Part Two: Inclusion
Instructions
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Preamble to the United States Constitution
For over 200 years, since 1789, the U. S. Constitution has served as the legal foundation of the United States. Created to establish the government and to protect individual freedom and justice, the U.S. Constitution guarantees basic rights to all U.S. citizens. But who was/is considered a U.S. citizen? From the very beginning, the question of inclusion was essential: who exactly was meant by "We the People"? Who belonged to the national community and could rely on the protections and promises anchored in the Constitution?
With the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, in July 1868, the U.S. Constitution reaffirmed who was considered U.S. citizen: the Fourteenth Amendment defined that all persons "born or naturalized in the United States," hold U.S. citizenship and are granted equal protection of the laws. The legal pathway for inclusion was laid, however it would take many decades before various groups would enjoy the full legal benefits.
For example, it was not until 1954, that all students, regardless of race, were allowed access to all public schools. Prior to 1954, public schools maintained racial segregation, putting African American students at a disadvantage. In the historic Brown v. Board of Education case, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that racial segregation violated the equal protection provision of the Fourteenth Amendment. Segregation was unconstitutional and public schools needed to be racially inclusive.
In December 1955, by refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger, Rosa Parks symbolically demanded inclusion of black people. Her courageous act of protest against inequality initiated the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott eventually led to a Supreme Court ruling that ended public bus segregation.
History gives us many more examples from which we learn about the struggles of those who objected being pushed to the margins of our society. At the same time, brave people spoke out against prejudice and injustice and joined with others to move toward a more just and inclusive society. As in the past, today we still have to fight prejudice and work toward a more inclusive society. In this lesson, students will learn about their own prejudices and biases. Through activities students will explore what it feels like to be excluded. Finally, students will come up with strategies for building and maintaining a more inclusive social environment.
1. Classroom Activity: Inclusion-Exclusion
Examine with students the Picture of George W. McLaurin, the African American student at the Graduate School of Education, at the University of Oklahoma (from early 1950s). Ask students for a detailed description of the picture; who is in it, where and when was it taken, what were the circumstances? How does that picture relate to the topic of exclusion/inclusion? Could you run an experiment in your classroom in which some students are separated from others? How does it feel to be separated? Does the separation still allow for equal teaching/learning experience? Finally, can you think of individuals/groups that are excluded in today's society?
2. Classroom Activities: Understanding Bias
In these activities, students will realize that we all hold bias. Watch the short video (ca. 3 min) Who, me? Biased? and choose one of the activities, to help students acknowledge how bias, consciously (explicite) or unconsciously (implicite), we all are.
A. For this activity, ask students to rely on their first thoughts. Explain to students that they will receive a piece of paper with a list of words. Ask them to write down (anonymously) the first 3-4 adjectives that come to their mind (thoughts, ideas, associations positive or negative). After you complete the activity, collect the sheets. Pick a few words (for example: Disabled/Elderly/Jews/ etc.) and read out loudly the adjectives that students assigned to the word. Are the adjectives neutral/positive/negative? Can you detect stereotypes, bias? Help facilitate a discussion that will highlight the impact of bias, point out the distinction between explicit/implicit bias. Ask students to develop a definition. Bias - an unreasoned tendency/attitude in favor or against something/someone or towards members of a group merely because of their membership in that group.
B. Ask students to take a few minutes and come up/look up synonyms for the words male and female. Examine with students what kind of connotations do the synonyms hold? Can the students detect bias? Next, read the paragraph below. Discuss with students, what role does language play in perpetuating bias?
Even semantics have conspired to make that which is black seem ugly and degrading. In Roget's Thesaurus there are some 120 synonyms for blackness and at least sixty of them are offensive, such words as blot, soot, grim, devil, and foul. And there are some 134 synonyms for whiteness and all are favorable, expressed in such words as purity, cleanliness, chastity, and innocence. A white lie is better than a black lie. The most degenerate member of a family is the "black sheep." Ossie Davis has suggested that maybe the English language should be reconstructed so that teachers will not be forced to teach the Negro child sixty ways to despise himself, and thereby perpetuate his false sense of inferiority, and the white child 134 ways to adore himself, and thereby perpetuate his false sense of superiority. The tendency to ignore the Negro's contribution to American life and strip him of his personhood is as old as the earliest history books and as contemporary as the morning's newspaper.
Martin Luther King, Jr., "Where Do We Go From Here?," Address Delivered at the Eleventh Annual SCLC Convention, Atlanta, GA, 1967.
3. Classroom Activity: How to overcome bias? Moving towards inclusiveness!
Listen to the diversity advocate Vernā Myers as she takes a look at some of the bias we hold toward others. She makes a plea to all people: Acknowledge your biases. Then move toward, not away from, the groups that make you uncomfortable. Watch the video: how to overcome our bias? (18 min)
Discussion: what are the steps Verna Myers suggest? Think about the previous classroom activity: who do we hold bias toward? When/how do you realized you hold bias ? What can you do once you acknowledge your bias?
Materials
Picture of George W. McLaurin
Worksheet 2, First Thoughts: list of words
Video: Who, me? Biased?
Verna Myers, TEDxBeaconStreet: how to overcome our bias?
Additional Material
- All about multicultural children’s books: https://coloursofus.com/
- The New York Time, 25 Mini-Films for Exploring Race, Bias and Identity With Students
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/learning/lesson-plans/25-mini-films-for-exploring-race-bias-and-identity-with-students.html - Understanding Race, project from the American Anthropological Association: http://www.understandingrace.org/
- MTV’s Looking Different Campaign: http://www.lookdifferent.org
- USC Rossier School of Education: SPEAK UP, Opening a Dialogue with Youth About Racism: https://rossieronline.usc.edu/youth-and-racism/
Questions? Suggestions? Ideas?
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Contact us at: King Institute Liberation Curriculum