September 8, 2015
THE BASICS
Topic: Black Lives Matter and Constitution Day
http://www.sfgate.com/news/texas/article/Black-Lives-Matter-movement-experiencing-growing-6477477.php
(Many more visuals in the Lesson Plan section!)
Articles
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“Juan Williams: #BlackLivesMatter is playing with fire” (opinion) (The Hill)
“Colin Powell on the Black Lives Matter movement” (NBC News)
“Police chiefs blast media’s ‘great myth’ on race” (The Hill)
“Fox says Black Lives Matter incites violence. Critics said the same of MLK” (Vox)
“Black Lives Matter isn’t stopping” (Politico)
“Bernie Sanders’ ‘Racial Justice Platform’ Wins Praise from Black Lives Matter” (Politicususa.com)
“Ben Carson: Black Lives Matter ‘anger’ is misdirected” (The Hill)
“Donald Trump on Black Lives Matter: ‘We Have to Give Power Back to the Police’”
(thinkprogress.com)
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“Vicissitudes of Meaning: ‘All Lives Matter’ vs. Black Lives Matter” (Commonweal)
“The Miseducation of the Black Lives Matter Movement” (Huffington Post)
Questions to Consider
 What are the goals of Black Lives Matter?
 How and why did the Black Lives Matter movement start?
 Why might the structure of the Black Lives Matter movement be difficult to understand? How is
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BLM different from other protests? What do critics of the BLM say? What do supporters of BLM
say? How might BLM be connected to black voter turnout?
How can BLM lead in the area of police reforms?
Why is knowing the history of race relations in the United States important in understanding the
BLM movement?
Why are police minority relations a reason for BLM advocacy?
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What is the role of the courts, jobs, schools, government, housing in the sense of urgency? How
can we make changes in housing in the sense of urgency? How can we make changes in unfair
treatment of minorities?
How can we balance the need for police protection with the need for police fairness? How might
body cameras help?
What is the difference between Black Lives Matter and White Lives Matter and All Lives Matter
and Police Lives Matter?
What is a disruptor? What is a protestor? How is the right to protest a guarantee for those who
feel they have no voice? How do protests get out of control?
When does protest turn to violence?
How have the media “translated” the BLM movement?
What are policy changes that would promote racial justice?
Black Lives Matter and the elections
o What relationship should the Black Lives Matter movement have to the Democratic
Party?
o What does it mean to pressure leading Democrats, and what should we expect from
them?
o Where does the power lie to win the kind of radical changes that Black Lives Matter has
called for?
o Should anti-racist activists and organizations be seeing to win broader layers of society to
our cause? If so, how?
o What strategies and tactics flow from the answers to these questions?
THE EXTRAS
Pre-teaching, Extensions & Further Reading
 “No Justice, No Peace of Mind” (poem) (reneemitchellspeaks.com)
 “Why Selma Matters Today” (Slate)
 “Black Lives Matter Reclaims the 14th Amendment” (BloombergView)
 “4 things you should do when you’re told ‘Black Lives Matter’” (Upworthy)
 “Next time someone tells you ‘all lives matter,’ show them this cartoon” (Vox)
Lesson Plans
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Constitution Day
o “Commemorating Constitution Day and Citizenship Day” (US Department of Education)
o “Celebrate Constitution Day on September 17th!” (Bill of Rights Institute)
Black Lives Matter
o “History through Opposing Eyes: America and Protest” (Grades 4-8) (Chicago History
Museum)
o “Revolution ’67, Lesson 1: Protest: Why and How” (High school) (EDSITEment!)
Visuals – These serve as great discussion starters!
http://libguides.lib.msu.edu/c.php?g=95622&p=2325510
http://dynamitelessonplan.com/the-learning-of-all-lives-matters/
http://chainsawsuit.com/comic/2014/12/08/all-things-considered/
http://www.golocalpdx.com/news/black-lives-matter-and-dont-shoot-pdx-are-emerging-as-political-forces-in-p
What’s the Connection?
Constitutional
 “How the Supreme Court Made it Legal for Cops to Pull You Over for Just About Everything” (The
Marshall Project)
Oregon
 “Black Lives Matter and Don’t Shoot PDX are Emerging as Political Forces in Portland” (Go Local
PDX)
Students
 “Black Students’ Lives Matter” (Rethinking Schools)
 “ACLU Files Motion to Dismiss Charges Against Black Lives Matter Demonstrator Kandace
Montgomery” (ACLU)
Oregon State Social Science Standards
8.26. Examine a controversial event, issue, or problem from more than one perspective.
HS.33. Explain the role of government in various current events.
HS.35. Examine the pluralistic realities of society (e.g., race, poverty, gender, and age),
recognizing issues of equity, and evaluating need for change.
HS.59. Demonstrate the skills and dispositions needed to be a critical consumer of information.
HS.60. Analyze an event, issue, problem, or phenomenon form varied or opposing perspectives
or points of view.
CCSS Anchor Standards
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key
supporting details and ideas.
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical,
connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or
tone.
6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and
quantitatively, as well as in words.
8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the
reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
We the People Lesson Connections
Middle School, Level 2
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Unit 5, Lesson 26: How does the Constitution safeguard the right to equal protection of
the law?
 Unit 6, Lesson 29: What are the rights and responsibilities of citizenship?
 Unit 6, Lesson 30: How might citizens participate in civic affairs?
High School, Level 3
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Unit 3, Lesson 19: How has the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
changed the Constitution?
 Unit 5, Lesson 30: How does the First Amendment protect freedom to assemble, petition,
and associate?
 Unit 6, Lesson 33: What does it mean to be a citizen?
 Unit 6, Lesson 35: How have civil rights movements resulted in fundamental political and
social change in the United States?
 Unit 6, Lesson 37: What key challenges does the United States face in the Future?