Dreams as History
A Cultural Exploration Text Set
Arin Hailey Reese | INFO 237: School Library Media Materials | San Jose State University | Fall 2017
The history of this country has been built not only by the distinguished figures we read about in textbooks, but also by everyday people, each with their own backgrounds, memories, stories, and dreams. This text set explores the theme of memories and dreams in historical context, through the lens of the African-American experience in the United States.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
What can personal perspectives and memoir teach us about history? What can a person’s dreams tell us about their hopes for the future, the time in which they live, and our collective past? How is memory carried forward from previous generations to shape what we dream could be possible? |
AUDIENCE
A 5th grade classroom at a socioeconomically diverse, progressive, urban independent school. Most of the students read at grade level, with a few below and a few above grade level. There are no English language learners in the class. |
Anchor Text: Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson (2014)
Brown Girl Dreaming is a memoir written in verse by Jacqueline Woodson. In the book's five parts, the author recalls stories from her family, memories from her childhood, and her observations of the Civil Rights movement that surrounded her in the post–Jim Crow 1960s and 70s.
Growing up between vastly different times (her grandparent’s generation and her own) and places (Ohio, South Carolina, and Brooklyn), Jacqueline often felt as if she were caught between worlds. But no matter where life took her, she carried dreams: her ancestors', her family's, and her own. As she came of age and developed a love for words and stories, Jacquline discovered her unique voice and a new dream: to be a writer. Brown Girl Dreaming weaves together all of these threads—past, present, and future—into a rich tapestry that tells the story of an individual, the African-American experience, and a period of time still unfolding in the United States. |
Speech: I Have a Dream..., by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
When the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his iconic I Have a Dream speech at the March on Washington in August 1963, the year of Jacqueline Woodson's birth, he referenced the country's past (the drafting of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence); the “fierce urgency of now"; and, in the speech's most memorable passage, his dream for an equal and just future, “a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream.”
In the decades since Dr. King delivered this speech, it has endured as a cornerstone of the fight for human rights that continues to this day. The speech continues to impact the ways in which we discuss race in the United States and is a critical text for any discussion of the Civil Rights Movement and the experiences of African Americans from the establishment of the nation to this day. In an interview, Jacqueline Woodson said she felt proud that Brown Girl Dreaming's publication date coincided with the anniversary Dr. King's speech, one of the first—and certainly one of the most renowned—works to recognize dreams as a driver of history and progress. Said Woodson, "If you know where you've been, you'll know where you're going." A class viewing of the video and/or reading of the speech transcript could be followed by a discussion of how dreams are shaped by the past, which in turn affects our present and what we dream could be possible for the future. Students could engage in a writing exercise about what they dream for themselves or the nation by referencing events and realities that have inspired their dreams. |
First they brought us here. Then we worked for free. Then it was 1863, and we were supposed to be free but we weren’t. And that’s why people are so mad… This is the way brown people have to fight, my grandfather says. You can’t just put your first up. You have to insist on something gently. Walk toward a thing slowly. But be ready to die, my grandfather says, for what is right. Be ready to die, my grandfather says, for everything you believe in. (from "South Carolina at War," in Brown Girl Dreaming) |
Picture Book, Creative Nonfiction: Heart and Soul, by Kadir Nelson (2015)
A sweeping creative nonfiction work about the impact of African Americans on the history of the United States—from slavery to the election of Barack Obama--Heart and Soul won numerous awards, including the 2012 Coretta Scott King Author Award and Illustrator Honor. The fictional narrator, a 100-year-old African-American woman, first recounts memories from her family’s past, from kidnapping to slavery; then her own experiences with racism and segregation; and finally ends on a hopeful note as she casts her vote for the first African-American President—an experience that was only a dream for so many generations that came before.
Kadir Nelson’s luminous oil paintings depict ordinary and famous African-American figures with empathy and expressions that draw the reader in and make the arc of history personal. In the classroom, this book could be used to frame a lesson on the importance of learning history from those who have lived it. Students could use the reading to inspire the collection of an oral history from a family or community member, or to write their own perspective of a historic event they have lived through in the form of a letter to one of their descendants or a poem. |
“Do you remember…? someone’s always asking and someone else, always does.” (From “How to Listen #8,” in Brown Girl Dreaming) |
Picture Book, Poetry: Freedom Over Me, by Ashley Bryan (2016)
Ashley Bryan’s Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Honor–winning book is inspired by a collection of slavery-era documents found by the author, including an estate appraisal listing eleven slaves for sale. In Freedom Over Me, Bryan pairs a portrait of each person rendered in pen, ink, watercolor, and collage with a fictional narrative about their life on the estate written in verse. The following spread presents a more vibrant illustration alongside a poem imagining the person’s dreams for their life.
Through art and the device of fictional memoir, Bryan transforms the spare data of the historical documents into rich personal histories in which each slave has agency over their own thoughts, imagination, desires, and dreams. We see how dreams can encompass hopes for the future, longing for the past, or an escape from a brutal reality—and often include elements of all three. In the classroom, this book could be used as a teacher-led or group-read text before a discussion of how much we gain from personal stories in our study of history—and conversely, how much we lose when human beings are reduced to anonymous numbers on a document. Students could engage in an art and/or writing activity where they attempt to imagine the thoughts and dreams of historical figures. |
I am born not long from the time or far from the place where my great-great-grandparents worked the deep rich land unfree dawn till dusk unpaid drank cool water from scooped out gourds looked up and followed the sky’s mirrored constellation to freedom. (from "February 12, 1963," in Brown Girl Dreaming) |
Painting: The Problem We All Live With, by Norman Rockwell (1964)
Painted in 1963, the year of Jacqueline Woodson’s birth, and published in Look Magazine in 1964, Norman Rockwell’s stunning painting depicts the morning that six-year-old Ruby Bridges became one of the first African-American children to integrate a New Orleans public school. the artist painted his subject—a brown girl—in a posture of strength and power as the work’s main focus as she bravely marches forward into an uncertain reality. The viewer is in the position of the angry mob that protested Bridges' arrival at the school. We can clearly see what came before the events of that morning—the wall is covered in racist graffiti reflective of the South’s long legacy of oppression of African Americans—and we are left to imagine Bridges’ future.
The Problem We All Live With was eventually selected by President Barack Obama to hang outside the Oval Office during his administration (see also this video about the work, from the Norman Rockwell Museum, including a talk form Ruby Bridges [begin viewing at 3:29]). The painting is a striking example of how the story of one person on one eventful day—in this case, a brown girl—can be a window into larger social forces and the course of history. A teacher-led examination of the painting with an optional viewing of the video could anchor a discussion on how powerful a role personal experiences play in our understanding of history. |
Not even three years have passed since a brown girl named Ruby Bridges walked into an all-white school. Armed guards surrounded her while hundreds of white people spat and called her names. She was six years old. I do not know if I’ll be strong like Ruby. I do not know what the world will look like when I am finally able to walk, speak, write… (from "Second Daughter's Second Day on Earth," in Brown Girl Dreaming) |
Spoken-Word Poem: Black Girl Magic, by Mahogany L. Browne (2016)
This installment of the PBS News Hour’s Brief but Spectacular series features Brooklyn poet Mahogany L. Browne passionately delivering her spoken-word poem, Black Girl Magic.
Browne begins by listing things society tells black girls that they are not supposed to do, be, have, or dream (including to dream at all). She goes on to remind black girls of the deep ancestral roots of their strength, before leaving listeners with a stunning reflection on the brilliance and beauty of a young woman coming of age, finding her voice, and seizing her own power. This video could be viewed by the class to begin a discussion of how dreams can change through time as societal pressures and expectations change. Highly motivated students might be inspired to write and perform their own spoken-word style poetry. |
I do not know if these hands will become Malcolm’s—raised and fisted or Martin’s—open and asking or James’s—curled around a pen. I do not know if these hands will be Rosa’s Or Ruby’s gently gloved and fiercely folded calmly in a lap, on a desk, around a book, ready to change the world… (from "Second Daughter's Second Day on Earth," in Brown Girl Dreaming) |
Film: A Ballerina’s Tale: The Incredible Rise of Misty Copeland (2015)
In a dance genre that traditionally favored white female bodies with wispy builds, Misty Copeland’s athletic physique and brown skin were seen as impediments. But her drive and her dream of dancing in a major company propelled her rise to becoming the first African-American principal dancer in the 75-year history of the American Ballet Theater. In the documentary A Ballerina's Tale (available on Netflix), Copeland decries critics who take a “color-blind” approach and downplay her race, saying her African-American identity is a key part of her story and who she is.
One of Copeland’s mentors featured in the film is Raven Wilkinson, one of the first African-American professional ballerinas, whose her career was stunted in the 1950s by racial discrimination. Copeland carries the dreams of the dancers who came before her as she opens the hallowed halls of ballet to new audiences and inspires a new generation of brown girls to break barriers and pursue their dreams. The entire film is accessible and would be engaging for this age group, but a class viewing of the portion from 17:43 to 32:16 illustrates the white-dominated history of ballet and could be used to spark a discussion of how the achievement of Misty Copeland's dream is both a personal and collective triumph. |
If someone had taken that book out of my hand said, You're too old for this maybe I’d never have believed that someone who looked like me could be in the pages of the book that someone who looked like me had a story. (from "Stevie and Me," in Brown Girl Dreaming) |