Racism and Police Brutality Against African Americans
by Julie Flores
Anchor Text: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Audience: 9th grade (14 year olds)
Purpose: To introduce the Black Lives Matter movement and have open discussions on the ongoing racism and police brutality against African Americans.
Access Link: https://www.amazon.com/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas-ebook/dp/B01M0614T9
by Julie Flores
Anchor Text: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Audience: 9th grade (14 year olds)
Purpose: To introduce the Black Lives Matter movement and have open discussions on the ongoing racism and police brutality against African Americans.
Access Link: https://www.amazon.com/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas-ebook/dp/B01M0614T9
TV News Show Episode:
Anderson Cooper 360- Kids on Race- The Hidden Picture Why is racism still prevalent? Are parents instilling racism onto their children? CNN conducted a research on race and children, and allegedly discovered that parents make a huge impact on their children's way of thinking. It was discovered that many parents do not want their children playing with children who are not of their skin tone or race. In the study, children are shown images of both Black and White kids and they are to determine what is occurring in the picture. The results are revealing and shocking. This episode helps us understand why we are dealing with certain social issues, especially ones that affect African Americans. -The video should be teacher led and open up the class for discussion after watching the video to discuss the findings of the researchers. Citation: CNN. (2012, April 2). A look at race relations through a child's eyes [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPVNJgfDwpw |
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Movie:
Fruitvale Station directed by Ryan Coogler and produced by Forest Whitaker In an interview, Angie Thomas discussed how the murder of Oscar Grant III inspired her book, The Hate U Give. This movie tells the true story of Oscar Grant, a twenty-two year old African American unarmed man who was shot and killed by Johannes Mehserle, a police officer, during an altercation. In the end, the civil jury ruled in favor of Johannes Mehserle and no justice was served. -The movie can be shown to the whole class and students can write their thoughts on the movie. Citation: Whitaker, F. (Producer), & Coogler, R. (Director). (2013). Fruitvale station [Motion Picture]. United States: Significant Productions. Access Link: https://www.netflix.com/title/70267488 |
TV Episode (short clip): Family Matters In this episode, Carl Winslow, a sergeant, confronts two racist police officers who harassed his son while pulling him over for failing to signal. One of the police officers admits to stopping his son for fitting a description of a car jacker and Winslow calls him out stating that not one of the suspected car jackers looks like his son. The racist officer admits to pulling Winslow's son over for being black and "in the wrong part of town." This is a prime example what continues to occur in America today. -This clip should be shown to the whole class and have students get into groups to see if they can find what the issue was. Talk about the issues as a class. [Raptor3x6]. (2009, April 14). Good cop, bad cop segment [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/6DRoTHnt5F |
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Music Video and Song:
Black Lives Matter and Changes by Tupac The video sums up the Black Lives Matter movement and the violence and racism experienced by African Americans today. The images in the video are composed by real life situations captured on camera. The song Changes by Tupac plays in the background as the lyrics make reference to the many issues faced by African Americans, including police brutality. Tupac also expresses the need to make changes in order to end racial inequality and other social injustices. -This video can be watched at home and students can reflect on what they saw and write a one paper that describes how the the video made them feel and if they are seeing changes occurring in today's age. Citation: [Ozzy Productions]. (2016, July 14). Black Lives Matter - Changes Music Video - Tupac (2016) [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5mQtdzMQiI |
Image:
Bulletproof Vest for Children The image of a child wearing a bulletproof vest in disconcerting. The image addresses police brutality and was used as an advertisement for the "Vote or Vest" campaign which encourages voting and voter registration, to take a stand on laws that affect the African American community. No child should be wearing a bulletproof vest, but seeing the image makes us more aware of the terrible encounters between the police and minorities. "Protect your child from vigilantes and the police" should not be a motto, but that's the world we live in today. -Image should be shown to students during class and have them share their thoughts on it, and how they would feel having to wear a bulletproof vest to school everyday. Citation: Dream Defenders. 2014. VestOrVote. Retrieved from http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/10/31/ad-says-vote-or-buy-bulletproof-vest-for-your-kids |
Nonfiction:
Policing the Planet- Why the Policing Crisis Led to Black Lives Matter edited by Jordan T. Camp and Christina Heatherton The book is composed of essays and interviews by activists, scholars, artists, and journalists. Real life accounts are shared on issues that have led to the Black Lives Matter movement and discusses how some people are more vulnerable and discriminated against due to the color of their skin. It addresses police brutality and the fear of being targeted and marginalized for being black. -Book should be teacher led. Students can write if they've experienced racism or have seen it happen to someone else and how they dealt with with it, or how the other person dealt with it; or if it hasn't happened, how would they respond. Citation: Camp, J. T., & Heatherton, C. (Eds.). (2016). Policing the planet: Why the policing crisis led to black lives matter. London: Verso. Access Link: http://aworldwithoutpolice.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/jordan-t-camp-policing-the-planet-why-the-policing-crisis-led-to-black-lives-matter.pdf |
Website: Mapping Police Violence This website has the statistics on the killings done by the police, and a map of the areas in which it happens the most. Their reports show that unarmed Black people are killed more than any other race. According to the website, "Only 13 of the 104 cases in 2015 where an unarmed black person was killed by police resulted in officer(s) being charged with a crime." The website has a lot of information and stats worth looking at to understand the gravity of the case and the movements campaigning for change. -Vising this website may be done during class or on students' own time. Citation: Police have killed 1,026 people in the U.S. this year. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/ |
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Spoken Word:
I Am NOT Black, You are NOT White by Prince Ea This powerful spoken word was made to help society understand that as humans, we carry labels that were given to us from birth and due to that, there is division. If we didn't have these labels, we wouldn't have racism as we wouldn't see color, and we'd be able to see people for who they truly are. The speaker encourages the listener/viewer to live without labels because we are one, and skin color shouldn't define who we are. Thus, no one should be treated differently, we are all equal. -This video should be shown during class time. Then, students may write a poem or a spoken word on racial equality. Citation: [Prince Ea]. (2015, November 2). I Am NOT Black, You are NOT White [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0qD2K2RWkc |