Unit 7: Contemporary African American Issues
Grade:9-12
Subject: African American History
Knowledge and Skills
Contemporary African American Issues
Prior Knowledge:
African Americans faced discrimination through their history.
Time Frame: 15-20 Days
Although institutionalized discrimination is no longer permitted
in the US, its effects live on and continue to influence African
Americans.
SC Indicator:
SC Objectives:
Assessment Limits:
Baltimore City Public Schools
Office of Humanities
African American Studies
Unit 7,
Indicator XX-
GRADE 9-12
DRAFT
1
Unit 7: Contemporary African American Issues
Grade:9-12
Subject: African American History
VOCABULARY
New Right
Trickle down theory
Affirmative action
Philadelphia Plan
Apartheid
TransAfrica
Rainbow Coalition
Rap
Afrocentricity
white collar
blue collar
Barack Obama
Congressional Black caucus
ebonics
No Child Left Behind Act
Nation of Islam
Patriot Act
AIDS epidemic
Contemporary African American Issues
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS:
Although blacks have achieved political equality, significant gaps exits between the black
community and the rest of America in the areas of health, education and wealth.
The election of Barack Obama represented an American milestone.
African institutions served as the foundation for many modern institutions.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
Is the education gap narrowing or widening?
What changes would be necessary to narrow the health gap between blacks and non-blacks?
What are the implications of the wealth gap between blacks and non-blacks?
Does the election of Barack Obama represent a significant turning point in American history?
What influences do historical African institutions have on African Americans in contemporary
America?
Baltimore City Public Schools
Office of Humanities
African American Studies
Unit 7,
Indicator XX-
GRADE 9-12
DRAFT
2
Unit 7: Contemporary African American Issues
Grade:9-12
Subject: African American History
Contemporary African American Issues
LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND STRATEGIES
Suggested Learning Plan
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Is the education gap narrowing or widening?
SC Objective:
Activity
Description
Materials/Resources
Debate: Closing the
Achievement Gap
Students will read article and have a class
discussion on the contents of article? Do
they agree or disagree with the
assessments of the article
Closing The Achievement Gap
Reading Activity:
“Progress and Poverty”
Have students read the selection and answer the
reading check. Also have students write a summary
of the chapter.
AAH, pp. 885-892
Students will answer
questions about Quality
Education in America.
Students will read pgs 362-368 in Putting the
movement Back Into Civil rights Teaching and
answer teacher created questions
Putting the movement Back Into
Civil rights Teaching
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What changes would be necessary to narrow the health gap between blacks and non-blacks?
SC Objective:
Baltimore City Public Schools
Activity
Analyzing the Health
Gap
Office of Humanities
Description
Materials/Resources
Break Students into groups and have them analyze
the information found in the website. Students can
display their knowledge in a poster or pamphlet
designed to educate the school community about the
health gap between blacks and whites. If time
allows, use the site to contrast health information
from other ethnic groups.
African American Studies
Unit 7,
Dept of Health and Human Services
Minority Health Overview
Indicator XX-
GRADE 9-12
DRAFT
3
Unit 7: Contemporary African American Issues
Grade:9-12
Subject: African American History
Contemporary African American Issues
Unnatural Causes: is
inequality making us
sick?
Closing the Health Gap
As a class, watch and discuss segments from the
documentary Unnatural Causes, an examination of
the health gap in America. Many of the segments
examine the gap from both a socio-economic and
racial perspective.
In groups, students will create a plan of action to
close the health gap consisting of the personal
changes, neighborhood/community changes, citywide
changes, nationwide changes that will need to occur
to close the health gap. It may be necessary to get
groups started with a class discussion that generates
examples of each type of change (individual,
community, citywide and nationwide).
Unnatural Causes, Video Clips and
Discussion Guide
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What are the implications of the wealth gap between blacks and non-blacks?
SC Objective:
Activity
Description
Materials/Resources
The Origins of the
Wealth Gap
Students complete a number of activities to discern
why the wealth gap exists between blacks and nonblacks and the implications of the wealth gap for
black Americans.
Reading Activity:
Wealth Gap Widens
Students will read the article The Race Gap in
the Economic Recovery and answer teachercreated questions based on the content of the
reading
Growth of the Suburbs and the
Racial Wealth Gap Lesson Plan
and ancillaries
http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About
/002_04-teachers-07.htm
The Race in the Economic
Recovery article
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06
/18/the-race-gap-in-the-economicrecovery.html
Vicious cycle': Jobless and black in
America
Baltimore City Public Schools
Office of Humanities
African American Studies
Unit 7,
Indicator XX-
GRADE 9-12
DRAFT
4
Unit 7: Contemporary African American Issues
Grade:9-12
Subject: African American History
Contemporary African American Issues
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/w
ayoflife/03/24/black.america.study/i
ndex.html
Black unemployment 'a serious
problem'
http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/04/n
ews/economy/black_unemployment
/index.htm
Bob Johnson Urges National
Dialogue Based on Recognition of
Race to Address Alarming Increase
in Wealth Gap between Black and
White Americans
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/201
00725/pl_usnw/PH40431
Tackling the Black-White Wealth
Gap
http://www.blackenterprise.co
m/personalfinance/2009/06/30/tacklingthe-black-white-wealth-gap/
The Real Monopoly:
America’s Wealth
Divide
Baltimore City Public Schools
Office of Humanities
Students will participate in a game of rigged
Monopoly in order to understand the wealth gap
in American
African American Studies
Unit 7,
The Real Monopoly lesson plan
and ancillaries
http://www.tolerance.org/print/activit
y/real-monopoly-americas-racialwealth-divide
Indicator XX-
GRADE 9-12
DRAFT
5
Unit 7: Contemporary African American Issues
Grade:9-12
Subject: African American History
Contemporary African American Issues
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Does the election of Barack Obama represent a significant turning point in American history?
SC Objective:
Activity
Description
Materials/Resources
Focus on Election
2008
In this media rich lesson, students will watch and
analyze political ads from the 2008 presidential
election. Although the lesson is written from a
civics standpoint, it is easily adaptable to focus
on race and the power of new media.
Focus on Election 2008
Write Obama’s
Inaugural Address
In this lesson, students will reflect on American
history and the challenges faced by the United
States in January of 2008 to compose an
inaugural address for President Obama.
Write Obama's Inaugural Address
Students will use photos and headlines from the
internet, newspapers and magazines to create a
scrapbook of Obama’s first term. The
assessment for this activity should be an essay
that addresses the essential question from this
section and cites the primary sources introduced
as part of the lesson sequence.
Official White House Site
Scrapbook – Obama’s
First term
Video of the actual address can be
found here.
NY Times
Washington Post
Baltimore Sun
Time Magazine
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What influences do historical African institutions have on African Americans in contemporary America?
Baltimore City Public Schools
Office of Humanities
African American Studies
Unit 7,
Indicator XX-
GRADE 9-12
DRAFT
6
Unit 7: Contemporary African American Issues
Grade:9-12
Subject: African American History
SC Objective:
Activity
Contemporary African American Issues
Description
Historical
African/African
American Culture: a
comparison
Comparing AIDS in
Africa to the high STD
rate in Baltimore
Analyzing the Black
national Anthem
Materials/Resources
Students will create a Venn Diagram comparing
Ancient African Civilizations to modern African
American culture
Venn Diagram
Students will read an article about AIDS
in Africa and people attitudes about the
disease and transmitting it and compare
that to young people’s views on
relationships and disease here in
Baltimore. Do they notice any
similarities/differences? Is there a
realistic solution to the problem?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpsrv/inatl/longterm/africanlives/kenya/ke
nya_aids.htm
Students will analyze the origins of the
Black National anthem and its meaning
then and now and the effect music and
rhythm have on words.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/
2008-03-11-std_n.htm
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nat
ion-world/balte.aids04nov04,0,5791513.story?page
=1
http://artsedge.kennedycenter.org/content/2369/
Essential Question:
SC Objective:
Baltimore City Public Schools
Activity
Office of Humanities
Description
African American Studies
Materials/Resources
Unit 7,
Indicator XX-
GRADE 9-12
DRAFT
7
Unit 7: Contemporary African American Issues
Grade:9-12
Subject: African American History
Contemporary African American Issues
DIFFERENTIATION
Accommodations
Arts Integration
Classroom Management
G.A.T.E./Enrichment
Graphic Organizers
Library Integration
Reading Strategies
Teacher Definitions
Technology Integration
Vocabulary Activities
Baltimore City Public Schools
Office of Humanities
African American Studies
Unit 7,
Indicator XX-
GRADE 9-12
DRAFT
8