an HBCU (Historically Black College and
University) trying to diversify its student body.
Objectives:
 Language Arts; Grades 6 – 8; Competency Goal 2
o The learner will explore and analyze information from a variety of
sources.
 Information Skills Curriculum; Grades 6 – 8; Competency Goal 4
o The learner will EXPLORE and USE research processes to meet
information needs.
 Information Skills Curriculum; Grades 6 – 8; Competency Goal 5
o The learner will COMMUNICATE reading, listening, and viewing
experiences.
 Computer/Technology Skills; Grades 6 – 8; Competency Goal 3
o The learner will use a variety of technologies to assess, analyze,
interpret, synthesize, apply, and communicate information.
 Social Studies; Grade 8; Competency Goal 9
o Impact of the Progressive Period: The learner will judge the effects
of progressivism, war, and religious controversy on North Carolina.
Materials:
Internet sources
American History textbooks
North Carolina History textbook
Lesson Plan: Teacher’s will need to provide students with background
information about the evolvement of slavery and its effects on St. Augustine’s
College. This will allow students to have an opportunity to explore and be active
participants in an open forum discussion.
1. Students will be divided into groups. Their task will be to create a time line
from 1867 (the establishment of St. Augustine’s School) until the present.
We recommend that this time line be broken down into decades.
2. Students will present their findings to their peers. Students should be
encouraged to use creativity in designing their timeline.
3. Students will participate in an open discussion. Here are some suggested
open-ended questions to initiate the forum.
a. Charles Drew was a physician and a blood plasma researcher. He
set up the first blood bank in England. He was appointed the
Director of the American Red Cross Blood Donor Project during
World War II. He was Chief Surgeon at Freedmen’s Hospital in
Washington, DC. He was in a car crash in Burlington, North
Carolina in 1950 where he needed a blood transfusion. The
nearest hospital that would treat African Americans was St. Agnes
Hospital on St. Augustine’s Campus. Unfortunately Dr. Drew never
made it to the hospital. He died in route to Raleigh, North Carolina.
How would you feel after being the founder of blood banks and
denied treatment because of the color of your skin?
b. Jack Johnson, a famous African American boxer, won a heavy
weight championship in the early 1900s. He was in a car accident
with a Caucasian female in 1946. She was taken to Rex Hospital
and he was taken to St. Agnes Hospital on the campus of St.
Augustine’s. Keep in mind that segregation was taking place
during this time period and was justified by the idea of separate but
equal. Think about how this idea affected African Americans living
in the United States, primarily in the South.
c. Imagine if St. Agnes Hospital was never established. How would
this have affected the black community?
d. How has slavery evolved over time?
e. The Jim Crow laws were established to keep African Americans in
an inferior position in society. What happened to the Jim Crow
laws?
f. What is the significance of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities?
g. Anna Julia Haywood Cooper was a professor at St. Augustine's
College. She began her education in 1867 at St. Augustine's
Normal and Collegiate Institute. In 1881 she entered Oberlin
College in Ohio where she earned both undergraduate and
graduate degrees. In 1925, she earned her Ph.D. from the
Sorbonne Universite in Paris, France. Dr. Cooper was daughter of
slave Hanna Stanley and her master, George Washington
Haywood. Nonetheless, she was born a slave. How do you think
being the daughter of a slave owner and a slave affected Dr.
Cooper? How many other African Americans have this type of
ancestral pattern?
 You can learn more about Dr. Cooper's father at the Haywood
Hall site on this Great Adventure.
 Or you can explore how Dr. Cooper contributed to the suffrage
movement in the 1920's in North Carolina at the Raleigh City
Museum site on this Great Adventure.
4. Students should be encouraged to research other HBCU’s. Here is a list
of suggested questions that students can research.
a. Where are most of the HBCU’s located?
b. Just as public colleges are putting funding into diversifying their
student body, HBCU’s are doing the same. Why do you think that
HBCU’s have decided to diversify their student population?
c. Name three HBCU’s famous for their law programs.
Evaluation and Assessment:
1. Here is a suggested rubric to help guide formal and informal assessment
of student knowledge and abilities.